by KB Winters
“Rocky, I need you to call 911.” I issued orders while I removed my white tank top and applied pressure to Jana’s neck while my other hand took her pulse at the wrist. “Tell them a pregnant woman, approximately twenty five weeks with a nicked artery. Shooter is off-site,” I told her, suddenly back in New York stitching up wounds from knife fights and pimps with heavy fists, abused children and women. The worst of the worst and it had been my job to stitch them up just enough so they could go back out there and wreak more havoc.
I kept pressure on Jana’s neck. “Just breath slowly, we need you calm so the baby is calm, okay? She will follow your lead Jana. She will.” Her green eyes were still lucid, staring up at me afraid and trusting.
“Holy shit, Moon, who the hell are you?” Rocky looked up with wide, terrified eyes.
“Breathe, Rocky. I’m just me, good in an emergency.” I’d had plenty of training and I knew I was capable, despite what people saw when they looked at me in my colorful flowing fabrics, bangles and fascination with all things non-traditional. “Someone open the door for the emergency workers.”
“Got it,” Rocky said, walking hesitantly to the door, gaze darting out the big broken window every other second until she was surrounded by police, fire and paramedics.
They swarmed my small shop but I couldn’t focus on them and I couldn’t answer their questions. Not now. Not with Jana rapidly losing blood. “Ma’am, please.”
I looked at the two paramedics hunkering down next to me, their combined age younger than me. “I can’t,” I told them and impatiently explained the dilemma. “So get her on the damn gurney while I keep her alive.”
“Yes ma’am,” the blond one said and quickly they maneuvered around me and we practically ran out of the shop and to the ambulance. I stayed beside Jana the entire time, hand fused to her neck thanks to the white fabric between us, sticky with her blood.
The ride to the hospital was eternal, as in eternal hell because I knew what all the beeps meant, what the shouted stats meant and they all spelled out trouble. For Jana and her baby.
Rocky must have been busy on the phone because when we arrived at the hospital, crashing through the doors with me kneeling over Jana’s nearly unconscious body, I saw several members of the Reckless Bastards motorcycle club staring at me with stunned expressions on their faces.
Max’s in particular stayed with me, the anguish and worry on his rugged features was heartbreaking. But I couldn’t focus on them, I had to keep my hand where it was and focus on Jana.
She was a kind, brave soul. I knew the forces of the universe wouldn’t let such a woman leave this world too soon. Jana and her baby would be safe.
They had to be.
Chapter Three
Cross
“Was that the art teacher?” I knew I sounded like an asshole but goddammit, this was just another damn complication.
“Her name is Moon,” Max said with a deadly glare aimed at me. “And she’s the reason my wife is still alive.” His breathing was shallow and his nostrils flared, signs of a man in conflict.
“Why doesn’t she just fucking let the paramedics do their goddamn job?” I was being an asshole, but I was worried for Max, and Moon was an easy target. She’d always seemed a little hippy dippy, which wasn’t what I saw as she kept her hand on Jana’s throat. She was serious and intense, kind of badass even. But I never would have pegged her for a glory hog.
“Who gives a shit? Jana has a chance!”
Goddammit, Max was right. Whatever the fuck had gone down at Moon’s shop, it looked like she’d help save Jana. “You’re right man. Need anything?”
“Just for my fucking wife to be okay,” he grunted and began to pace in front of the windows. I just watched him, anger and fear radiating off him with every turn, every step.
I didn’t know how long I sat there watching Max as more Reckless Bastards entered the waiting room, but it was long enough that they forced us to move up to the critical care waiting room. Finally, maybe an hour later, Rocky came in on shaky legs, looking pale and afraid.
Lasso was up and at her side in half a second, wrapping her in his arms. “How’s Jana? Have you heard anything?” Her words were shaky and broken, projecting just how bad tonight had been.
“It was terrible, she was spurting and choking and I thought she was gonna die,” Rocky gulped in a breath and clutched at Lasso’s shirt. “But Moon was there, calm as can be as she issued orders and kept Jana calm. She just whipped off her fucking shirt to stop the bleeding. Where is she?”
“Babe, settle down. We haven’t heard anything yet. Have a seat.” Lasso guided her to a chair and whispered in her ear until she was less frantic.
“How come we haven’t heard anything yet?” Rocky blurted out.
“Exactly,” Max growled. “Not one fucking word.” He continued pacing, no doubt scaring all the doctors, nurses and family members who crossed his path.
“Any word yet?” Teddy asked as she showed up with her daughter, Quinn, in a stroller and a little black-haired boy holding her hand. The whole gang behind her, a parade of family – Mandy with Max and Jana’s son Charlie and Gunnar’s baby sister, Maisie.
“No,” Max barked, getting angrier each time someone asked the question. I made a mental note to stop the next one.
“Tate’s on his way,” Teddy assured him from a distance, seeing he needed his space. It was always a trip to hear Teddy call Golden Boy by his given name, but she only did it to fuck with him.
More people arrived, more family. People I was responsible for keeping safe and I was doing a shitty job of it. Poor Jana didn’t deserve this.
She’d already been through hell and back, never mind the hell she’d pulled Max from just in time. And Max, he looked ready to rip someone apart with his bare hands. Something had to be done, it just fucking had to be. I couldn’t let more hurt and pain come to my club. My family. I got Jag on the phone. “Look up all the cameras near Rainbow Canvas and see what you can find.”
“Done,” he said, the one word clipped before the call ended.
The doors opened and every gaze in the waiting room turned to Moon, still shirtless and covered in blood, light eyes stunned and glassy. Her skirt hung to the floor, vibrant and beautiful in sharp contrast to the surroundings and events of the night. She went to Max and wrapped an arm around him, whispering to him as she led him away.
I was right behind them, listening to every word. “I’m sorry, Max. They assumed I was family and the doctor was out of the room before he finished his sentence. Do you want me to wait with you until the doctor returns?”
“I’ll stay with him.” Why I insisted on that, I had no fucking clue.
Moon nodded and stepped away, her eyes looking hurt and confused. Then more confusion as Max grabbed her arm. “No, stay. Did she say anything, Moon?”
Her lips twitched but I was too distracted by the bloody bra and killer set of tits on display as she crossed her arms.
“She did. Jana said to tell you not to do anything stupid. And to kick some ass.” She rubbed Max’s arm gently. “It’s not good but she’s going to pull through.”
Max smiled but I could see how hard even that was for him. “Thanks, Moon.” He took off his kutte and slid his t-shirt off over his head, handing it to Moon. “Here. Cover yourself up.”
“Don’t thank me, I’m just sorry it happened at all.” She took his extra-large t-shirt and slipped it over her head. Moon wasn’t like most of the women who interacted with the club. She wasn’t intimidated by Max and didn’t keep her distance. Seeing just how hurt my buddy was, she stepped in close and wrapped long, lean arms around him while Max cried his eyes out for his wife and unborn daughter. The sound was pure anguish and was like an arrow in my chest.
“Let it all out now, Max. Jana and Charlie are going to need that famous strength she’s always going on and on about.” His shoulders jerked like maybe he was laughing, and I stood watching, stunned by her gentle nature. “Besides, you m
ight get to name the baby because she’ll feel so bad about worrying you.” She kissed his cheek and squeezed him into another tight hug that looked like pure comfort.
“Mr. Ellison,” the doctor called out and Max went to him. Leaving me alone with Moon.
She walked over to me and said, “The shots came from a yellow and black sports car. It might have been a Mustang, I don’t know. It looked like a Mustang, but it could have been any kind of sports cars with that style body.”
Her words sank in and fire sparked in my veins as that tingle started in my extremities. Something was coming together, and soon I would have a piece of the puzzle.
“Thanks,” I said gruffly and walked away before she noticed the half-chub I sported like a goddamn horny teenager.
Chapter Four
Moon
In the days after Jana was shot, I turned into a scared little girl, unable to leave the house beyond going to familiar places and only when necessary. I couldn’t walk the fifty yards to my shop because I couldn’t even think about what had happened there, the wreckage left behind. But I was a businesswoman and I couldn’t simply let my fear and trauma keep me from taking care of business. After a quick glance at the clock on the wall, I called my insurance adjuster and an approved cleaning service who promised to meet me the day after tomorrow.
That meant I had forty-eight hours to get myself together. Centered and Zen enough to walk into my own shop. Like a professional.
Sleep had been another thing I couldn’t do much of lately. Every time I closed my eyes all I could see was Jana, gasping for breath like each one would be her last. My hands, coated in her blood. Even now I could see it when I washed my hands. I could still smell the metallic scent of that much blood. So much blood.
I couldn’t sleep and I couldn’t stop the guilt that this had happened when she was in my shop. The place that was meant to be warm and welcoming, a place where creativity was free to flourish. Now, it was something else.
“Are we visiting Jana today, Mom?” Beau looked up at me, his blue eyes shining behind his black glasses, curious and alert.
“Sure, but remember I told you she won’t be awake.” I’d been to visit Jana in the hospital at least once a day since this happened but explaining it to Beau was heartbreaking.
“She’s in a coma,” he said, now sad because he’d taken to Jana right away.
“That’s right, but it’s a medically induced coma so that she and the baby can heal faster.”
“Do we have to go see Dr. Yang?”
I loved my little boy. At eight, he was too smart for his own good, perceptive and just incredible. But he did not like his regular visits to the lung specialist we’d been seeing for about two years. Chronic asthma that, despite everything we did to cure it, was as stubborn as I was.
“Yeah, Beau, we do. You know that.”
“I know,” he sighed, digging his toe into the kitchen linoleum. “But I’m breathing fine today. See?” Beau stood tall in his Pac-Man t-shirt and jeans because he had an aversion to shorts, and he sucked in several deep breaths before letting them out slowly so I could hear his lungs. “See, Mom?”
I knelt down so we were face to face, hands planted on his shoulders. “That’s why we have to go in today, Beau. We have to make sure you’re still doing well. It’s just a precaution.” He hated the speech, knew it by heart but he also knew I was right. His asthma problems were harder for me than they were for Beau because he had the luxury of hope, whereas I had the misfortune of a mother’s worry. I had to listen to his chronic cough, his constant wheezing. Watch him sit on the sidelines instead of engage in the rough and tumble of the sports he loved. My eight-year-old powerhouse turned to books and science to corral his boundless energy.
“There’s no reason to be scared,” I promised to those wide eyes that always melted my heart. Even though I was terrified and no amount of yoga or meditation would help.
“What if it’s worse, Mom? What if I can’t go to school anymore?”
That was saying something since school wasn’t Beau’s favorite place. A kid with his smarts and his sensitivity was a target for most kids and my son seemed to attract them all.
“Then we’ll find you the best tutor in the state and make sure you socialize in other ways.” I couldn’t help pulling him in for a hug and a kiss, his little boy scent reminding me why I worked so hard every single day. And why I had to get back to the shop as soon as possible.
“It’s my job to worry so let me do my job. Okay?”
He giggled and kissed me back. “Okay.”
“Good. Let’s get out of here.” We piled into my car and battled Vegas traffic as we made our way to the larger hospital to see the respiratory specialist. Visiting Dr. Yang wasn’t my favorite pastime either, but it was necessary. Essential.
We took x-rays and a breathing test, then waited. And waited. I counted the roses on the outdated wallpaper and fidgeted anxiously while Beau got lost in another one of his books. “Beau Vanderbilt,” the nurse called and we went back to the office.
Dr. Yang was a forty something woman with silky black hair and kind eyes. “Good afternoon Beau, how are you feeling today?”
“Okay, Dr. Yang. How are you?”
She grinned affectionately. “Good, thanks for asking. So I have some news,” she said to Beau though her gaze was fixed on mine.
“It’s worse, isn’t it?”
The doctor nodded, her eyes filled with sympathy. “The inflammation has worsened and your numbers are down I’m afraid, but not significantly. I think you’ll find a nebulizer effective for handling your difficulty breathing. Could help with the inflammation in your airways, too.”
Numb. That’s how I felt. Listening to the doctors hadn’t been a mistake but I should have listened to myself as well. “We’ll get the nebulizer, but I’ll also look into other, more natural treatments.”
“That’s fine. I’ll do one treatment today so you can see how it’s done and then you can do them at home. Three times a day to start.”
“Three times a day? He has school and other activities.” The one thing I never wanted for Beau was to have a childhood like mine, where he would be forced to act like a miniature adult at all times. I wanted him to be a kid. A normal kid. My parents had always been too concerned with appearances, so much so they denied me and my siblings a childhood.
“There are portable nebulizers that are battery operated. Just take it with you wherever you are.” She gave a few more instructions while she administered the first treatment. “Pretty easy, right?”
Beau nodded. “It wasn’t as bad as I thought.”
“It never is,” I assured him and helped him down from the exam table so we could get moving.
“Should we bring Jana’s baby a toy?”
I smiled. “Sure buddy, let’s stop at the gift shop.”
Chapter Five
Cross
I fucking hated hospitals. The last time I was in one was when I said goodbye to my wife and child. It was the worst goddamn day of my life and showing up here every day only made it hurt more. Today there was another cause. A kid, maybe six or seven years old with inky black hair and big blue eyes hiding behind glasses with black frames way too stylish for someone so young. I’d watched him enter the waiting room and scan the whole place for a seat before he took the spot right beside me.
I held my breath, waiting for him to start talking my ear off about mundane kid things. It was mean as hell but being around kids was torture, always wondering if that was how old or how smart or funny my own kid would have been. But the kid pulled out a book and began to read.
Odd.
No matter how much I didn’t want to be bothered, I couldn’t just let a kid wander the hospital alone. “Hey kid, are you here alone?”
He looked up at me, blue eyes studying me carefully before he looked at my kutte and realized I was safe. “No. My Mom’s visiting her friend who got hurt so I came out here to read. Mom said it was okay.”
<
br /> Smart kid. When women got together nothing good ever happened. “What’s your name?”
“You can call me Beau,” he said with a wide grin.
I smirked at how adult he sounded. “Is that your name?”
“No,” he sighed, sounding annoyed as hell which amused me to no end. “It’s Rainbeau, but kids are dumb and Mom said Beau is the name of a handsome man. You have a jacket like my friend, do you know him?”
I chuckled and rubbed my neck because Beau’s questions came out like automatic fire. “What’s your friend’s name?”
“Max. Do you know him?”
“Yeah, but how do you know him?”
“He’s married to my friend Jana. Why are you looking at me like that?”
He was right, I probably looked like I’d choked on something as the details slammed into place. The black hair was shorter and not quite as wavy. They didn’t have the same eyes, hers were light green to his blue, but those rosebud lips and porcelain skin could only make him one person’s child. “You’re Moon’s kid.”
He nodded, a smile growing wide like I’d offered him free candy. “You know my Mom? She’s the best, isn’t she?”
She was something all right. “I do know her.”
Beau frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Great, the kid was as perceptive as his mother. “What makes you think something is wrong?”
“You have sad eyes and Mom says that eyes don’t lie. What’s the matter? Jana will be okay. The doctor said her vitals are strong. Hers and the baby’s.”
I blinked at his words, stunned by them. “You’re pretty smart, eh?”
“I have a good memory,” he announced with confidence but not the arrogance that often accompanied smarts. “Want me to read to you?”
“What are you reading?”
“It’s about the cosmos and blackholes. You’ll like it,” he assured me as though it were already settled. But the truth was how did anyone say no to a kid so cute and so damn grownup?
