by E. C. Land
Soon as he places her on the gurney, the staff rushes her to the back. I look at my hands and her blood covering them. I should probably go clean them, but I need to be here when they come back out. My mind keeps flashing to all the blood and the way she slumped into my arms when we found her on the side of the road.
“Sir, I promise we’ll let you know something as soon as possible. Right now, we need to know what happened to her. The more information we have, the better off we are in making sure she’s cared for properly.”
I look at the nurse that is talking and it’s the one who had been sitting at the nurse’s station. The badge she has attached to her shirt reads Logan. I should tell her to fuck off. But like Rage said, they’re trying to do their job.
“I’m not sure what happened. I found her like this, she’s pregnant, though. You need to make sure my baby is okay.”
“Okay sir, I will let them know of the pregnancy. Would you know how far along she?”
“Fuck if I know. Right now, just get your ass back there and do your job.” Pissed that she’s still standing in front of me, I fight to control my anger because I’m close to snapping. I can’t deal with her asking me all these damn questions right now. What I need is answers.
“Calm the fuck down, brother. We don’t need security kicking you out of here before we know what’s going on with your woman.” Rage places his hand on my shoulder as the nurse scurries towards the doors to the back.
Just my fucking luck. I found the one I want and am too chicken shit to tell her how I feel, only to have her leave me while pregnant with my kid. And when I find her again, it’s on the side of the road covered in blood.
I can deal with a hell of a lot of bullshit, but not my woman covered in blood. Blood in general. Not since coming back from overseas. The horrors that a man can see in combat, scars that can never be removed are seared in the brain. Men blowing up due to IED’s, children running towards me not knowing whether they’re strapped down with a bomb to their chest.
That’s some of the worst shit a man can ever face. There’s always one face that stands out in my mind every time a nightmare comes forward. A face that of one of the women or children those pussies always put on the front line. Sending them in to do a man’s job. Their screams of fear as they’d run at us. Those memories are pure hell.
The corruption over there was more than I could take. I came home, found the club, and joined at the same time my best friend came home to rejoin his family. Joining the Devil’s Riot was the best decision I ever made. That was until meeting Lynsdey.
The night I first saw her smile was like breathing in fresh air. Walking into Outlaw Rack’s and seeing her, I knew she was special. Throughout the night, I watched her as she worked. I don’t remember anyone being as beautiful as she was. That night changed everything.
When she got off work, I followed her home, and Lynsdey turned my world upside down. Not able to think of her being with anyone else, I suggested we be friends with benefits. Technically not a relationship, but I’d see her whenever I wanted, without worrying about someone else being in her bed.
Those nights she drove me mad with the way she worked her body while making her tips. She was working at the bar while saving up for when school started. When she would get off, she would drive me crazy using that sexy as fuck body on mine. Never have I wanted to go back for seconds. Club whores excluded. They’re there to scratch an inch, nothing more.
The back room door opening pulls me out of my thoughts. Before they can even ask for her family, I get out of my seat and head in their direction. I need to know about my woman and baby.
“Is she okay? The baby, is the baby okay?” I ask as soon as I’m in front of the doctor. This doctor is different from the one that took her back. She looks familiar somehow.
“I’m Dr. Connors. I wanted to come out here myself to let you know that Lynsdey and both babies seem to be doing just fine now. She suffered several deep lacerations to the stomach. Nothing deep enough to really affect the womb. She also had a great deal of scraps, cuts, and splinters in her feet from being barefoot. I want to say she walked, or ran, quite a bit of a distance before you found her. We’re admitting her for observation. We want to make sure that her feet don’t become infected, and that no harm came to the placenta when she injured her stomach. If you’ll give us a about thirty minutes, she’ll be in a room. She’s still sedated, and will mostly likely remain so until morning.”
Doctor Connors pats my arm as she turns to head towards the back only to faulter in step when she looks behind me. She stares over my shoulder for a moment before she blushes and continues on her way. What the hell? Looking behind me, Gadget and Dragon stand there watching Dr. Connors back through the doors.
I don’t even want to fucking know. I need to get up to Lynsdey’s room.
Thankfully, Lynsdey will be okay and so will the baby.
Wait a fuckin’ minute… did she say babies?
Fuck me sideways!
5
Lynsdey
Beeping. Where the hell is that beeping coming from? Why does it smell like cleaner around me? Opening my eyes to a slit, blocking out the light shining in my room, I realize I’m in a hospital bed.
How did I get here?
What the hell happened to me?
Finally, it all comes back. Jake kidnapping me, making me run through the woods, locking me in the basement in my childhood home— me escaping through the window that I broke. Oh My God! My baby. Panicking, the beeping grows louder. I need to find out about my baby.
The feel of a hand squeezing my arm startles me. Frantic, I look around and to my surprise, it’s Thorn. Oh yeah, he and the rest of the club found me walking down the road. He must’ve saw me and brought me here. I don’t know why he’s still here, though. Doesn’t he have anything else to do?
Does he know about the baby?
“Babygirl, you’re okay, I promise. You need to calm down, though,” Thorn says as he smooths my hair away from my face with his other hand.
“Why am I in the hospital?” I need him to tell me what’s going on. All of it.
“When we found you walking down the side of the road last night, you were covered in blood with your feet torn up. I brought you here to be checked out. They wanted to keep you overnight for observation. To keep an eye on your feet as well as the pregnancy. They wanted to make sure no damage was done to the placenta. So far, they say you and the babies are doing good. They wanted to wait until you were awake to do another ultrasound and talk to you. They also cleaned your feet up, pulled all the splinters and rocks out. You won’t be able to walk on them for a few days. Gotta give them time to heal up some and keep them wrapped with the antibiotic ointment.”
He knows about the baby. Wait a minute. Did he say babies? He’s not mad?
“Yeah, you heard me right, beautiful. We’re having not just one, but two babies.”
Damn, I said that out loud.
Great, just great! He probably thinks I got pregnant on purpose. I mean, hell, he already thinks I’m clingy. I wish I could crawl under a rock and hide away from him.
“Ummm, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to get pregnant. It just happened,” I whisper, lowering my head, unable bare the knowledge that he is pissed at me for getting pregnant. If I have to see the disappointment that he is stuck with me, it might be my breaking point.
“Beautiful, look at me.” Thorn lifts my chin, so I have no choice but to look at him. “I’ll tell ya, now, I’m fucking pissed at you for a lot of things. I’m pissed about the fact you ended the shit between us without talking to me, and then moved your ass away. No one would tell me shit about where the fuck you moved to. Yes, I’m pissed you didn’t tell me about the pregnancy. I would’ve been there for you when you needed me. And last, I’m pissed because the shit that happened to you in the last twenty-four hours wouldn’t have happened if I had been around.”
Well fucking blow me down and kick my ass!
What h
appened to him thinking of me as clingy? Probably has to do with the fact I’m carrying his children. Don’t want to hurt the feelings of the mother-to-be.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it’s not like we were a thing. You told me yourself we were just friend with benefit. You didn’t want to be tied down, so I didn’t want you to feel like I was trying to trap you into something you never wanted.” I might as well be ripping my own heart out as I talk. I love this man more than anything, and the thought that I’m just not the one for him hurts.
“You didn’t want to tie me down. Friends with benefits, that’s all we were. Yeah, babygirl, that’s all we were at first, but you became everything to me. Now, we’re gonna drop the subject for the time being. We can finish this when we get you home and I can fuck some sense into you,” Thorn says getting close enough that his lips brush mine when he finishes.
“You’re not gonna be fucking me again, sorry to tell you, and my home isn’t your home. I’ll stay with Cleo until I can go back to my house.”
“Nope, not happening. Your ass is gonna be with me. You’ve been hiding from me for the past three months. The fuck if you think I’m letting you out of my sight now that I got you back.”
“You can’t just decide shit for me, and I wasn’t hiding from anyone. I just moved away, you jerk.”
“Bullshit. Something crawled up that fine ass of yours, and you left. Your fucking carrying my kids. You ain’t getting away again. Your ass is in my house, my fucking bed, and that’s it. So, get the fuck over it.” Damn, this man is insufferable. I never knew he could piss me off as much as he is.
“Think what you want.” He’s the one that ran his mouth about me to his brothers.
“I don’t need to think what I already know.”
I can’t help the feelings that want to keep bubbling to the surface. One part of me wants to say ‘yay’, and leap for joy that he wants to be in our lives— be with me. But another part says, ‘who are you kidding’. He didn’t want a family, now he’s strapped with one. It’s not like he wanted me anyway. The turmoil is a constant that keeps bugging me as we wait for the doctor to come in the room. I hate the thought that he may just want me in his life now because I’m having his children.
Damn, I can’t get use to the idea of not just one but two babies. And I put them both in jeopardy yesterday. I was foolish not to listen to my gut when it tried to warn something was wrong.
Me being tired and exhausted, I failed to listen to it.
During my self-loathing, I ignore Thorn the best I can. I can’t let him know the way I’m feeling. It’s not like him and I will ever be a thing. He has his own life. And I can have one, or at least try to, while raising two babies. I don’t know how involved he will want to be with these two.
“Morning, Lynsdey, how are you doing? My name is Logan, and I’m one of your nurses for today.” The nurse walk’s in, startling me out of my thoughts. Finally, a distraction.
Thank god!
“Hi, I’m okay but can we please have a doctor? I need to know about my babies. Are they okay? I didn’t do anything to hurt them, did I? Thorn says they’re okay but I need to know myself. I swear, I didn’t mean to hurt them.” I start rambling on in a panic the more I talk. All I could think of when I was with Jake was escaping but now, I can’t help but think something has happened during the time he had me and the escape.
“Yes, I will page your doctor now. I’ll go ahead and send for the ultrasound tech as well. I’m sure Doctor Connors will be requesting it for you. Please try an remain calm though, we don’t want your blood pressure to rise any more than it already is. Stress can do just as much damage as anything. Especially during a pregnancy,” Logan says as she goes about checking my vitals.
I can’t help but want to smack the shit out of her. Who the hell does she think she is? It’s not her that just had to endure the pleasure of being around the psychotic stepbrother from hell. She wasn’t the one that just squeezed her pregnant body through a window and ran what felt like forever through the woods.
“Just get Doctor Connors in here,” Thorn says before I can say a word. From the sound of his voice, he doesn’t care too much for this nurse.
“Yes, sir. I’ll go get her right now,” Logan mumbles snidely before she walks out of the room. I really don’t like her that much either.
“Babygirl, you’re gonna have to calm down. I don’t need these machines beeping like they are to know that your heart is about to jump out of your chest. I’m here, and I ain’t letting shit happen to you or our kids,” Thorn says as he strokes a hand through my hair.
Wow… holy moly cannoli, he sounds like he really means it. But I know it’s just for the babies. I need to calm down for them.
“I’m trying to calm down. It would be easier if you weren’t in here.” Total lie. “I mean really, you don’t have to stay. I can let you know what they say about the babies and keep you updated now that you know. I…”
“Lynsdey, I swear to fuckin’ god, right now, you need to shut the fuck up with that mess you have coming out of your mouth,”
As I look at him, I know I should keep my mouth shut with how pissed he seems, but why should I? He’s the one that told his brothers I’m too clingy for his taste. Maybe he needs a taste of his own medicine.
“I—”
Thorn gives me this look that tells me that I need to just keep my mouth shut.
Thankfully, Doctor Connors chooses that moment to come into the room, putting a stop to any more confrontation between the two of us.
Which is probably a good thing.
“Hey Lynsdey, how are you feeling? Does anything hurt?” Doctor Connors ask as she lifts one of my feet to check the bandages.
“I could be better. I’m just sore. What I want to know is how my babies are doing, and when I can go back home,” I ask. I really need to get out of here— get away from Thorn. The more I’m around him, the more he makes me want to stay.
“Logan told me she already called down for a tech to do an ultrasound, so you can be reassured that both babies are okay. Did you know that you were having twins?”
“No, I didn’t. The only ultrasound I’ve had only showed one. Is that normal? To not see both in an ultrasound?”
“Yes, it can happen, however, most of the time you do see both. Now, before the tech gets here, do you wanna talk about what happened or should we wait?” Doctor Connors looks over at Thorn before looking back at me when she finishes the last of her question.
She wants to know if I want to talk about anything in front of Thorn. I’m sure he already knows what happened. Well, not everything, but I’m sure he knows enough. The thought of anyone really finding out about the hell Jake has put me through is something I really don’t want to talk about with anyone, including him, so I shake my head to answer her question. That is something I won’t be talking about ever.
“Okay. If you change your mind, I’m here for you. I’ll be back in about an hour. That should give the ultrasound tech plenty of time to come in and do what they need,” she says before walking out of the room, leaving us in a tense silence that could cut through the air like a sharp knife.
Well, I guess all I can do is sit here and wait for the tech.
It’s not like I can get up and do anything right now anyways.
Especially with Thorn sitting next to me, watching me like a hawk after its prey.
6
Thorn
If this woman wasn’t injured right now, I’d pull her over my knee and spank her ass until it’s bright red. It’s a struggle to keep myself from moving the few feet between us to get in her face. Maybe if I shove my tongue in her mouth, it’ll change her attitude some. The shit she keeps saying is really starting to piss me the fuck off.
More so than I already am.
Between the looks the girls had been giving me whenever I’m around them, and the shit I’ve already heard spill from her mouth, I’ve had enough. Shit, she’s pretty much told me I can
go. Dismissing me.
Yeah, that ain’t fuckin’ happening. She is out of her mind if she thinks I’m leaving. Hell, I bet she has it in her head that I’m only here for the babies. Fuck, she’s gonna be difficult about everything, I can see it now.
“Babygirl, I know what you gotta be thinking right now, but I’m telling ya, it ain’t that at all. So, get it out of your head.”
“Oh yeah, you can read minds now? You know what I’m thinking? Huh? Well, go ahead and enlighten me as to what I have running through my head.”
If looks could kill, I swear, she would’ve done just that with the glare she’s giving me now.
“Okay, right now, you’re thinking about how it’d feel to have my dick seated deep in that hot little pussy. I know I’d love to be. Maybe after I get you out of here, and you’ve had time to rest, I’ll show that pussy of yours the attention I know it needs. I know my dick has missed your pussy. Hasn’t gotten hard for any other woman since you,” I say jokingly, even though I’m dead serious about being deep inside that pussy as soon as I can.
“You’re an ass! You definitely aren’t sticking that anaconda anywhere near me. That thing in your pants has got to have like supersonic sperm to have placed not one, but two babies inside me. And after the shit you said about me, you think I’d let you anywhere near me!” Lynsdey slaps her hands over her mouth to keep from saying anything else.
What the fuck is she talking about now? What the hell did I supposedly say about her? Hell, I tried to keep the shit that was going on between her and I just that. I wasn’t trying to air our shit out here.
“What’s this shit I supposedly said about you?”
“What, is your brain so small you forgot already? It’s only been a few months since I left.”
“Fuck, Lynsdey, I swear to god right now, you better tell me what the fuck I supposedly said. If you don’t, when we get out of here, I’ll tie you to my bed and keep you there.” She has no clue the effect she has on me. We’ve never had a fight, and fuck if my dick ain’t throbbing right now, ready to teach her a lesson.
