Crusher

by Carson Mackenzie

  “They got on their bikes and rode down the drive as if they were heading out for a ride. He figures they have been slithering around the area because the guy made them when they got closer to the gate and Prez pulled his gun out when the guy turned to aim his at Brax in the shack, he wasn’t there so he turned the other way and Brax stepped up to the window and shot Creeper through the eye. Blew off the back of his skull, that’s why they wouldn’t let her physically ID him, they only showed her his license.

  “They called Sheriff Lance then. When he left he told Stroker that he would have his deputies go around to any abandon places they knew of and check them out. He figures they have to be staying somewhere out of the way so they wouldn’t draw attention. Stroker said to tell everyone nice job and to stay safe. He wants updates on Carly as soon as we get any info.” As if someone was listening, the nurse stepped out of the doors and was looking around. Jag spotted her and pointed. Speed hurried over to her as the rest of us followed.

  “Mr. Weston, your sister is out of surgery and in recovery. The doctor said he would be down in just a few minutes to speak with you.”

  “Thank you, ma’am.” The nurse turned and went back through the doors. We all stood there for minute, letting everything that had happened this day sink in. Carly was in recovery, Sami and Ally were safe. I took one more deep breath and walked back into the hospital.

  No sooner than we entered the family waiting area the doctor came in and walked over to Speed as I stood beside him. “Your sister did great. I had to go deep into her thigh to get to the bullet. You know of course it had nicked her femoral artery, I repaired it, but since it is the main artery in the thigh, she will have to take it easy for several weeks. This is essential since the artery is weakened, we don’t want to put any additional strain on it. The bullet was lodged in the muscle, it took a little time to get out, I didn’t want to do more damage to the muscle than was already done. So what all this boils down to is she will be in some extreme pain while the muscle and the surrounding area heal. Her outer sutures will have to be removed in two weeks but that can be done at your local hospital. I’m going to recommend therapy to strengthen the muscle back after it heals. That too can be done in her hometown. But that will be after the artery heals too. I’m going to keep her at least three days, if she does well, I will possibly release her, if she isn’t doing well, then she is looking to be with us at a minimum of a week. I’ll know more after she wakes. Do you have any questions, Mr. Weston?” I didn’t give Speed the chance to ask.

  “When can we see her?”

  “After she comes out of recovery. I will let the nurses know to inform you when she is moved to a room. Have someone page me if you need me to answer any more questions you might think of later.” The doctor shook our hands and left.

  “Thank fuck.” Speed ran his hand down his face. The day had been hard but for him maybe a little more than the rest of us. “I thought five years ago that the loss of my dad was hard. If today would have went another way, I don’t think I would have been able to come back from the loss. I can’t even fathom what it would be like, brother.”

  “You don’t need to. Everyone is safe. Carly is banged up a little but she will bounce back. We help Haven nail down the fuckwad and it is clear sailing.”

  “You’re right, Crusher. Just needed to get it out of my system. We might as well sit down and wait for Carly to wake.” Everyone took seats to wait. Wait for Carly to wake up, wait for Haven’s men to get there for the pickup. I should thank the military for my patience, though they were running thin, I at least wasn’t jumping out of my skin. I’d forgotten about Devil and what he had been checking on until he spoke.

  “This has been a shit day but I’m going to add to it. If I’m wrong, I will own it, however, I don’t think I am.” He paused and all eyes went to him.

  “You went out to call your dad after Speed was asked to give blood. Whatever you got working in your head, share it.” Devil nodded to me, then focused on Speed.

  “When the doctor said Carly’s blood type was A- and you had the same, Speed, it hit me as odd because A- is kinda rare, only like six percent of world has it.”

  “That means what, Devil? You are losing me,” Speed frowned and I had to admit I was not following either. The only one who seemed to know where Devil was headed was Wild Bill.

  “To have any negative Rh factor in your blood, it takes both parents to carry the negative Rh, because if either carries the positive Rh, it most always overrides the negative. The A type blood is common, except for if both parents are O type, the children will only be O, no other type will come through.” Devil spoke as if we all had medical training.

  “Christ, Devil, who cares. What the hell are you saying?” My brain was on overload.

  “In a nutshell. Carly isn’t Speed’s half-sister, she is his full-blooded sister, literally.” I turned to Speed when Devil finished and he still wore the frown but his eyes could’ve frozen an open flame.

  “That damn bitch left Black Hawk pregnant? Fuck me, she just keeps lifting out the grave to spread her shit. Are you sure, Devil?” Speed asked.

  “I’m not going to say I’m one hundred percent, but a swab of your and Carly’s mouths is all that is needed. When I called Dad, I had him check the records for your dad’s type, he was A- too. Wild Bill got Stone’s and Clarice’s blood types. Stone was O+, Clarice O-, we know she gave birth to Carly but no way Stone is her dad. Not saying I’m right about Cutter, Speed, but fuck, man. That is one big coincidence if he’s not.”

  My friend turned and punched the wall. “Think I should know for sure before we tell Carly? Damn it, I’m pissed,” he slapped the wall.

  “Are you mad at Carly, Speed? Do you think seeing it on paper is going to change the results?” Wild Bill asked, standing.

  Speed turned around and looked at him, “Fuck no. I have no doubt she is my sister. I’m pissed about all we missed. My dad was a hard man and he never asked anyone to do something he wouldn’t do himself, but he expected when he asked for something that it be done to the best of your ability, because that is how he lived life. From the military, to being a part of Black Hawk, to being a dad, and to know he missed out where Carly is concerned pisses me off for him, while it has me sorry for the loss that Carly wasn’t afforded the same opportunity I was. Cutter would have done the same for her, they both missed out because one selfish fucking woman didn’t get her way.” Speed shook his head, his face carrying the look of disgust.

  “The test takes a few days, Speed. You sure you want to wait for the results before you talk to Carly?” Wild Bill held us his hand to stop my brother from talking before he finished, “Carly has always been strong her entire life, son. That girl never let the way Stone and Clarice acted to keep her down or mold her in any way. I think their behavior only made her work harder not to be seen as weak as they were. Stone was and is a drunk and Clarice, well, she stayed tweaked. Carly isn’t going to take kindly to being kept in the dark until you see fit to share. Because, Speed, there may not be a physical resemblance to you two, but goddamn if you both don’t have the same ‘go after what you want’ personality.” Wild Bill chuckled.

  “No shit! That answers a lot, doesn’t it, Prez?” Keg’s voice had us all turning around. He and Coast had entered the room and evidently unnoticed for a bit if they heard what was just discussed. Coast walked over with a bag and handed it to me.

  “We stopped on our way here. Heard you and Devil could use a change of clothes.” I slapped Coast on the shoulder in a thank you gesture.

  “Taking everything went smooth on the transfer?” I asked.

  “Done.” Only word he said and then he went over to Flirt and Jag and sat down.

  “Prez, you think Carly is going to want to come back to Haven and recuperate?” Keg asked Wild Bill, drawing mine and Speed’s attention as they talked to each other. Speed beat me in answering.

  “She will go to Black Hawk.”

  “She was raised at
Haven. If she wants to come there, we will welcome her as we always have.” Wild Bill glared back at Speed. I wouldn’t let her go to Haven if it was the last thing I did but I wasn’t ready to share that information. Besides, I knew Speed well enough to know he wasn’t going to let that happen.

  “Carly may have been raised as part of Haven, but she is Black Hawk. So there is no confusion, she will be recuperating there.”

  “You think you are going to get her to stay at Black Hawk?” Keg said and Moose laughed and Wild Bill just smiled.

  “It will be easy enough, if I can’t get her to cooperate, Crusher will,” Speed’s words had me turning toward him.

  “What makes you think she will listen to me?” Wild Bill’s laughter at my words pissed me off.

  “Please, now is not the time to act like there is nothing going on between you or had gone on between you, take your pick. But give us credit for not being stupid, brother. Are you forgetting I know you? You all act like I’m the only one who goes after what they want, it offends me.” The rest of our friends laughed at Speed’s statement, they and I both knew it took a lot to offend our friend.

  “You telling me that you aren’t going to give me shit for going after your sister?” I didn’t have to wait long for Speed to answer me.

  “Why the hell would I be upset that one of the best men I know wants to be involved with my sister? Damn, Crusher.” He shook his head as if he couldn’t believe my thinking. And I wondered if I wasn’t giving my friend and brother enough credit. At least until he continued, “Now, if you hurt her, that will be another matter.” I couldn’t hold my grin back.

  “Excuse me.” The lady’s voice had us facing the door. “The doctor said to inform you gentleman that Ms. Monroe is awake and being moved to a private room. I will let you know when she is settled.” She stopped, turned her head back and forth as if to check the hallway, then her voice lowered. “He also said to tell you that if you keep the noise down, he would allow more than two in her room at a time.”

  “Not a problem,” was said by a few of us.

  “Great, I will be back to tell you when you can see her.” The nurse walked away.

  “I’m going to call the Prez, let the club know she’s awake,” I said, pulled my phone out and stepped out of the room. Speed followed. I was sure it was to call Sami to update her on her friend and to share what Devil had figured out.

  As I walked down the hall waiting for Stroker to answer, it didn’t escape my notice that for the first time today, I could breathe easy. I planned to enjoy the feeling for however long it lasted.

  When I heard Stroker pick up, I started filling him in, “Hey, Dad. Got good news.”

  Chapter Eight

  Carly

  “Man, that one nurse was smoking hot. Think I can talk her into taking my temperature?”

  “Yeah, Moose, maybe she will use a rectal one, that way you could feel like you were back in the joint.” I heard a thud outside my room and then male laughter followed it. I smiled to myself.

  “Damn it, Reed, can’t you boys go anywhere without causing problems? You are going to get us thrown out before we even get to check on her. I’m getting too old for this shit.” Wild Bill had been saying that for as long as I could remember.

  “If you fuckers don’t be quiet you aren’t going in the damn room. She’s been shot for fuck’s sakes.” My smile left, who did Crusher think he was, bossy asshole.

  “Seriously, brother, you need to tone it back or you are going to get blue balls before she lets you touch her.”

  “Shut up, Flirt. At least I don’t have to tie mine down to get them to fuc—” That thud was just outside the door. “What did you do that for?”

  “Because your assholishness is showing, brother. She doesn’t need that.” The door started sliding open.

  “You can see through yours enough to see mine, eh?” Speed was first in the door, followed by the others who were laughing.

  “To think I thought you were good enough for my little sister.” Speed smiled at me and then winked. I wanted to be annoyed, but his acceptance of me felt pretty fucking awesome.

  “Can’t take it back now, others heard you, no giving me shit later.” Crusher laughed, and walked to the side of my bed. “Hey, baby, what’s the face for? You in pain? Want me to call the nurse?” He reached for the call button on the rail. I just looked at him, I have no idea what the fuck happened while I was in surgery, but it was like I woke up in an alternate universe called, hell. Why was he being so nice? Freaking weird.

  “You touch that button and I will slap your hand.” Wild Bill came to the other side of my bed and leaned in and kissed my cheek. I just shook the thoughts out of my head and then looked up at Wild Bill and smiled. When he raised up, he looked over to Crusher and then shook his head and laughed. Crusher was glaring at him. “Did I miss something while I was in surgery?” I looked between the two men. Someone better start talking was all I thought as I watched the two men stare each other down. Holy crap, when Wild Bill was the first to break the stare I was a little shocked. I mean, he was the biggest badass around, and yeah, Speed and the other Black Hawks were badasses, but Wild Bill had been around too long, he had perfected it.

  “Not what you are thinking, girl. But I think your brother should be the one to tell you everything that happen after you blacked out at the gas station. Me and the boys are going to head back to Haven. Got a little club business to take care of. You need us, you call. Hear me?” I nodded, and he bent back over and hugged me. Then he stepped back while Moose and Crank did the same. Crusher grunted and turned and walked out. I looked at the door when he pulled it shut behind him and frowned. The other Black Hawk men were chuckling, even my newfound brother. Men, I wondered if I would ever understand them.

  “What is wrong with Crusher?” I looked up at Reed who wore a huge grin.

  “Ah, nothing for you to worry about. I think he suffers from not wanting to share his toys.” Reed leaned over and hugged and kissed my forehead. When he stood back up the grin was gone. “You take care of yourself, watch your back, and don’t ever scare me like you did today. Call me if you need anything. If I don’t see you sooner, I’ll see you at Ally’s birthday party. Speed said Sami was going to set one up for her. Me and Prez will be down. Love ya, mouse.”

  “Love you too, butthead.”

  Wild Bill laughed and tilted his head to the door and they moved toward it, but as they walked by Speed, who was standing to the side, Wild Bill stopped and shook his hand. When he reached the door that the others had left open when they’d left, he said over his shoulder, “Don’t forget, she was ours first,” then he was gone.

  Speed walked to the side of my bed and pulled up a chair, the others came to stand on the other side and after some whispered voices in the hall, Crusher walked back in.

  “So, what went on. What do you have to tell me?” I was starting to get tired but I wanted to know everything first.

  “Jag, Flirt, Devil, and Coast are going to head out. They just wanted to tell ya goodbye before they left,” Speed said and they stepped closer to the bed.

  “And do it without touching you,” Crusher finished, glaring at the men as they smiled back at him.

  Jag and Coast patted my shoulder, told me to take care, then stepped back. Flirt stepped up but instead of patting my shoulder, he winked and leaned down and kissed my cheek.

  “Flirt.” His name coming from Crusher was said like a warning but it didn’t seem to affect the man. He laughed and stepped back.

  “You’re going to do just fine. See you back home.” After Flirt moved out of the way, Devil moved closer, but before he could speak I did.

  “You’re the one the doctor said saved my life. You were a medic in the Army, right?” When he smiled at me, it changed the whole look of him, which wasn’t bad to begin with. It did answer where the name Devil came from. I imagined that look had gotten him into a lot of women’s panties.

  “Yeah, darlin’, that’s
me. You’re welcome, anytime.” He hugged me and the four men walked out, leaving just me, Crusher, and Speed in the room.

  I looked at Speed, “Start talking.”

  Speed started to talk and Crusher pulled the other chair closer to my bed. I listened without interrupting as he told me everything that happened, even what Devil had figured out. When he finished, I closed my eyes to absorb all he had said. Crusher and Speed said nothing while I laid there. When I started laughing and opened my eyes, Crusher and Speed were frowning as if I’d lost my mind. Hell, maybe I had.

  “You okay?” Crusher asked.

  “Sure am.” I looked at Speed, “If my leg didn’t hurt, I’d get out of this bed and freaking dance around the damn room. So much makes sense now, you have no idea.”

  “Tell us, baby,” Crusher said.

  “Not like we were ever your normal family, but in the beginning Wallace treated me, I guess like a daughter, he’d take me places with him, bought me a bike on my fifth birthday, taught me to ride. They would both come to school shit, though I wished they wouldn’t because you could smell the liquor on him and Clarice’s eyes would always be bloodshot from whatever she was flying high on at the time. As I got older, I actually used to feel bad about not telling them when things were going on at school because I didn’t want to be embarrassed. We spent a lot of time at the clubhouse so I was around Sami and Reed daily. When they would want to go out or not deal with me, Wild Bill’s house was where I stayed. What’s bad is I didn’t mind, I enjoyed the time away from them.

  “At fourteen it changed with Wallace, he was hateful when he spoke to me. He even made comments to Clarice in front of me about how he never should have made her his ol’ lady. I was never at the house when his buddies would come over, the one your man Brax killed, Creeper, and another named Jacks, because they’d party to all hours so those were times I’d stay with Sami. Keeping that away from me stopped too. One day I came home and walked in the trailer to Clarice straddling Jacks on the floor with Creeper in her mouth and Wallace taking her from behind. When I turned around to walk back out, Wallace said, ‘You should stay and watch, you are your mother’s daughter after all. Club whore is your future, girl.’” I looked between Crusher and Speed and the two sat with their hands in their laps clenched into fist.