Rush: (Retribution MC Romance) (Carolina Bad Boys Book 5)

by Rie Warren

“She has osteosarcoma.”

  He nodded, efficiently taking her pulse. “Allergies to medicine?”

  “None.”

  “Do you know her blood—”

  “Her blood type is B negative. She’s not on chemo anymore. Her name is Shiloh Lockhart, and please don’t refer to her as the patient.”

  “Sorry, sir.” The female paramedic slipped an oxygen mask over Shy’s face.

  “And we want a rape”—I laid my forehead against Shy’s hand then glanced up. I cleared my throat—“a rape kit.”

  Chapter Thirty

  Breakdown

  I’D SWITCHED GEARS THE instant Tail had placed Shy into my arms. She was the only thing that mattered.

  Not Diablo.

  That scumfuck.

  In the ambulance, I held onto Shy’s limp hand, watching as the paramedics worked over her. I answered every question they shot at me, because this time I had all Shy’s info stored in my brain.

  They checked her blood pressure.

  Took her temperature.

  Monitored her heart rate.

  She hadn’t suffered from any broken bones, but the gashes on her right leg were pretty severe, her hands were all cut up, and her stump? I winced as they started cleaning up the swollen bloody mess.

  The rape kit had to wait until we reached the hospital, and it would ultimately be Shy’s decision whether to use any possible evidence collected from it.

  I swallowed down a mouthful of stinging vomit when the medics informed me of that policy.

  And I clasped Shy’s hand harder.

  On the ride to Roper that never seemed to fucking end, the two paramedics tried to patch me up, but I brushed them off. Bruised fists and cut knuckles were nothing.

  They just needed to take care of Shy, who remained unconscious.

  By the time we reached the hospital, I was ready to jump out of my own skin. They rushed her in through the double doors with me right behind them.

  For once in my life I understood what good connections could get me. And I’d use them for Shy’s sake. As soon as a doctor appeared in scrubs to listen to her stats and look over the chart handed off from the medics, I made sure my presence was noted.

  “This is Shiloh Lockhart. Daughter of Thomas and Justine Lockhart. Local benefactors of this hospital.” I tapped on the name badge attached to doctor’s shirt. “So I suggest you give her the most expeditious care possible. And contact her oncologist, Dr. Haines, pronto.”

  The hustle was on.

  The last thing I heard was a quiet order from Hunter, who’d shown up with sirens blazing, giving the go for the rape kit.

  Turning back, he nodded solemnly at me.

  I wiped a hand across my mouth.

  I blinked up at the harsh fluorescent lights.

  I gulped back the burn in my throat.

  “Mr. Rush?” A nurse hurried to me.

  “Yeah.” I knuckled beneath my eyes.

  “You can come back as long as you stay out of the way, sir.”

  “Handsome!” Boomer called out, busting through the waiting room with Tail, Tuck, and Cole surrounding him.

  Halting at the doors of the corridor, I slid my eyes toward Shy’s gurney.

  They’d started rolling her away.

  “Can’t talk right now. They’re about to examine her.”

  Boomer’s hard hug pulled me right up to him. “Yeah. You go be with her, brother.”

  He pressed me away, and Tail clapped me on the back. “We’re waitin’ right here, man. Whatever she needs.”

  ****

  I stood in the corner of the hospital room with Hunter beside me. Every muscle in my body vibrated.

  “You in shock?” he asked.

  “No. Yeah. Dunno.”

  “You want a coffee or something?”

  “No.” I wiped my hands down my face. “I can’t stand still, man.”

  Dr. Haines barged inside, heading straight to Shy.

  Then they drew the curtains around her bed.

  “What are they doing to her, Hunter?”

  “Taking evidence. Giving her a complete exam. They’re not hurting her. And I don’t think you want the details, my man.”

  Probably not.

  But that didn’t stop my stomach from churning every time I heard the low murmuring voices from behind the drapes.

  When one of the nurses ducked her head out, she beckoned Hunter to her.

  More whispered words.

  More acid in my stomach.

  More worry about Shy.

  Returning to my side, Hunter never dropped my gaze, and his gold-toned eyes filmed over. “I’m sorry.”

  “He raped her?” I pushed Hunter back. “He raped my Shy?”

  “No!” He grabbed my arms. “Listen to me. They found abrasions and . . . residue in her mouth.”

  “I can’t fucking compute that, man.” I unlocked my clenched jaw just enough to speak. “Residue? What the shit does that mean?”

  “Semen. Oral.”

  Dropping down to my heels, I rocked back against the wall. “They used . . .” Sucking in a deep breath, I peered up. “They used Shy’s mouth?”

  Hunter crouched in front of me. “It looks like it.”

  “That’s still rape.” I jumped up. “You tell me that’s still prosecuted as rape!”

  “It is.”

  I crammed my knuckles against my mouth. “How many?”

  “We don’t know yet,” he whispered. “They’re collecting DNA, and Shy will have to answer some questions when she wakes up.”

  Kicking a table full of instruments, I barreled toward Hunter. “She has fucking cancer! Isn’t that enough?”

  He caught me in a tight bear-hold of a hug. “Yeah. It’s more than enough.”

  Sobs clawed their way out of my throat.

  “Here’s what I know, Handsome. Shiloh is strong. She’s formidable.” He pressed his forehead against mine. “Now you gotta be stronger for her because I know you’re up to it.”

  Clearing my throat, I pulled away. “Give it to me straight, like I said.”

  “Diablo’s in custody. Many others from Satan’s League too.” Hunter’s lips formed a grim line. “We’ve rounded up eye witnesses for statements, and we’ve got the DNA. Kidnapping is a felony. There’s no way any of them are walking away from this.”

  “I want to speak to the oncologist.”

  “Just a heads up, but her parents will be here in forty minutes. They’re traveling from Hilton Head, and you have no rights after that. At least not until Shy wakes up.”

  “I’ll deal with that when it happens. Right now I just . . . I need to make sure her leg’s okay.” I took in a deep shuddering breath.

  Nodding, Hunter swung around the curtained partition. He ducked back out a moment later, followed by Dr. Haines who pulled off her gloves and tossed them into the bin.

  “I’m so sorry, Max.” She squeezed my arm.

  Any more sympathy for me and I might just lose my shit altogether.

  “It’s not about me, is it?” Rolling my neck and shoulders, I tried to get my anger under control. “Tell me about Shy’s wounds. What does this mean for her leg?”

  “Hey, Handsome?” Hunter interrupted. “Listen, I’m gonna go update the guys—just tell them she’s stable—if that’s okay?”

  As soon as he left, Dr. Haines put on her getting-down-to-business face. That face never meant good news.

  My heart thumped again in my chest.

  “Well, we have other problems to worry about now,” she said.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Drowning

  MY PULSE STARTED BEATING sluggishly.

  “The damage to Shiloh’s left knee is considerable.” Grasping the ends of her stethoscope, Dr. Haines looked me dead in the eye. “I’m not sure we can save it.”

  I slumped into a chair as her prognosis sent another wave of despair through me.

  “Max.” Talking softly, she touched my shoulder. “We’ll do everything
in our power to make sure we don’t have to take her knee. Everything.”

  My voice dry and rusty, I managed to say, “Okay.”

  But it wasn’t okay. Nothing about this day and what Diablo had done to Shy was okay in any fucking way possible.

  “Can I . . .” My voice broke. “Can I stay with her?”

  “We need to clean her up a little more. Let us move her to a private room first and make sure she’s settled. If you want to talk to a counselor about—”

  “No.” I stood up, drawing my hands down the sides of my face. “No. It’s not about me, like I said. I’m here for Shy, however she needs me.”

  Twenty minutes passed before Haines came back for me. I’d made the guys go home—it was getting close to morning, and there was nothing more they could do.

  They’d already done a massive solid helping me get Shy back.

  I couldn’t shake the looks in their eyes—a mixture of sadness and anger and regret—the same things I felt.

  Dr. Haines opened the door to Shy’s room. “Just be here for her, okay, Max?” she cautioned before leaving.

  Shy was awake.

  Awake and bruised and pale and visibly shaken.

  I tried not to stare at her mouth—the soft lips I’d kissed so many times. The mouth that had been used. Lips Diablo and his men had violated.

  “Oh, God, Shy . . .” I hurried to her, kneeling beside the bed, framing her face with my hands.

  Her lips trembled. Her eyes filled until they were watery. “Max, I’m—”

  “Shhh, baby. I know everything. I’m here now.”

  There was nothing else I could say. No way to make her feel better. No way to erase the terrifying hours from her life or her body or her memory.

  I held her in my arms. Held her as she clung to me, crying in great gulping sobs.

  Rocked her as tears climbed to the surface of my eyes and streamed down my face.

  Shy’s gasping breaths slowed, and she rubbed her face against my shirt.

  She hiccupped and shivered, but when I tried to move her even closer to my body so I could warm her, soothe her, she shook her head beneath my chin.

  “What?” I asked, a new nagging worry settling in my stomach.

  “What they did to me—”

  “We can talk about it later.” I cupped the back of her head, trying to keep her against me.

  “No.” Shy pulled back.

  Her beautiful face was ravaged from the pain and the tears.

  And it wrecked my heart.

  “What they did. When they . . .” She twisted the sheet in a fist. “In my mouth.”

  I sucked in a thin breath, and it felt like my lungs were collapsing. “I know. I know what happened.”

  “That”—Shy uncurled her fist—“violation . . . it was . . . it’s not as bad as what they did to my leg,” she finished in a whisper, slamming her eyes shut.

  More tears leaked out.

  I thumbed away the fresh tears, keeping my own at bay. I couldn’t talk any more, though.

  “I might lose my knee.” Her eyes flashed open, ablaze with anger now. “Do you understand what that means? I’ll be even more of a burden. I’ll have even less mobility than before!”

  “We’ll deal with it if it happens,” I quietly stated, not wanting to upset her further.

  “I will,” she said.

  “Uh unh.” I shook my head fast. “No way, Shy. We will.”

  She shifted away from me. “I don’t want you to be my caretaker!”

  “Goddammit, Shy.” Rubbing the heels of my palms against my eyes, I lowered my tone. “I’m not your caretaker. Never said I was. Am I gonna be here for you? Yeah. No doubt.”

  “You don’t get it.” She folded her arms beneath her breasts.

  “So give me the skinny on it.” Then I made the mistake of looking her over.

  And I tried to stop, because feeling this sudden rush for her was so wrong right now.

  Or maybe it wasn’t. Maybe Shy needed to be convinced I wanted her. Completely as a woman.

  That I loved her. Always. Whatever happened. And I would always desire her. No matter what.

  She saw the way I was watching her, and her eyes widened for an instant. “The skinny?”

  “You’re not all that skinny, babe.”

  “I’m wearing a hospital gown, Max.” She plucked at the offending article.

  Still didn’t hide all that much.

  “Yup. So maybe I’m the one who’s sick here.”

  Her laugh was tired and emotional, but she opened her arms to me.

  I moved back against her, tenderly easing her onto her good side.

  I kissed her on the forehead, and both cheeks, and then those lips no one else could ever touch like mine did.

  She didn’t flinch when I kissed her gently.

  “Shy. Have I ever been your nurse?”

  She shook her head.

  “Ever acted like I didn’t want you because I think you’re fucking hot and smart and incredible?”

  “Noooo . . .”

  I tipped her chin up. “And you’ve helped me more than I’ve ever helped you. The stuff with the brewery. Convincing me to do it.”

  “I guess so.” She shrugged.

  “Bullshit. I know so.” I kissed her once more. “Do you love me?”

  “Yes.”

  “I love you, Shy.” Cupping the nape of her neck, I hauled her against me. “Love you so much. I’m just sorry, so goddamn sorry I didn’t get to you faster. Sorry it—” I gulped down an ocean of regret. “Sorry it happened at all.”

  I broke down, right there, in her arms.

  Imagining what had been done to her.

  Thinking it could’ve been so much worse.

  Wishing I’d killed Diablo.

  “I knew you’d come, Max,” her whispered words eased some of the torment.

  I dried my face and hers. “So no more talk about being a burden or whatever. Got it? Because I’m a mess without you, see?”

  She stroked a bandaged hand along my jaw and plucked a kiss from my lips. “Okay.”

  “You need to sleep, baby.”

  Her eyes were drowsy and drifting closed. “My parents?”

  “They’ll be here soon.”

  Shy nodded off, and a few minutes later Haines checked on her.

  She seemed satisfied with the bandages on both Shy’s legs, but added, “We’ll have to watch her progress closely before any decisions are made about more surgery.”

  I was almost asleep myself when Thomas and Justine appeared.

  I moved off the bed without disturbing Shy, and the two of them hurried to her side.

  They looked absolutely stricken, and I was sure they must’ve had the full police and medical reports.

  I’d never felt guiltier than when they turned their furious stares on me.

  “I want you out of here, Max.” Shy’s dad came at me with a heated whisper.

  I nearly caved. But I wasn’t leaving Shy. Not after what I’d just promised her.

  “I think we should talk in the hall,” I said.

  Thomas jabbed me in the chest. “I told you to leave.”

  “I’m sorry, sir, ma’am. I’m going nowhere. I love your daughter.”

  “How dare you?” Justine hissed at me. “You’ve endangered her life! Not to mention her leg and—”

  “You’re going to wake Shy up if you keep shouting at me. Please, let’s talk outside.” I opened the door, grateful when they followed me into the quiet hospital corridor.

  “You’re a bad influence, Max. You always have been. We should’ve put a stop to this . . . this thing between you and Shiloh the first time we caught wind of it.” Thomas, who was usually a southern gentleman through and through, looked like he wanted to beat my head in.

  “I’ve changed.” I wasn’t about to get dragged into my past again.

  After last night that shit was done.

  Except for making sure Diablo and his crew went to jail for a very
long time.

  “You’ve changed?” Justine asked, increasingly pissed off. “Our daughter wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for you!”

  “That’s why I’m not leaving. I intend to make up for it.” I straddled my legs wide. “Every day. So no, I’m not going anywhere. Not right now. Not tonight. And not for the rest of Shy’s life.”

  Thomas sputtered, getting ready to lay into me again.

  “You have no idea how sorry I am about what happened.” I squeezed my eyes shut as a tight knot formed in my throat. “I would kill anyone who tried to hurt her again.”

  Justine gasped.

  “I know that’s not exactly the kosher thing to say.” I looked at them with a harsh expression. “But I’m taking care of her. I love her. I may have made some mistakes in my past. And that’s it right there. My past. I paid my dues. You’re only going to alienate Shy if you try to force us apart. And I don’t want that to happen.”

  “Maybe that’s true,” Justine admitted grudgingly. “Maybe we should give you another chance.”

  “But I want you to know something, Maxwell Rush.” Mr. Lockhart aimed his steel-hard gaze at me. “If anything like this happens to Shiloh again I’ll have you killed.”

  I briefly wondered who his connections were, but figured it wasn’t an idle threat. “Fair enough.”

  “You should think about going into the law. You make a very convincing case,” he grumbled.

  ****

  Hunter gave me a lift home, and I grabbed a quick shower and a change of clothes while Shy’s parents sat with her.

  I returned with a bag for her to an uneasy truce with her folks, and Shy still asleep.

  After they left, I dragged a seat to her bedside, curled my hand around hers, and finally closed my eyes.

  I was conked out in one of those lumpy hospital chairs, a blanket tossed over me, when I felt someone flittering their fingers through my hair.

  Instantly alert, I shot up.

  “Shy?” my voice croaked out.

  Her cheeks creased with a weary smile, and her short hair was sleep-mussed.

  I helped her sit up and held a fresh cup of ice water so she could drink from the straw.

  “My mom and dad came?”

  “Yeah, baby.” I stroked a hand over her rumpled hair. “They didn’t want to wake you.”

  “They let you stay?”