Eye for an eye (The Nighthawks MC Book 5)

by Bella Knight

  “Good names,” said the midwife. “Now, put Luka to your breast. He is hungry baby.” She was right; Luka snuffled into her left breast, and soon caught on and sucked.

  “Good boy,” said Gregory, stroking his son’s head.

  “Now, get doctor,” said the midwife. “Is about to get very messy.”

  Ivy pressed the call button. “Need an OB-GYN in this room,” she said. “A visitor just gave birth to twins.”

  Ivy stuck her head out the door. “Katya just had twins. Some doctors and nurses…”

  A nurse rushed up. “ID, please,” said Herja. The nurse held up her ID, which read “Simmons.” “Go on in, Simmons," said Herja. She was a wide woman; Ivy stepped back.

  “Oh my God,” she said. “I’ll get Doctor Yan.”

  Another nurse stuck her head in. “Who are you? You don’t have privileges here.”

  Ivy stepped forward, forcing her to step back. “First of all, the midwife arrived two minutes before the baby did. Second of all, you aren’t permitted in this room.”

  Doctor Yan came rushing down the hallway in mauve scrubs with little blue storks on them; her black braid bobbing on her back. “Where’s the patient?” she said.

  “All three of them are here,” said Ivy, letting the doctor in and shutting the door in the gaping nurse’s face.

  “I see that,” said Doctor Yan, taking off her stethoscope, “and who do we have here?” She turned toward the wide nurse. “Get me sheets, now, and a basin.” The nurse ran out to comply.

  “This is Ivan, at my right breast,” said Katya. “And Luka is the pig at my left breast.” Gregory had propped pillows under his wife’s arms so she didn’t have to support the weight of the babies.

  “Came out hungry, didn’t they?” asked Doctor Yan. He said, “Apgar 5 on Ivan.” She circled around the midwife, who was massaging the little of Katya’s stomach she could reach. “Apgar 5 on little Luka, too.” She checked Katya’s vitals. “Hi, Mom. I’m Doctor Yan. These came fast?”

  “I barely walk in door, and babies here,” said Katrina. “I am Katrina Tsmova. I am a licensed midwife in Las Vegas. And proud mama is Katya and proud papa is Gregory.”

  “This your first one?” asked Doctor Yan. The nurse rushed in with a rubber mat and basin. The midwife took first the mat, then the basin, and positioned them between Katya’s legs. Nurse Simmons left the room.

  “No, I have a daughter, Elena. She is nine. A good girl.”

  “An amazing girl,” said Gregory. “She’ll be so sad she’s missing this.”

  Ivy was back over next to the still-sleeping Lily. “I’ll call one of ours, or a Valkyrie, to get her here,” said Ivy.

  “No,” said Katya. “We go home tonight.” She looked at Ivy. “You carry heavy burden.”

  “No,” said Ivy. “For my sister, it is never a heavy burden.” They smiled at one another.

  “You just had twins,” said Doctor Yan, as the afterbirth came out and Nurse Simmons wheeled in two bassinets. “So, let’s not be in a hurry to go just yet. Let’s get these babies weighed and cleaned up. Gregory, do you want to cut the cords?”

  “Yes,” he said. He cut each cord carefully. “I’ll go with them,” said Gregory.

  “We’ve got Katya,” said Ivy.

  “You don’t…” said Doctor Yan.

  “Some of ours were shot today,” said Ivy. “The babies and the mom will be watched like hawks at all times, by our people,” said Ivy. “No exceptions, not even for a millisecond.”

  “Are you Russian mob?” asked the nurse.

  “Patricia!” said the doctor, glaring at her.

  “No, is valid question,” said Katya, as Gregory took the cord and Ivy snapped pictures. “We are part of motorcycle club, called the Nighthawks. Some bad people try to kill Ivy here and shoot Ace. And shoot poor Lily here, and she lost her baby just today. They help bring down terrible woman from cartel with Polizia. Now bad people very angry, want to kill us.”

  “I see,” said the doctor. “Do you want me to call the police?”

  “Already spoke to them,” said Ivy. “Sheriff Xenia was already here and left.”

  Doctor Yan stood. “That idiot Avery come by?”

  “Already being taken care of. I called a lawyer. He drew a gun on me, right in this hospital, on camera.”

  The doctor stared at her. “I take it you weren’t pointing one at him?” She carefully lifted a baby and put him in the bassinet. She wrote “Luka” on the side on a blue card.

  “Nope,” said Ivy. “I called Eddie Flores.”

  Doctor Yan put Ivan in his bassinet as she barked out a laugh. “That idiot pulled a gun on Eddie when he was walking a Hispanic down the street… with his two kids nearby.”

  “Ugh,” said Ivy. “Eddie said he’d review the tape and press charges soon.”

  “Good,” said Doctor Yan. “Now, let’s do a quick weigh on the babies. If you feel well enough, you can take a shower. Or, Daddy can do a sponge bath. Oops, forgot Daddy was coming with us.”

  The nurse, doctor, and Gregory took the babies to be weighed and cleaned while the midwife and Ivy got Katya into the shower. There was a seat in the shower. Katya sent away the midwife and stripped, and Ivy helped Katya to wash. Ivy found more towels, and dried herself and Katya, then got Katya into another maternity nightgown.

  By the time Ivy redressed herself and walked out, there was a special maternity bed in the room. The midwife helped Ivy get Katya into the bed and situated, then a hospital vampire took blood. The babies were rolled back in, and Gregory helped Katya feed them again. They were squalling with hunger. Doctor Yan did a quick check on Katya, the midwife said goodbye, and Ivy went over to hold Lily’s hand once more. She found another ugly pink chair, the first one having vanished. She sat down for the long haul. She ordered a cot from a nurse.

  “For Daddy?” the nurse asked.

  “For me,” said Ivy. “I’m not going anywhere.”

  They got a call from Herja. Ace was out of surgery. They had him in a recovery room, still out cold. Devastator was watching him.

  It was getting dark when Gregory came in with two, tiny, baby carriers, the kind that clicked into car seat bases, and put the sleeping babies into them. Ivy went over and kissed their little heads.

  “So proud of you, brother,” said Ivy to Gregory, and held his middle as he balanced one baby in each carrier in each huge hand.

  “What am I, the liver chopped?” asked Katya. Ivy kissed her cheeks and hugged her, too.

  Doctor Yan checked Katya out one last time, and a nurse came with a wheelchair to wheel her away. There was a Valkyrie just outside the door, chatting with Herja. Placed to walk them to their car and lead the way. She was tall and blonde, with blue on the tips of her hair. An Iron Knight was there as well. He was stocky and a full head shorter than her, with a mane of blue-black hair. Ivy waved goodbye as they all headed toward the elevator.

  “That’s Goll and her husband, Tumult. She’ll ride ahead and he’ll ride behind,” said Herja.

  “Awesome,” said Ivy. “Can someone get me some sandwiches or cheese sticks or something? I need to eat.”

  “Coke,” said Herja.

  “Fuckin’ A,” said Ivy.

  “I’ll call Myst. She’s got no second, so she’s the runner tonight,” said Herja.

  “Give her my thanks.” She took a twenty out of her pocket and gave it to Herja. “Tell her to get stuff until this money runs out. There’s a tiny refrigerator here and I’m sure there’s a break room somewhere with a microwave.”

  “Awesome,” said Herja.

  “And break someone over your knee if you must, but get Ace in here. Stupid to have two guards for one married couple.”

  “Already happening,” said Herja. “In fact, we…”

  Ivy held the door open as they wheeled in Ace. He was dead white. His shoulder had some sort of pack attached. There were a lot of wires, and three machines being pushed by three different nurses. A doctor in burgundy s
crubs followed him in and made sure everything was set up properly.

  “I’m Doctor Daniel Taim,” he said. “I’m a specialist. I drove up from Las Vegas. The bullet fragmented and, to be blunt, tore up his shoulder. He is stable and will make a full recovery, with eighty to ninety percent use of his new titanium shoulder.”

  “RoboAce,” said Ivy.

  “What?” asked the doctor.

  “His name is Ace, and now he has a robotic shoulder,” said Ivy. “I’m Ivy, the sister, and this is Lily, his wife, also shot, in the abdomen. She lost their baby, today.”

  “My God,” said Doctor Taim. “That’s horrible.”

  “Way past horrible,” said Ivy. “Her brother was killed in the shootout that got Ace here. We’ve got guards on the door because we think there are more shooters on the way.”

  “I spoke to a Sheriff Xenia…”

  “Just call her Xenia,” said Ivy. “She prefers it that way.”

  “She has the bullet fragments. She says she’s putting two and two together, and so far, comes up with four. She says six and eight aren’t far behind. What did she mean by that?”

  “That the shooters that did the shooting are dead, and we’re trying to find out who sent them.”

  “Find out fast,” said Doctor Taim. “Both my patient and that lady over there need peace and rest.”

  “Normally I wouldn’t say this, but keep them medicated,” said Ivy. “They need sleep rather than worrying over what happened, or about each other. Neither one of them will sleep if the other one is awake.”

  “Will do,” said Doctor Taim. He looked at Lily’s chart. “See a similar notation for her. Good. We’ll let them sleep. Tomorrow is early enough to deal with this.”

  “Never is early enough to deal with this,” said Ivy. “But, we deal with the cards we’re dealt.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” said Doctor Taim.

  Vigil

  They wheeled in a second cot when Numa arrived with Sonic chicken bites, mozzarella sticks, and Coke. Ivy didn’t want to eat; both Lily and Ace were so pale, unmoving. She forced her favorite food down; it tasted like sawdust to her. Ivy curled up on the cot next to Ace and held his hand, the one without the tubes running out of it, on the side away from the blasted shoulder. She stroked his hand, talked to him, told him it would be alright. She told him that Lily was fine, and so was she. Numa did the same with Lily, her voice low.

  Ivy slipped into sleep at Numa’s lullaby, a Paiute song she’d heard Numa sing before. She dreamed of desert lands and cairns of water hiding in folds of red rock. She woke up around three in the morning, and Numa was still singing. She asked to switch, and so Numa did, singing a different song over Ace while Ivy held Lily’s hand. Ivy had no idea how she managed to sleep, but this time she dreamt of hawks circling in the sun.

  Lily woke first, and Ivy held her as she cried for her brother. “He was a fuckup, you know?”

  “I know,” said Ivy.

  “Damn near pulled my hair out over him. He cost me my scholarship, did you know that? I busted my ass for my grades, and he got in a bike accident fucking around while he was drunk and high. Busted his arm in two places, his ankle. Couldn’t walk. He kept his scholarship after that one,” she said, as Ivy handed her tissues. “But I lost mine, that stupid son-of-a-bitch. He cost me two extra years in school. Stupid bastard was trying to make amends to me,” said Lily. “I would have been happy with his staying sober.”

  “I know,” said Ivy, stroking Lily’s hair.

  “He got killed,” she choked out, “because he wanted to make things right with me.”

  Ivy put her hand on the back of Lily’s neck, touched foreheads with her, and looked her in the eyes. “No, he’s dead because some coward tried to take a shot at Ace and me, and got him instead. Shot him on the back of the head. Both of the shooters are dead, now.”

  “They?” Ivy let her go and handed her tissues. “They killed my baby!” She shook with grief then. Ivy scooted over and held her as she wept for both her brother and her child.

  Unfortunately, Ace woke up when she was crying. “Lily?” he said.

  “Hush,” said Numa. “She’s alive. She got shot by the same bastards.”

  “Where?” asked Ace.

  “Gut shot,” said Numa. He stared at her, uncomprehending. “She got shot? I’ve got to go to her.”

  “Lay down, idiot,” she said. “Your shoulder must heal. You have pins and things in you. Don’t move anything. I will be your bridge.” Numa held Lily’s hand in one of hers and Ace’s in the other, as the conduit between them.

  “That’s really, horrifically bad,” said Ace, just catching on. “Our baby?”

  “Is gone,” said Numa. “I sang the songs.”

  Ace shook, tears falling from his eyes. Ivy handed Numa a wad of tissues, and Numa wiped the tears from his eyes.

  “Hush, little one,” she said. “There will be children. Your wife also lost her brother, and her grief will be terrible for some time. Cry now, and wash your grief away so you may love your wife through hers.”

  He cried for a while, as Lily’s sobs subsided. “The guys who did this?”

  “Both dead,” said Numa. “Our people hunt the rest.” She sighed. “So much pointless death.” She waved her hand. “For what? Revenge? Drugs? Money? Those things mean nothing. Fools. This is what is real. A man. A woman. Family. Friends. We will clean up the mess others have made, allowing evil people to prosper when it is obvious the last thing we need in this world is, in fact, more evil. Those that do this will suffer, perhaps die. And all for nothing.”

  “Someone has to clean it up,” said Ivy. “It shouldn’t be us, but it is. And we won’t falter until the job is done.” She stroked Lily’s head. “What pisses me off is that you had nothing to do with this, Lily. Not a damn thing. I am so sorry you paid the price.”

  “The innocent always suffer,” said Numa, “but we will fight back. It may seem foolish because more scorpions replace those under our boots. But, we have the boots to crush them, so we must.”

  Lily held her stomach. “I’m so sorry, baby,” she said to Ace. “Ivy and I were just talking, and I didn’t see the gun guys until Ivy shoved me back. She shot the guy. I remember that. Then a ping, and pain.”

  “Ricochet,” said Ivy. “I shot fast, but his bullet hit something, a tray table, a bed. Probably the bed.”

  “Can’t outrun a bullet,” said Ace. “You did nothing wrong, baby. That asshole did the bad thing.”

  “Our people are tracing the last two numbnuts; the agents north and south of the border didn’t get,” said Ivy. “Wraith and Saber are on it, too, along with the Valkyries and the Iron Knights.”

  “They’ll get them,” said Numa. “You two just relax and heal. Sleep some more. We can get you more medication to help.”

  “Sleep, baby,” said Ace. “Our people will find the bad people.”

  “You too,” said Lily. “I can’t think of it now, but we’ll want to try again. And you’ve gotta be all healed to do that.”

  “We’ll both sleep,” said Ace.

  Ivy got out from under Numa’s arm, and got them both water; she wiped down their faces with the wet wipes Numa brought. She kissed both of them on the head, stroked their hair, and hummed a little bit. The nurse came in, checked vitals, a bloodsucker came by and took blood, the doctor came by and pronounced both of them still alive but needing sleep, and the nurse delivered sleep meds.

  Ivy stuck her head out the door and saw Devastator. “I need something,’ she said. “Don’t care what, but I need food.”

  “On it,” he said. Soon, a Valkyrie came by, her hair in blue-black braids on one side of her head, puffed up on the other.

  “I’m Sigrun,” she said, “means victory rune.” She had breakfast sandwiches for Numa and Ivy. Ivy ate hers in the hall and downed some soda. “How are you holding up?” asked Sigrun.

  “Not well, not too bad though,” said Ivy. Sigrun gave her a second drink. “Don�
��t get stupid and get dehydrated,” she said.

  “Okay,” said Ivy, meekly downing the water. Then, Numa came out to wolf hers down. They both washed up in the bathroom and wiped themselves down with wet wipes. They went back to sleep on the cots, Ivy now the conduit between Ace and Lily.

  They woke up in the afternoon when Ghost and Killa replaced them. Numa and Ivy rented a hotel room close by and took turns taking a shower. Ivy was shattered to find out she still had blood in her hair and spent some time crying in the shower.

  Xenia showed up with a six-pack of lemon-lime soda. “Don’t want to interfere with your sleeping. How you two holding up?” she asked.

  “Like shit,” said Ivy.

  “I have good news,” Xenia said. “One of your teams headed by an ATF guy called Wraith, and one of ours from Vegas, took down the originator of the hit, a nasty piece of work named Werner Banatas. He’s a cartel assassin. The Texans have him and are tying him to several murders. Texas is a death penalty state. Your guy Saber will get a promotion out of this for sure.”

  Ivy snorted. “He won’t care, except if it lets him stick with Wraith.”

  “She’s one of us now,” said Xenia. “Sorry about that, but the Vegas pack wouldn’t budge on that one. She’s a major prize.”

  “She’s worth twenty of a lot of us,” said Ivy. “I get your point, and I think she’s one of you, too. She just felt she owed us loyalty after we took down La Diabla.”

  “Again, sorry about that. We’ll do some joint rides to make up for that.” They all sipped the sodas. “On the cop end, we did match the bullets to the assassins’ guns, and have verified every aspect of what happened, including finding their rental truck they shot from.”

  “Okay,” said Ivy.

  “And, the lawyer is all for going after Marcel.”

  “Who’s Marcel?” asked Numa.

  “Baby idiot cop who drew on me in a hospital corridor when I was guarding Lily,” said Ivy.

  Numa drew herself up. “You tell that lawyer to do whatever the hell he wants. The club will pay him.”

  “Good to know,” said Xenia, “But, it’s kind of a slam dunk. It was caught by two separate cameras. He never identified himself as a police officer, and he kept the gun on her after I arrived and told him to put it away. He’s already been fired, and your lawsuit will keep him from working law enforcement again. Mama has money, too, so you should be able to get some damages and pay court costs.”