Need

by Sam Crescent

  “Strawberry’s my daughter.” He held Leanna’s hand tightly. “I don’t want to leave her.”

  “She will rest, and I will make sure the others know that you can come in at anytime if you’d like?” Kasey asked.

  “I can come back?”

  “Yes. You can come and sit with her.”

  “I want to be with her. I don’t want to leave her alone.” He kissed Leanna’s hand. “Can I let one of the guys stay with her until I get back?”

  Kasey nodded. “I will handle it.”

  “Okay. Okay. Baby, I’m going to let Daisy stay with you, and I’m going to go and talk to Strawberry, okay? She’s going to be so worried about you. Stay here, rest, and get better. We’ve got a life to plan.”

  Kissing her hand, he moved up, and pressed another kiss to her lips.

  Opening and clenching his hands, he followed Kasey out to his brothers.

  “I want someone to stay with Leanna,” Crazy said, talking directly to Duke.

  “Sure. Who do you want?”

  He looked toward Daisy. “Will you stay with her?”

  “Yes. I’ll stay with her.”

  “I’m going to go back and talk to Strawberry. Kasey will show you where to go.”

  Daisy got up, shook his hand, and slapped him on the back. “I’ll protect her.”

  He watched Daisy go, and wished it was him going to take care of his woman. He didn’t like relying on anyone else but himself.

  “I’ve got to go to Strawberry. She’ll be worried.”

  “She’s at the ranch with Mary and Holly,” Pike said.

  Exiting the hospital, he walked to his car that had been moved from the entrance of the hospital.

  “I moved it for you,” Knuckles said.

  Crazy opened the back door of the car, and saw the bloodstains on the seat. His stomach turned, and in his mind he saw Leanna struggling for breath.

  “I’m not going to the ranch.” He moved to the front of his car. “I’m going to kill Suz.”

  Climbing into the car, he rode out of the parking lot, with the brothers quickly climbing onto their bikes to follow him.

  For the second time that day, Crazy broke speed limits to get to the bitch who had tried to take his woman from him.

  ****

  “Fuck! Follow him!” Duke rushed to his bike, and straddled the machine. He followed the brother who was intent on ruining his life. Duke had killed his ex-wife when she took Holly, and almost got her killed. There was a huge difference between himself and Crazy. His woman hadn’t made a public attack on Holly.

  As far as anyone knew, his ex was off causing trouble elsewhere. There was no body that was going to be unearthed. Duke had taken care of it.

  Crazy’s woman had attacked Leanna in front of witnesses. People knew Suz, and the bitch had left a trail of evidence that would lead all the way back to Crazy. He couldn’t have his man acting out now.

  Pike moved beside him, and the rest of his men pulled up the rear. Crazy had a few minutes on them, and whatever speed limit he broke. Duke rode hard, but it wouldn’t do for him to end up dead because he didn’t drive safely. He was so fucking angry at himself. Duke should have taken the keys out of the ignition, but Knuckles had left them in. If they didn’t get there in time, Crazy was going to ruin his entire life, and Duke wasn’t going to let that happen.

  Pulling into the parking lot, he saw Crazy was already scaring the shit out of everyone. The club whores were gathered together holding each other. Slowing his bike to a stop, Duke climbed off, letting the machine fall to the floor.

  Crazy charged out of the clubhouse holding Suz around the neck. Duke saw her face was red from where he’d hit her.

  “Crazy, man, you’ve got to stop,” Duke said, getting closer.

  There was no one listening in Crazy’s mind. He dragged Suz over to the car. “You fucking see that! Her fucking blood, you fucking whore.”

  He watched as Crazy slammed her face into the blood smeared upholstery, rubbing her face in it.

  “She’s a better woman than you’ll ever be, and you nearly took her fucking away from me.” Crazy tugged Suz out and slammed her against the car.

  “I did you a favor. That fat bitch couldn’t handle you.” Suz laughed, and Duke couldn’t believe she was doing this. Crazy had lost it, and was now the man who’d earned his name.

  Crazy wrapped his fingers around Suz’s throat and squeezed tightly. Suz started to claw at his arms, but Crazy wasn’t letting go.

  “You think you can handle me. You don’t even know who you’re dealing with.”

  The sound of the sheriff’s car pulling up had Duke cursing. This wasn’t something he needed to deal with.

  “Go to the club safe. You know the combination. Get a hundred grand out. We’re going to need it,” Duke said, talking to Raoul.

  The brother left, and Duke looked behind him to see Sheriff David going for his gun.

  The women screamed as Crazy released Suz, but before the woman could catch her breath, he hauled her up by her hair, and dragged her toward the back of the clubhouse.

  “Crazy, let her go,” David, the sheriff, said, shouting.

  Crazy didn’t listen.

  “What the fuck is going on?” David asked.

  “Suz shot and almost killed Crazy’s woman. Leanna, the babysitter at the apartment block?”

  “I know who she is.”

  “She’s in the hospital, and it’s bad,” Duke said.

  “I can’t look the other way, Duke. There are witnesses, and I’ve already taken their statements. The gunshot wound has been reported in the hospital. I can’t just make it go away.”

  Duke cursed. “What if Crazy doesn’t kill Suz? I get him to stop, no charges brought to Crazy?”

  “Suz got roughed up by her drug dealers. I can write that down. Most of the witnesses stated that Suz looked high. Get him to stop, Duke. I can’t do much more.”

  “Follow me.” Duke moved toward Crazy, who was shouting once again.

  Suz was on the floor kneeling, and it looked like she finally realized the dire situation that she was in. Tears were falling from her eyes, along with snot. She looked a mess. Crazy had a gun pointed to her head, and his finger was pressing against the trigger.

  “Crazy, stop!”

  Crazy hesitated, and glanced back at him.

  “She’s got to die, Duke. She’s a problem, and I know how to deal with problems.”

  “There were witnesses, Crazy. She’s going down, and she will go to prison.”

  “I don’t believe in prison. Bitches like her will get parole. They all get parole.” He pressed the barrel of the gun against her head. “She needs to die.”

  “You die, and who is going to look after Strawberry?”

  “She’ll go to Leanna.”

  “No, she won’t. Leanna doesn’t have a claim to her. She’ll be put in the system, and we’ll struggle to get her back. Leanna will be alone. You’ll have lost everything. Put the gun away, and think, Crazy. Today, you can’t win. No one can win today if you fire that gun. You put it away, and Suz goes away. You’ll go and hold your little girl, and then visit Leanna. She needs you. How do you think she’ll feel when she wakes up, and discovers you’re gone?” Duke asked.

  “Stop it.”

  “You know I’m right. Think about yourself, your loved ones, and the club. The Trojans will live to fight another day.” He brought the Trojans up for Crazy to realize that Duke already had another plan.

  Crazy looked behind him again. “What?”

  “We’re the Trojans MC. We live to fight another day, and to know when to put the guns down.”

  They were named Trojans for a reason. They had a way of getting the job done in other ways. The club had contacts, including Diaz, who knew how to get drugs and shit into prisons. Suz’s days would be numbered, and it wouldn’t fall back on the club.

  “You promise?”

  “My word.”

  Crazy released the gun and h
eld it out for Duke. “Take her, Sheriff.”

  The next couple of minutes saw Suz screaming and begging for the sheriff to let her go, offering her body in exchange for freedom. Once Suz was in the backseat, cuffed, and restrained, Sheriff David walked back to them. Duke took the money from Raoul, and handed it to David. “Thank you.”

  David pocketed the money, and took the problem away with him.

  “I want her dead.”

  “She’ll be dead, but give it a couple of months of her in prison.”

  He’d do what needed to be done to keep Crazy’s ass out of jail.

  Chapter Eleven

  Crazy washed and cleaned up at the clubhouse. His hands were shaking, but he started to calm down. It had taken a long time to get over the anger. When he saw Strawberry, he didn’t want to have any remains of the anger.

  Walking down to the main part of the club, he saw the brothers waiting for him.

  “Thank you,” he said, talking to Duke.

  “You’re welcome. We have to know when to walk away and when to stay and fight.”

  “Why did you stop me? You killed your ex?”

  “I didn’t have witnesses to silence. Suz did everything where there were adult and children witnesses. I don’t kill or silence kids, Crazy. I’m a bad guy, but I’m not a monster. I’ll never kill kids.”

  Crazy nodded. “I couldn’t kill kids.” Running a hand down his face, he chuckled. “I can’t even begin to believe the kind of shit I’m going through right now. I’m going to see my kid.”

  He walked outside and straddled his bike, but he didn’t start it up right away. Staring at the car, he nodded toward it. “Get the prospects to clean it, change the interior. I’ll pay for all the work to be done.”

  Duke shouted the order, and Crazy didn’t stay behind to hear what had to be said. He started making his way toward the ranch where Holly and Duke lived with their children. The open road didn’t calm him down.

  He was in turmoil, and he wanted his woman back in his arms. The sound of bikes pulling up behind him didn’t cheer him up. Crazy shouldn’t be driving to his daughter to tell her that Leanna was okay, and then to the hospital. They should be celebrating.

  Fight another day.

  Don’t let Suz win.

  If he shot Suz then he was fucked no matter what the club did. He couldn’t make Suz disappear when there were enough witnesses to say that they had seen the Trojans holding her.

  Riding down the long road to the ranch, he parked his bike, and ran up the steps. Holly was opening the door as he lifted his hand to knock.

  “Is she okay?” Holly asked.

  “She’s stable at the moment but critical.”

  Holly wrapped her arms around him. “Anything we can do, let me know. We’ll do whatever we can.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate it.”

  “Strawberry’s in the kitchen with Mary and Matthew. We had to distract her. She was worried.”

  “I can imagine.”

  He walked past Holly and went straight to the kitchen. His daughter was standing on a stool, mixing something in a bowl. Mary had on a small television that was showing them how to make cupcakes. Leaning against the door, Crazy took a breath. The small sound alerted his daughter, and Strawberry dropped the bowl, and rushed toward him.

  “Daddy!” She screamed his name and rushed to his side.

  Bending down, he picked her up in his arms, and held her close to him. “I’ve got you, honey.”

  Mary picked up the bowl and started to clean up the mess Strawberry had made by dropping the bowl.

  “I’m sorry,” he said.

  She held her hand up. “Don’t even think of apologizing.”

  He nodded, and tears filled his eyes, which he forced down. He wasn’t going to let this happen again. Crying wasn’t going to resolve anything.

  “How is Leanna?”

  “She’s good, honey. She’s going to need you to be a big girl though. Do you think you can do that for me?” he asked.

  “I want to see her.”

  “Not today. She’s very tired today. You’re going to stay with Mary and Holly for a little while.”

  “But, Daddy!”

  “No, honey. We’ve both got to be strong for her. We need to work together so Leanna can come home to us. Please, Strawberry.”

  “Mommy’s mean.”

  “I know, but we don’t need to worry about Mommy anymore. Don’t think about her, okay? She’s been naughty, and we can’t help people who have been naughty.”

  “Okay, Daddy.”

  He held Strawberry close. Kissing her cheek, he picked her up, and looked at Mary. “Will you take care of her for me?”

  “Of course. Holly and I will do it.”

  “We’ll be glad to.”

  “I may need you to get some things from Leanna’s apartment. I don’t know when she’ll be out of the hospital. I put an offer in on the house, and I’ve got that to deal with.”

  “We’re all here for you. Duke will take over the purchase of your house. You’ve got the whole of the club on your side, Crazy,” Holly said. “Tell us what you need.”

  “Thank you.” He gave Strawberry a big squeeze. “Be a big girl for me, okay, and I will let you see Leanna the moment she’s not tired anymore.”

  “Okay.”

  It was going to cost him a lot of presents.

  A couple of minutes later he was leaving the ranch and riding toward the hospital. Parking his bike, he made his way to Leanna’s room, and found Daisy was playing on his phone when he entered. The moment he was at the door, Daisy was ready to spring into action.

  “How has she been?” Crazy asked.

  “No change. That nurse who showed me to the room has been in twice to check on her vitals, and said it looks good.”

  “Thank you, Daisy.”

  “No problem. I like Leanna.” Daisy got to his feet. “Do you need me to stay?”

  “No. I’ve got it from here. You can go back to the clubhouse.”

  “We’re here if you need us.”

  “Thank you.” Crazy took the seat that Daisy had been sitting in. He was tired, and in need of some rest.

  Rubbing his eyes, he moved the chair to Leanna’s side, taking hold of her hand. He grabbed the remote, and aimed it up at the television. Listening to those damn machines was going to send him to an early grave, and he wasn’t interested in going to an early grave.

  He had a lot of plans.

  Watching the television, he sat through a crime drama, and then a supernatural one about vampires. Kasey brought him some food after she checked Leanna’s vitals.

  “I’m clocking off shift in ten minutes. I’ve left notes for the nurse who’ll take over.” She gave him a smile. “Leanna’s holding in there, I promise. She’s strong.”

  “I know she is.”

  “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  He ate the food, and rested his head on the bed, watching the television. The hours passed, and it wasn’t long before sleep claimed him.

  Crazy didn’t know how long he’d been asleep before he was woken up by Leanna’s hand moving.

  Jerking up, he looked at his woman, and stared into her beautiful brown eyes. Leanna was staring at him, and Crazy’s heart raced.

  “Hey, baby.”

  She wasn’t waking up so well, and her hand went to the pipe in her mouth. Slamming his hand on the alarm, he shouted for good measure.

  “Leanna, baby, calm down. You can’t tear it out.”

  He tried to get her hands, but she was fighting it.

  Two nurses rushed in, and he watched them taking over, removing the pipe from her mouth.

  Leanna took a deep breath, choking.

  “Leanna, you need to calm down. You’ve had surgery, and we need you to relax so you don’t break your stitches.”

  The nurses started talking, and Leanna’s eyes were panicked.

  “Crazy?” She called his name, and it was in a croak.

  Moving the
nurse out of the way, he took Leanna’s hand, kissing her.

  “I’m here, baby. I’m here, and I’m not going away.”

  The nurses started checking her vitals and noting down their findings.

  “We need to get the doctor.”

  “Water,” Leanna said.

  Grabbing the pitcher, he poured some water into the glass, and pressed the straw to her lips. She took a sip, and winced.

  “I hurt.”

  “You’re alive.”

  “I remember what happened,” she said. Her voice sounded raw as if she’d been screaming. Leanna tightened her hand around his. “You saved me.”

  “I got you here. The nurses and doctors saved you.”

  “Thank you. I didn’t want to die. I don’t want to die.”

  He held her hand a little tighter. “I’m not going to let you die, baby. We’re here, and we’re together.”

  She nodded, wincing again. “It hurts.”

  “Rest.”

  Leaning up, he kissed her lips, holding her hand. “I’m not going anywhere, and you need to be strong for Strawberry.”

  “How is she?”

  “I will tell you everything when you’re ready. Strawberry’s fine. Everything is fine. We all need you to get stronger.”

  Leanna nodded. “Stronger. I can do stronger.”

  He chuckled, and for the first time in twenty-four hours, he really believed everything was going to be okay.

  ****

  “Are you okay?” Maria asked.

  Daisy turned toward his bed, surprised to see Maria sitting there. He’d not seen her when he entered the clubhouse.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “I heard what was going on. I was worried.”

  “Where’s Beth?” He’d not been to see his sister, and he was worried about her. Suz shooting Leanna had put the club on edge. Duke had updated him on what happened. He was surprised that Crazy was able to hold back. He was a better man than all of them. None of them would have ever been able to hold back, and yet Crazy had.

  “She’s in her room. Beth knows what happened but said that we were to stay out of the way.”

  He had a towel wrapped around his waist, and the very sight of Maria had set his cock from flaccid to hard.

  “Why are you here?” he asked.

  Maria’s cheeks were red, and she stared down at her lap. “I know you’re not a monster. You pretend you are, but we know you’re not.”