Broken: a bad boy romance novel

by London Casey

  My whole body started to shiver with a cold fear.

  Hudson fell to his knees next to me.

  “Hey, sweetheart,” he said. “Don’t look. Don’t worry. It’s just you and me here.”

  “Fuck me,” Cash said. “I’m so sorry. I tried to grab the gun. Oh, fuck me.”

  Cash put the towels to my stomach area.

  The funny thing was, I didn't feel pain.

  I just felt intense heat in my belly and intense cold everywhere else.

  “Hudson,” I said in a whisper. “What…”

  He lowered his head down to mine. “Don’t talk, sweetheart. Just breathe. I’ll make this right. I’ll fix this.”

  I saw Hudson look at Cash. The look on his face I’d never forget. The worry. The concern.

  I guess I got shot really good.

  Whatever that meant.

  Was there a good way to get shot? A bad way?

  I forced my right hand to grab onto Hudson.

  “Hudson…”

  “Sweetheart,” he said, looking down at me again.

  “Thank you.”

  “For what?”

  “Making me…feel alive again.”

  “You’ve got plenty of life to live still,” Hudson said. “Close your eyes. Deep breaths. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

  I shut my eyes.

  “Bro, this is my fault,” Cash said. “I hit him and I thought I could grab the gun…”

  “No, Cash,” Hudson said. “This is my fault. I brought her into this fucking mess. And now I’m going to lose her.”

  I wanted to tell Hudson he was wrong. He wasn’t going to lose me.

  He couldn’t lose me. We couldn’t lose each other.

  I really wanted to tell Hudson that.

  But I couldn’t.

  The dark canyon was there again.

  Except now…the voices were fading…

  28

  HUDSON

  I made it very clear I wasn’t leaving the hospital.

  Cora had been immediately rushed to the emergency room and taken away. I pestered every person I could find until I got word that she was being taken into emergency surgery. That doctors weren’t sure where the bullet had stopped and what damage was done.

  So that left me pacing every hall and through corridors with vending machines, coffee machines, TVs blaring the news and stock market information, only to circle back through. I stopped at a large window near a set of elevators and looked out to the world below.

  Cash was with me. A great brother.

  He came around the hallway carrying two coffees.

  “Hudson,” he said. “Drink up.”

  I took the coffee and put it on the windowsill.

  “Any word?” Cash asked.

  “No,” I said. “It’ll be a while, I’m sure.”

  “We’re all here for you,” Cash said. “Damn near the whole table is in the waiting room for you. Looks like a biker convention down there, brother. You should see security. Passing by every two seconds, waiting for something to happen.”

  “That means a lot.”

  “Yeah, but that’s not it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Right on cue, the elevators dinged and opened.

  There stood Prez, with Villie and Miller.

  I turned to face the music.

  “How is she?” Prez asked as he hugged me.

  “Surgery,” I said. “David shot her.”

  “Fuck, my man,” Villie said. He hugged me next. “I’m so sorry.”

  Then came Miller. He squeezed tight. “I’m sure your old lady will pull through. Takes a strong woman to take on a biker.”

  We then stood there—me, the three charter Presidents, and Cash.

  “Look, I know you’re not here to wait for Cora,” I said. “Get down to business.”

  “The leg,” Villie said. “It’s always about the leg.”

  “So go vote,” I said.

  “Where are you at, brother?” Miller asked.

  “I’m in a hospital waiting to find out if the woman I love is going to die. A woman that did all she could to save my leg and my cut, okay? She didn’t deserve this. She didn’t ask for this. I’ve done all I could. It’s up to you now.”

  “You need to ride, brother,” Villie said. “Rules…”

  “I came here in my truck, and I’ll leave here in my truck,” I said.

  “Jesus, Hudson,” Prez said.

  “I’m not talking about it anymore. You got David, right?”

  “Yeah,” Prez said. “Garvan and Bryant came to get him. Luckily, Cash didn’t break anything on him. They’re going to make sure they get what they want from him.”

  “Good,” I said. “So it’s all over now. That’s really good. The club needs a break. A chance to reset and figure out what’s next.”

  “Well, you know what’s next,” Villie said. “The three of us are going to sit and make a decision. I’ve stalled the other charters.”

  “So have I,” Miller said. “We can’t let too much word get out about a table member being unable to ride. That shit looks bad on the club and makes us look weak to our enemies.”

  “But the fucking guy took care of business,” Cash cut in. “You all understand that, right? He made sure to be there for everything. He tied Aaron to David. He settled up with the Irish. He saved his woman. And he made sure David was delivered to the Irish. What more do you want?”

  “My ass on a motorcycle,” I said.

  Prez nodded. He offered his hand to me, and I shook it.

  I had nothing to say to Villie or Miller, though.

  The three of them got back into an elevator. I turned and faced the window again.

  Did I care? Fuck yeah, I cared. The MC was my life. It was my home.

  But my heart swelled for Cora in a way I never thought I could feel.

  “Bro,” Cash said.

  “No,” I said. “I’m not talking about anything.”

  “You’ve got company.”

  I looked to my left, and in came Dr. Derrick.

  “Ah, fuck,” I said.

  He looked fierce. He looked tired. He looked pissed off.

  I stepped into the middle of the hallway.

  Derrick walked right to me. I saw the look in his eyes, and I knew I was going to get hit. He came across with a left hook that caught me in the jaw. He didn’t have a strong punch, but he followed it up with a second and third one.

  That’s when I had to defend myself.

  I grabbed Derrick by his white coat, turned him, and put him against the wall.

  “You asshole!” he yelled at me.

  I threw a punch to his gut. He cried out and bent over. I brought my knee up to his mouth and put him on the ground.

  Derrick then took a cheap shot and kicked me in the balls. I went down to my hands and knees. Pain shot through my left leg. I looked at him as he wiped blood from his nose.

  “You almost got her killed,” Derrick said.

  “Wait, she’s alive?”

  “She’s out of surgery, you fucking prick.”

  “Surgery…the bullet…”

  “I took it out of her,” Derrick said.

  “You operated on Cora?”

  “I’m a fucking doctor, man.”

  “I didn’t know you were a surgeon.”

  “Jack of all trades in this place,” Derrick said.

  I got to my feet. I stuck my hand out and helped Derrick up.

  “You hit like a girl,” I said.

  “Fuck you. My hands took a bullet out of her. You know damn well that means more than whatever you do for her.”

  I gritted my teeth. “How is she?”

  “She’s in recovery,” Derrick said. “Bullet missed some vital organs by an inch. Lots of tissue and muscle damage, but nothing that won’t heal. Looks like she’s out of the worst of it. She just needs to rest and heal.”

  “When can I see her?”

  “Whenever you want. That’
s what I was coming to tell you.”

  “You threw the first punch.”

  “That was long overdue,” Derrick said.

  “She doesn’t love you, Doc,” I said. “I didn’t do anything wrong by you.”

  “You got her shot,” Derrick snapped. “Think about that. You took her good life and fucking destroyed it. She’ll never be the same because of you. And at the end of the day, no matter what, I saved her. I took the bullet out of her. I stitched her up. You’re worth nothing to her, Hudson.”

  That’s when Cash stepped in.

  He grabbed Derrick by his shirt and yanked him, then turned and threw him.

  “Get out of here!” Cash yelled.

  Derrick stumbled. He turned, his white coat flapping behind him, and pointed at me. “You know I’m right, Hudson. You know I’m right!”

  Derrick stomped away, leaving me standing there, listening to my own breathing.

  “Fuck that guy,” Cash said.

  “He’s right,” I said. “Everything he said.”

  “No,” Cash said. “Go see Cora. Do the right thing.”

  Do the right thing.

  I nodded.

  “Yeah, I’ll do the right thing, Cash.”

  I walked away from Cash, knowing what had to be done.

  It was time to say goodbye…to everything.

  The room was dark and quiet. Machines beeping. Cora in the bed, eyes shut. She looked like she was just sleeping. Full of color. She didn’t look hurt or sick or damaged. I stood at the side of the bed and felt my heart squeeze. My eyes filled with tears.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whispered to her. “You should have never been tied up with any of that.”

  I touched her arm and crouched down.

  There were so many words racing through my mind. I couldn’t collect them all. I couldn’t make sense of anything.

  I was only able to crouch for a minute before the pain overtook my leg again. I had to stand, and that really pissed me off. I looked down and looked at my leather cut. That’s when I took it off. I held it up and stared at the logo on the back.

  What that meant to me.

  Back Down Devil MC.

  The only family I ever knew. The family that accepted me and loved me. The rules of the MC were sometimes outdated and annoying, but they were rules. They were the foundation of what the club became, and they would guide the club through anything.

  And this rule…this one was right.

  I couldn’t represent the club without my ride. Without knowing I could protect myself or my brothers. And the same for my brothers. They needed to know I was able to stand next to them and fight.

  I put the leather cut on the end of the bed.

  The bed now held my two loves.

  My club. My woman.

  I feared I was going to lose both.

  “I need to take a ride,” I said to Cora’s still body. “You keep my cut, sweetheart. You don’t understand what it means to me. You. The club. This life. You saved me, Cora. I want to spend the rest of my life thanking you for that. If you don’t make it through this, I’ll always love you. I’ll cherish the time we had. For now, I’ll give you space to heal. To recover. To understand that this is my life, and this is the life you’re in. Even if I lose my cut and the club, this is my life, sweetheart. And I did this to you. I fucking did this to you.”

  I sucked in a breath.

  I blinked fast.

  I didn’t do the whole crying thing, but Cora had unlocked some deep emotions in me.

  I left the hospital room and made a beeline for the elevators.

  This was a time when I needed to ride. I needed my two wheels. My thundering engine. The road. To clear my fucking head and my heart.

  Instead, I climbed up into my truck.

  I sat there, the emotion from the hospital room turning into anger.

  Then I left.

  I left everything in the rearview mirror.

  I had to.

  But what I didn’t know was that I wasn’t alone.

  29

  CORA

  My eyes opened.

  There was no dreaming. No voices. No feelings. It was like the deepest sleep I’d ever had in my life. And as quick as it came, it ended. There was so much silence at first that I thought I was dead. But my eyes were clear. I looked around and knew I was in a hospital room.

  I had survived.

  I moved my hands and wiggled my toes.

  I also tried to move my body, but that was a big no-no. A surge of pain came from the left side of my body. That’s when it all rushed back to me.

  David. The gun. Cash. Fighting. Hudson. Screaming. The gun going off. Me on the floor. The darkness, that canyon of darkness. The voices echoing. Then, nothing.

  I shut my eyes and chased it away.

  I was confused and groggy, coming off the anesthesia.

  When I opened my eyes again, I saw the leather cut at the end of the bed.

  A Back Down Devil MC leather cut.

  I shook my head. “What…?”

  The door to the room opened.

  “You’re awake.”

  I turned my head. “Derrick?”

  “Hey, Cora. Yeah, it’s me. I’m…” Derrick stopped and looked at the leather cut. “Was he here?”

  “Not that I remember,” I said. “That’s his though…wait, you look beat-up.”

  “You should see the other guy,” Derrick said.

  “What happened to you?”

  Derrick pulled up a chair and sat down. He smiled. “Cora, you were shot.”

  “I know.”

  “My team and I got the bullet out. You were lucky with it. No organ damage, okay? You’re going to be sore, and I’m going to check on you ‘round the clock. I promise.”

  “Who punched you?”

  “Hudson,” he said.

  “What?”

  “I lost it. After the surgery, I went to see him. I threw the first punch. I couldn’t hold back. He put you in danger, Cora. You could have died. I…”

  “It wasn’t his fault.”

  “How could you say that? How could you defend someone like that? A criminal.”

  “You know nothing about me,” I said. “You never will.”

  “I love you, Cora,” Derrick said. “You don’t need that kind of life. I can give you a better one. I saved your life.”

  “You didn’t save my life, Derrick. Hudson did. You just did your job as a surgeon. Now please, leave.”

  Derrick stood up. He curled his lip. “So that’s how it goes?”

  “There was never anything between us, Derrick. I’m sorry. You know I love him.”

  “He almost got you killed,” he said. “And what’s this leather thing doing here? Is this him sending you a message?”

  I looked at the leather cut. I didn’t know much about the life of an outlaw, but I knew that not wearing the leather cut was a bad thing. Either a sign of disrespect to the club, or maybe the club voted…

  I gasped. “No.”

  “What?” Derrick asked.

  “You want to do me a favor?”

  “I don’t know, Cora.”

  “I need to see him,” I said. “I need to see Hudson right now. Please find him. Before he ends up getting hurt.”

  “Give me one reason why I should.”

  “If you don’t, I’m going to walk out of this hospital myself.”

  “You can’t stand.”

  “Just help me,” I tried to yell.

  The hospital door opened again, and in came Cash.

  I was never so relieved to him before.

  “Cash,” I said.

  “Aw, shit, babe,” Cash said. “Look at you.”

  “Cash, Hudson left his leather cut here and took off.”

  “What?” Cash asked.

  “This can’t be for real,” Derrick said.

  “Hey, Doc,” Cash said. “You want another punch to the mug?”

  Derrick stiffened and looked afraid.

&nb
sp; “Cash, please,” I said. “Please help him.”

  Cash nodded. “I will, babe. Just so you know, they’re voting right now. The three Presidents.”

  “Just find Hudson. Tell him I’m awake. Tell him I love him. I’m not mad at him. I need him.”

  “Okay,” Cash said. “I promise. He’ll be here soon.”

  Cash turned, and with just one look at Derrick, he moved him out of the room.

  I was alone again.

  Staring at a leather cut that belonged to the man I loved.

  My head rested against the pillow.

  I shut my eyes.

  I cried.

  30

  HUDSON

  The motorcycle came out of nowhere. The horizon had a funny way of fucking with your eyes. One second, I was in my truck, and the next, there was a motorcycle sitting in the middle of the road. The rider stood there, smoking a cigarette, not a care in the world that a massive pickup truck was flying right at him.

  I slammed the brakes, cut the wheel, and managed to keep from killing him.

  When I threw my door open, ready to fight this asshole, I realized it was Cash.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” I yelled.

  “I could ask you the same,” he said.

  “What?”

  “You took your cut off? You left it on the bed? She’s asking for you, man.”

  “She’s awake?”

  Cash nodded. “She’s waiting. And you’re here. Fucking around. Driving around. What the fuck, Hudson?”

  “You know damn well Prez, Miller, and Villie are going to vote my ass out.”

  “So that’s what you do? You give up?”

  “I’m not giving up,” I yelled. I lifted my left leg, fighting pain. “Look at me.”

  “Yeah, look at you. Didn’t know your dick fell off and you grew a pussy.”

  “Fuck off, Cash.”

  “I’m here to save you,” he said.

  “Save me?”

  He nodded. “You can’t give up on everything, brother. I know this shit is hard. You need to walk up to that table and grab Prez his ugly mug and tell him you belong there. And then you need to walk up to your lady and kiss her.”