by E. C. Land
Nodding, I suck in a harsh breath and reach for my knife. With it being the summer, Ivy’s got a soft top on, and I can cut through the material to get her out.
Fuck if she makes it through this, I’m never letting her get another fuckin’ Jeep again. I’m putting her ass in a tank if I have to.
Ripping the top open, I work quickly to make enough room for Tombstone to get behind Ivy.
“I’ve got her. Get the seatbelt cut, and we’ll get her out of here,” Tombstone coughs. The smoke is getting stronger.
Clenching my teeth together, I slice through the seatbelt. Sirens can be heard coming down the road. I finally get through the material and toss the knife down on the ground, not caring that it was the one that my dad gave me a long time ago. All that matters is getting my woman out of here. With Tombstone’s help, I pull her from the wreckage.
Angel comes over and holds Ivy’s head at the base to stabilize her neck as I take my woman fully into my arms. Several of my other brothers are waiting for us. With the Jeep being so small, not everyone could be close. Ghost is at the road waving a hand toward what I’m assuming could only be the ambulance coming down the road.
“Get down,” Daemon yells, right before the Jeep explodes. Covering Ivy’s body with mine, I shield her from the debris as I fall to my knees.
My heart is racing, blood pumping loud enough to roar in my ears.
Everything seems to go in slow motion when the EMS show, putting Ivy on a gurney.
“Sir, you’re going to have to step back,” one of the paramedics says.
“She’s my wife, I’m going,” I snarl.
“We need to be able to work on her,” the paramedic stammers.
“You can, but I’m going with her,” I declare, not backing down. One of the other paramedics steps in, pushing the one talking to me aside.
“If you’re coming, then come on. Let’s get going. Your wife needs help, and we need to get her to the hospital,” he proclaims, already heading for the ambulance at the road instead of fighting with me.
I nod and follow right behind them.
The paramedics get Ivy loaded into the back of the ambulance, and I jump in right behind them. I feel as if my life were ending, seeing them work on my woman. IVs are started, and one of the paramedics starts asking me questions about Ivy. I answer them all, considering I knew what to say. Yes, my woman is allergic to morphine. She doesn’t take any medication. She is on the shot for birth control, so she isn’t pregnant.
Then I look at her lying on that gurney motionless while doing the math in my head. I’ve known her a month now, and other than the first night at the motel, I’ve gone ungloved inside her.
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
What if she is?
No.
I can’t think like this right now. I can’t. Ivy and I haven’t been together long enough. Fuck me. I need to quick fuckin’ thinkin’.
Focus. Get it together. Ivy’s gonna need you.
Closing my eyes, I bow my head and pray that my woman will be okay. That she won’t be taken from me like everyone else in my life has been.
Angel
Pulling up behind the ambulance at the hospital, I jump off my bike, barely getting the kickstand down in time. I know what’s about to happen, and if I’m going to keep my Prez, my brother, my best friend at bay, it’s going to take several of us to keep him from following behind the doors leading to the back.
We’ve lost so much as it is. I get where his mind is at. He doesn’t want to lose Ivy. Shit, I don’t want to lose Ivy. She’s a great woman for my brother, and he’s finally letting go of the guilt of not being there for our sisters or Mia when they needed it most. It couldn’t be helped, but that doesn’t stop my brother from feeling the pain and guilt for what they’ve been through.
I make it to my brother’s side as the back of the ambulance opens and my brother hops out first to give the paramedics room. Nurses flood out of the emergency room doors to assist.
Tombstone, Daemon, and I all hold onto my brother. Me getting in front of him while they grab his arms. “Let them work on her. They’ll let us know she’s okay when they have answers. She’ll be okay, Reaper. She will,” I say calmly. Hoping to calm my brother.
Reaper got the name from our dad when he was eighteen and killed several men who had attacked us in the club. He earned his name just as he earned his seat. He holds no remorse for taking a life when it needs to be taken.
The look he gives me now shows near the same look I’ve seen him give countless others. Reaper would never kill me, though.
I step back as the doors leading into the ER close, and my brother somewhat regains control of his emotions. “Come on, let’s go to the waiting room. They’ll come out with news as soon as they can.”
Reaper gives me a murderous glare, nods. I can see his mind is working a mile a minute right now. He starts for the entrance to the waiting room and the rest of us follow behind. I shoot a look at Tombstone, and he shakes his head. He knows whatever’s going through our Prez’s head isn’t good. Nothing good comes when someone my brother loves gets hurt. Death always follows at his hands.
Tombstone
After they took Ivy, I thought we would have to lock Reaper down more than we did, but Angel’s words seemed to penetrate through his mind, and he started planning. I can see it in his eyes. The way he paces the waiting room waiting for answers on his woman.
Ivy has been good for Reaper. She might not have been in his life long, but shit, we don’t live forever. Reaper’s mom, my mother-in-law, before she passed, used to say, ‘You boys find the one, you know. You don’t let them slip through your fingers. You hold on tight and keep them close.’
I knew Reaper’s sister wasn’t my one. Still, it didn’t mean I didn’t love her. Ronaele was a beautiful woman. A great friend. The best. She and I, we made it work because when we were still kids, I’d knocked her up. I thought her dad was gonna kill me, but I told him I was gonna do right, marry her and be there for her and our child, he let me live. At sixteen, I didn’t expect to be a dad, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I had a wife and a daughter until one day, they were both taken from me. I gave my daughter up by choice only because I wanted to protect her. Keep anything from happening to her. Now, Bethany, my beautiful girl, is a mom herself and married to a man I can respect.
Sighing, I scan the waiting room. It’s been hours since we got here without a word from the doctors in the back. We’ve been keeping Reaper at bay, but there is only so much we can do before he blows.
I’ve been sitting here contemplating calling Ivy’s friends. They would want to know she’s been in an accident. I want to wait until we know something, but the way Ivy spoke of them, they were all the family she had left. Well, that was before the club came into the picture. Ivy now has a bunch of big brothers who would do anything for her and her ol’ man.
Pulling up the list of numbers I had Scythe send me, I slide my finger along one of the names. Sutton. It’s different. I decide to give her a call, because out of all of Ivy’s friends, I know she’s spoken of her more than the others.
I put the phone to my ear and wait for her to answer.
“Hello,” a sultry voice fills the line, almost seeming distracted as she answers.
“This Sutton?” I ask.
“Yes, who is this?” Sutton demands becoming alert.
“It’s Tombstone. Look, I don’t have time to be on the phone, but thought you and your friends would like to know Ivy’s been in an accident,” I inform her calmly.
“What? When? What happened? Oh, God. Don’t answer that. Just tell me what hospital, and I’ll be on my way.” The sound of movement and her panic comes through the line and hits me in the gut. This woman is dropping whatever she’s doing that has her distracted and coming to her friend. That’s something I can respect. I give her the name of the hospital and hang up just as the doors to the back open.
The doctor steps through and comes directly toward
us. They don’t need to call out for who is with her. It was made known she was one of ours when we first got here. Plus, this doctor is on our payroll.
“Reaper,” she greets, and I don’t miss her scanning the rest of the group looking for my brother. She does this every time she’s near Hellhound. They don’t talk. They never have. Not in years. I get why, but that doesn’t mean siblings won’t look out for each other. My brother doesn’t talk to many people. He prefers to stick to the shadows, because of the scar marring his face. But I know he loves his sister. He just doesn’t want to see the guilt in her eyes constantly.
“Stella,” Reaper mutters.
“I’m guessing from the expression on your face, my patient means something to you,” Stella assumes.
“Ivy’s my ol’ lady,” he grinds out, doing his best to hold it together.
Nodding, Stella sticks her hands in her pockets. “Ivy took an extensive blow to the head. We’ve had to heavily sedate her as a precaution due to the possibility of there being swelling around her brain. She also has a broken nose and wrist. Her cheek is fractured, and her rib cage is bruised. Honestly, she’s lucky that’s the extent of her injuries. This could have been a lot worse.”
Something in her eyes tells me she’s not done.
“When can I see her?” Reaper demands.
“They’re moving her now, but Reaper, there is something else.”
“What?” my Prez is about to blow.
“The CBC lab results showed Ivy’s Hgb is elevated slightly, showing she’s pregnant though it’s still early. No more than four weeks.”
Holy shit.
Reaper
Pregnant.
Ivy’s pregnant.
Shit.
My woman’s going to have my kid. This means I would have knocked her up the first night we were together, and she was supposed to be a one-nighter. Guess that means from the beginning, she’s always been meant to be mine.
Thanking Stella, I ask her what room Ivy’s being placed in. Once she gives me the answer, I turn, heading for the doors leading from the emergency department. I need to see my woman. To touch her and make sure she’s breathing.
Once I know she is, I’ll make my play on what to do next. I want whoever did this to her, and I want their blood on my hands as I take their life. They nearly took my woman away from me as well as my child she’s carrying.
Fuck.
For what they had tried to take from me, they will pay.
Chapter Fifteen
Ivy
The deathly silence and smell of bleach and antiseptics are what wake me up. Okay, so it’s not entirely silent. There’s an incessant beeping sound. I’m alive and in the hospital.
Slowly, I peel my eyes open, blinking at the brightness of the light. Pain radiates throughout my body, and I try to remember what happened. I scan the room, and my heart skips a beat at the sight of Reaper. Standing near the window, he’s looking out the window as if something out there will have the answers he’s looking for.
Reaper must sense me watching him. Turning his head, his eyes come to mine before he closes the distance between the two of us. Taking a seat on the bed, he reaches a hand out and gently brushes his fingers along the side of my face.
“Hey, Precious,” he rasps gruffly.
“Hey,” I croak.
Reaper pulls his hand back to grab a cup of water sitting on the table next to my bed. “Here, baby, drink this.” Guiding the straw to my mouth, he holds it while I suck down a few gulps of water. When I’m done, he pulls the straw away and places it back down. “How are you feeling? Are you hurting? Need me to get the nurse?”
What in the world?
Reaper’s being far more caring than I’m used to. All of a sudden, everything comes flooding back in. Seeing Claws jump into Reapers arms. The tractor-trailer running into me. The wreck. My uncle.
Tears well in my eyes, and I can’t help but cast my eyes down to my lap, where I notice one of my hands is in a cast.
“Precious?” Reaper’s voice sounds haggard.
“What are you doing here? Why aren’t you with bimbo tits?” I demand.
“Ivy, look at me,” he commands.
I do as he says, and I’m met by a look of anguish and something else.
“Claws crossed the line. She knows I’m off limits and that I’m not going to touch her. Don’t know what she thought her outcome would be, but I’m not about to let her bullshit fuck up what we have.”
“Why didn’t you push her away?”
“I did. You didn’t see me push her off me or what I told her after. She’s already fucked up twice at the clubhouse, and we have a three-strike policy in the club’s book.” A three-strike policy for whores? Wow. They must fuck up a lot then. I can’t help thinking it to myself. “Ivy, you mean everything to me, and I nearly lost you. If I didn’t get to the accident when I did. You wouldn’t be here right now. We wouldn’t be having this conversation, and I wouldn’t be able to share the news with you . . .”
“What news?” I interrupt him.
Sucking in a breath, he gently places a hand on my stomach. “You’re pregnant, Precious.”
My stomach plummets. No. I can’t be pregnant.
“Are . . . are y–you sure?” I stutter.
“Yeah. They’ve done two more lab draws since you’ve been here to keep an eye on things. It’s still extremely early, Precious, but yeah, it seems I knocked you up that very first night.” Reaper gives me a grin at that little bit of information.
It’s still extremely early. Very early.
I don’t know how I feel about being pregnant. It scares me.
Reaper leans in and presses his mouth to my own gently. “I know it’s a lot to take in after you’ve been out for the past three days.”
“Three days?”
“Yeah, baby. You’ve been sleeping the past three days. The doctors said your body needed to heal from all the trauma, but I gotta say, it’s been a long as fuck three days while I waited to see those beautiful eyes of yours.”
Oh boy. How can he be so sweet to me?
I give him a weak smile. Pain is radiating throughout my entire body, and I know I need more meds to help with it. I just don’t want to sleep yet, not after three days’ worth of it.
All of a sudden, my uncle’s voice fills my head. “You need to give me what’s mine, or you’ll pay. You’re gonna pay. With you out of the way, I’ll get it all. Didn’t want it to come to this, but now that you’ve become a whore, your value went down. I have no choice but to kill you.”
What did he mean by my value?
“What’s wrong, Ivy?” Reaper asks soothingly, his brows furrowing in concern. “Do you need the doctor?”
“Yes, but that’s not it. My . . . uncle. He’s behind my accident.” I tell Reaper what I remember about my uncle being there and what he said to me.
“Don’t you worry about him, Precious. I got him. I’ll make sure of it. You won’t ever have to deal with his shit again. I can promise you that.” There’s a glint in my man’s eyes that should frighten me, but instead calms my fear. With Reaper, I don’t have to fear him, unlike others. Everyone else is fair game where I’m protected.
“I love you,” I blurt out without meaning to.
Reaper’s eyes darken, and I open my mouth to apologize, to take it back when he brings his mouth to mine. “You’re mine, Precious. You hold my heart. I don’t love you; love doesn’t express the full meaning of what you mean to me. I didn’t think I’d find you or that I deserved you, because of the stains that coat my hands. Knowing you love me means everything, baby.” Whispering the words, his lips brush against my own with each one.
Wow.
Kissing me softly, he pulls back slightly. “Now I’m going to get the doctor. We need to know you’re okay. The sooner we know, the sooner we get out of here, and I can get you to the clubhouse.”
“The clubhouse?” Why would he take me there? Why not my house?
“Baby
, you yourself just told me about the threats your uncle has made. But what you don’t know is the reasons and who he’s in bed with. Until those threats are eliminated, we’re staying at the club where I know you are protected even when I’m not in the same room with you.”
Well, okay then. I guess I can understand that. I won’t argue with him on this. The look in his eyes tells me everything I need to know. He needs this. To know I’m safe behind the walls of the clubhouse where his brothers can help him keep me safe.
Nodding, I let him call for the doctor. When she comes in, she introduces herself as Stella, rather than Doctor such and such. Stella informs me that she’s a friend of the club with a sad smile. She does an exam of my motions while talking to me about pain and how much it hurts. I tell her the truth, not ashamed to admit my body hurts like hell.
“I will make sure you get something to help with that,” Stella says.
“Thank you.” I nod with a sigh.
“When can Ivy go home?” Reaper asks.
“I would like to keep her in the hospital a few more days Reaper. She only just woke up, and we need to make sure she’s okay. And don’t forget it’s still early stages of pregnancy for her. With the trauma she’s endured, the chances of miscarrying are high.”
Panic seeps in and I’m freaking out. Reaper and I are pregnant, and I could lose the baby. Being an only child, I’ve always wanted a big family. “Please, I can’t lose the baby.”
Reaper can hear the panic in my voice and moves in close to comfort me. “Ivy, calm down, baby.”
“How about I speak to one of our OB/GYN doctors? See if we can’t get one of them to come in here and do an ultrasound to help settle your minds. You might be far enough along for it to show on a vaginal ultrasound.”
“Please, I need to know.” I nod, my panic calming, but my nerves stay on end.
“Alright, I’ll go do that. I’ll be back in just a little bit to check on you.”
“Thanks, Stella,” Reaper says gruffly.
