“Thank you so much Donna,” he said and then let her go. “I don’t know how you did it.”
She smiled at him again. “Tatum isn’t the only one with connections.”
She had to have some pretty good connections, Jager thought, in order to convince a judge to even consider allowing him out on bail. It must have cost her a fortune. He was scared to ask.
Jagers smile faltered a little then. He swallowed hard before asking her how her daughter was doing, not knowing if he wanted to know.
Donna nodded and looked into his eyes a moment. She looped her arm through his and led him out the front doors. They got into her car and she started the engine.
“Donna,” Jager said, still waiting for an answer.
She nodded again and took a deep breath. The car pulled out of its spot and onto the street.
“When Phil told me she’d gone missing, I didn’t believe she was going to make it out of this alive. Not this time,” she said, and Jagers face fell. His brows furrowed and tears filled his eyes.
He leaned forward slowly, resting his elbows on his knees, head in his hands, trying to catch his breath. Donna turned to look at him, shocked. He was visibly shaking. The sight of this big burly biker/hitman brought to tears over her daughter. She knew he loved her and she could clearly see why Tatum loved him. The draw she was too familiar with. A bad boy who was a good man, there was nothing better.
“Before all of this, when Tatum was healthy and happy, she called me. Almost every day. She told me all about you. How she felt. How you felt. I mean, I get it. I get what you see in her. She’s amazing.”
Jager nodded.
“How lucky you are to have her.”
He lifted his head then to look at her.
“You know, first loves are great and all that, but it’s the person who can take you away from all that pain of losing your first love that really deserves the credit. The person that shows you love still exists when you thought it never could again.” She looked at Jager then, for a brief second while they were stopped at a red light. “Tatum’s an exception, isn’t she? Always proving us wrong,” she said, smiling.
Jager didn’t know what to think.
They pulled onto the street where the hospital was. After parking and walking in, Jager followed Donna in the elevator and to the hallway where all of the guys were sitting, drinking coffee, reading, and waiting. Phil was sitting against a wall next to what Jager assumed was Tatums room. When he saw them approach, he stood up and walked to hug him and his ex.
“What are you doing here? How’d you get out?” he asked and Jager simply shrugged and looked at Donna. “You did this?” Phil asked her, raising an eyebrow.
Donna just raised her eyebrows, nodded and began to walk away, not wanting to take too much credit. “Tatum was asking for him.”
Jager looked from her to Phil then, looking for answers.
“We had to wait out here. They are doing some tests now.”
“Is she ok?” Jager asked, growing impatient.
Phil hung his head and nodded. The rest of the gang noticed Jagers presence then, and began crowding around. “She’s in rough shape Jager, but not like the first day. A lot of the swelling has gone down. She’s starting to look more like herself.”
“Did they…” Jager tried to say the words but couldn’t get them out. The thought of other men forcing themselves on her made his stomach roil.
Phil shook his head. Jager could see the relief in his eyes. “Apparently Norman’s men are too classy for that. Thank God. But they did break her arm, and a few ribs.” He tapped his knuckles on his chin, trying to calm himself a bit before he continued. Donna came to stand next to him and rubbed his back. It seemed to work, Phil settled. “She took them all out herself Jager. She told Charlene that Norman came in to bring her water and she managed to get his gun and shot him. There were two others outside the room and when they came to check on what had happened, she shot them too. That’s why Norman didn’t answer his phone. They were all dead. She was alone in there with three dead bodies for a week! One of them had the cell phone. It was her that was calling us. They had her chained to a pipe by her wrists. She broke her thumb so that she could slip the cuffs. They kicked her ribs in before that. She couldn’t run. She was in and out of consciousness. I think her arm was broken before that too. A fourth guy came in on that last day and found her with the phone. When he hadn’t heard from anyone for a few days he and a couple of his guys came to check on things. He didn’t realize she had a gun until she shot him twice. The others were taken down by cops when they got there. Tatum called them before us.”
Jager remembered the phone call he’d received and the man’s voice on the other end. The door to her room opened then and everyone beside Phil, Donna and Jager went to sit. The doctor noticed Jager, being the newcomer, and reiterated the ‘family only’ rule. He nodded, not caring and having every intention of walking into that room as soon as he was out of sight.
Sugar stood then and walked over to him, his hands in his pockets looking sheepish. Jager remembered. Technically, Tatum was Sugars. Not his. He swallowed, not sure where this conversation was going to go. He attempted to speak, but Sugar held up his hands and shook his head. “Me first,” he said, and Jager relented. “You did the worst possible thing to her. Seeing you with Melanie, it broke her. She didn’t let on, but we all knew. We all saw it.”
Jager felt like he’d been slapped in the face. He looked around at his other guys whom he knew were eavesdropping. No one tried to deny it. They just all hung their heads and looked at their feet.
“We also saw how much it affected you, being away from her… If you weren’t so fucking stubborn, all of this could have been avoided.” He licked his lips and stared intently at his Authority for a minute before continuing. “The thing is, Tatum and I never…” he shook his head and then turned to look at her parents and then back at Jager. “…She wanted to make you feel the way you were making her feel. I knew the whole time. I was sick of seeing you avoid her like the plague.”
Jagers shoulders sagged with relief. “I’m going to kill you,” he said to his brother as he pulled him in for a hug. “I love you but I’m going to kill you.”
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
When he walked into the room he was expecting to see Tatum with one of those oxygen masks on. Tubes coming out of every orifice. Her face lifeless. Instead he was greeted by her sitting up in bed, tube free, clicking through her cell phone. When she noticed him, he saw her take a deep breath. It was in sync with the one he’d taken at the same time. Her eyes were black. There was a gash across her cheek bone that was held together with some tape. Her lip was busted but she smiled and she was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing from his eyes. He was frozen in the doorway staring at her. He covered his mouth with his hands, tried to reign in his emotions, but he just couldn’t stop his lip from quivering. He was such an idiot. He hurt her. Hurt himself, and for what?
Slowly, he walked over to her and buried his face on her laps. She started to cry, matching him, and wrapped her hand around his head, running her fingers through his hair. “I’m so sorry Tate. I’m so sorry. Tell me how to make this up to you. I’ll do anything.”
She laughed and then flinched. He pulled back, realizing that she was broken and not wanting to cause her more pain.
He looked into her eyes. “Please Tate. What can I do?”
She looked back at him. She’d never seen a man so undone. His eyes were red and his face looked thinner. She hated that she caused this. The tears continued to flow down her cheeks. “Just stay. For now. I’ll let you know what else you can do later,” she smiled. Sliding her bum over, she patted the bed next to her and encouraged him to sit. He obliged and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She moved slowly and laid her head on his chest. Her cast-hand slid across his stomach and buried itself under his shirt on his scars.
He savored the fe
el of her. He didn’t think he’d ever feel it again. Pressing his lips onto her hair and breathing her in. He’d never say it enough. “I’m so sorry Tate.”
Phil and Donna came in then and looked at their daughter and the criminal in bed. Phil knew he’d disagreed with their relationship in the beginning. He didn’t know how he felt about it now after everything. He debated giving them a minute, given Jagers face, his cheeks still wet with tears, despite his attempt to wipe them away once they walked in, however, he missed her too. He walked away from Donna and pulled up a chair next to Tatum.
“How you doin’ lovey?” he asked.
She smiled and both of her parents noticed that this was the calmest she’d looked since she regained consciousness. Donna looked meaningfully at Phil as if to say, ‘Do you see it too?’
“I’m good. I think I’m due for another dose of whatever is in this soon though,” she said and nodded toward the IV stuck into her hand.”
“We’ll leave you alone then. Let you get some sleep,” Donna said and Tatum didn’t pretend that she didn’t notice the look that she gave Jager. She nodded to her mom and when Jager moved to get up, she dug her fingers into his side, letting him know she wanted him to stay.
Phil and Donna waited for him at the door, but he just shrugged and smiled, flipping his hands over, palms up and then pointing at Tatums arm on his stomach. “This sucker is heavy. I don’t think I could get up even if I wanted to.”
Donna smiled back and walked out the door, blowing her daughter a kiss on the way out. Phil kept his expression blank.
When they were alone, Jager could see that she was in pain. “Why don’t you push the thing Tate? Get some of that good shit into you?” he gave her a smile.
She returned it. “It knocks me out. I don’t… I don’t want you to go. I missed you,” she said and the tears rimmed her eyes again.
He felt amazing and terrible at the same time. She was here, with him, alive, yet she’d missed him because of his stubbornness. “I promise…” he began, turning a little to look into her eyes, “I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me.”
She took a deep breath, relaxed a little and slid closer to him, flinching as she did. He reached over and took the cord with the button on the end and pushed it. Within minutes she was asleep on his chest. He carefully lowered the head of the bed a little and turned on the TV.
They stayed that way for hours. The only time Jager moved was when the nurse came in to take her blood pressure or to examine her injuries. As soon as he was done, Jager would climb right back in.
She slept more than she was awake. When night fell, Jager slid off his jacket and took off his shoes, and got under the blankets with her. He didn’t sleep much, too afraid that he’d roll and hurt her. Every few hours when she would move, flinch, or start to stir, he’d push the button so that she would get a dose of pain meds.
He gave up leaving the room when the nurses would come in to check on her throughout the night. One of them came back often, and was a little too smiley for his liking. He could tell she was hot for him, the way she’d bend over to check out Tatums chart with her ass pointed at him. He didn’t care. He began ignoring her and instead just looked at the TV after her fourth needless checkup. It pissed her off. Instead of trying to act flirty, she began stomping her feet a little harder when she walked, rolling her eyes when she thought he wasn’t looking. It almost made him laugh out loud. He’d come to realize that this was what most women were like. April definitely was. Donna was right. Tatum was different. She never did what anyone expected her to do.
As the sun began to rise, he was stroking her hair. His lip hadn’t left her forehead for some time. “I love you so much Tate it scares me,” he whispered. When she tilted her chin up to look at him, he was a little embarrassed. He thought she was still asleep.
Her eyes searched his for a moment before she said. “Isn’t that what love is supposed to do?”
He smiled back at her and leaned down and slowly, softly brushed his lips against hers. He meant only to give her a little kiss, not wanting to hurt her, but when she deepened it, he couldn’t resist. The circumstances, the place they were in, were not the ideal place to get hard, however that’s what she did to him. It didn’t take much. “You’re killing me here,” he smiled against her lips and shifted his hips, so as not to poke her or alarm any doctors that may walk in unexpectedly.
She sucked gently on his bottom lip, pulled it briefly with her teeth before she whispered against it, “I love you too.” With their lips still together, they both smiled.
“When can I break you out of here?” he asked.
She pulled back then and looked at the door behind him. When he turned, the nurse from last night was standing there with the blood pressure machine. She looked up from her clipboard then and walked in. She took in the scene and Jager and Tatum knew they’d been caught but they played it cool anyway. Jager kissed her on the forehead again before getting up and giving the nurse access to her good arm. He went to the bathroom and came back out just as the nurse was finishing up.
“When can she leave?” he asked, smiling more so at the look on Tatums face then at the nurse.
She apparently thought it was for her and smiled back, her flirty mood returning. “I’m not sure. The doctor will be in soon to check on her, but everything looks good. If I had to guess, I’d say today or tomorrow, as long as she has someone big and strong to help her out,” she winked at him.
Tatum, who had been smiling this whole time, frowned at the nurses back now. Jager laughed. “She’ll have to settle for me I suppose,” he joked, knowing that his physique was pretty remarkable.
“You’ll more than suffice,” the nurse said, smiling seductively at him before walking out of the room, not looking back at Tatum.
She stared at the doorway shocked, biting her lip. “How long are those cords to the blood pressure machine? Do you think they’ll wrap around her neck a couple of times if I needed them to?”
Jager laughed as he walked back over to her bed. He slid on his shoes and his coat.
“Where are you going?” she asked a hint of panic in her voice.
“I’m going to go check on my boys. Mom doesn’t even know I’m out. I need to brush my teeth. Get you a change of clothes for when I break you out of here later. I’ll be back soon,” he said and leaned down to kiss her on the lips. “I just saw your parents outside in the hallway.”
CHAPTER THIRTY TWO
When he came back, a couple of hours later, Tatum was just walking, albeit very slowly, out of the bathroom. Her hair was wet and the room smelled like her shampoo. Her mother walked out behind her, drying her hands in a towel. She looped her arm through her daughters and helped her over to her bed where she produced a brush out of her purse and began brushing Tatum’s hair. “She’s being released!” Donna told him with a smile. It was uncanny how similar they looked.
Jagers face lit up. He laid the bag of clothes he was carrying down on the floor by the door. Donna had apparently already brought Tatum all of the necessities. She was wearing a pair of sexy, yet comfortable looking yoga pants and a long sweater that, unfortunately for Jager, covered her ass.
“I want her to stay with me,” he said looking at the oldest woman and then at Tatum. “I want you to stay with me. May will be around to help out with the boys. I got new sheets for the bed…” he said reluctantly, remembering the last time Tatum was at his house and what the boys said about Melanie ‘sleeping over’.
Tatum smiled, as if new bed sheets would be the determining factor in whether or not he would be the one to take care of her. Such a short period of time had gone by between that night at his house and now, yet so much had happened. He was here, with her and she was going to be just fine. They were healthy and wanted to be together. Nothing else mattered.
Donna looked worried and apprehensive. “She has a hard time getting around Jager. Not that I don’t think you are capable, it’s just that…” she looked at he
r daughter, who was smiling back at her, looking entertained. “She can’t really lift her arms to wash her hair. Moving around… You know. With your kids and whatnot. Showering is a bit of a task. It’s a group effort.”
Jager knew what she was getting at, but he had his heart set on it. “It’s up to you Tate. You know the boys will be fine. Donna, you’d be more than welcome to stay as well. It’s a pretty big house. Not compared to yours, but I have a spare room.”
Tatum melted. Seeing him plead like this for her made her smile one of those dorky smiles. The kind that wouldn’t go away, no matter how hard she tried. She nearly laughed at his interpretation of a ‘spare room.’ It was an unfinished basement with a futon. Picturing Donna down there, in her expensive clothes, clutching her Hermes bag… it was pretty amusing, she thought.
She let him suffer for a minute in silence. She was an ass like that sometimes. Finally, after he began pleading with his eyes, she said, “Ya, I’m going to stay with Jager mom. It’s fine. His boys are good. I’ll be fine.”
Donna was worried, disappointed, but ultimately, her daughter was a grown woman. What could she do? So she just nodded.
CHAPTER THIRTY THREE
When the doctor came in later that afternoon, he released Tatum. Donna and Phil filled out the required paper work while Jager went to grab a wheel chair. They all headed back to Jagers house. Donna drove Tatum because the guys only had their bikes.
Jager had prepped Connor and Matthew before her arrival. They knew not to run and jump at her and they listened well. Tatum was concerned that they would be afraid of her. She knew her face was busted up pretty bad, however Connor shocked them all once again by pulling away from May and reaching out his hands for her as soon as she came in. She leaned over to him, attempted to hold him, however her ribs protested and she had to hand him back. She knew that recovery would be a challenge, but the look of rejection on his face nearly killed her. She kissed him on the head and smoothed his hair out of his eyes. “We can snuggle in a minute bud,” she said to him and winked at Matthew.
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