Chapter Twenty-Two
Amy
I sat in the hall, tapping my foot against the wooden floor and wishing that someone would tell me what the hell was going on with my father.
After leaving the carnage at the bunker, I had jumped in the car with my father, holding his hand as we rushed to the hospital. They had pulled him out of the car, and that was the last time I had seen him. I was worried sick that he would die alone, without anyone around.
“How much longer?” I asked Hayley, who was curled up in the chair across from me, her face pale. “Why won’t anyone tell us anything?”
“It’s only been two hours,” Tessa responded softly, her voice catching.
She had been crying on and off since her arrival, scared like the rest of us were. We couldn’t lose him, not the anchor of our family and of the club.
Without Grant Travis, everything else would cease to exist.
“I’m sorry,” I muttered, rubbing a tired hand over my face.
A nice employee had given me a set of scrubs to wear so I wouldn’t have to look at my father’s blood any longer, but I still felt like it was all over me, coating my skin. In all of my days, I had never been so scared.
Never.
“It’s alright,” Tessa said, heaving a sigh. “We all knew this day would come. H-he’s gotten extremely lucky up until now.”
I knew she was trying to be strong for all of us, though she was hurting just as much. I hadn’t told her what we had learned about my mother’s death, too strung-out to bring it up now.
Richard Baer had killed my mom, all because she had found love with my dad.
And Eric hadn’t let me kill him.
Blowing out a breath, I knew why, now that my anger had dissipated. He didn’t want me to remember shooting him. He didn’t want me to have that on my conscience for the rest of my life. As much as I had wanted to do so, to end Richard’s life like he had my mom’s, he had been right. Eric had taken the ultimate burden for me.
So, what had happened to him? After I had noticed that my dad was down and bleeding, I had tuned everything else out, and by the time I had got him to the car, I realized that I hadn’t seen Eric. He had been nowhere to be found.
I had to tell him how I felt, how much I appreciated everything he had done for me by taking on that burden. I didn’t care that he was Grayson’s son.
My dad might, if he pulled through, but I didn’t care. Eric had shown me love. He had given me the most important things in my life, including this baby that was growing inside me.
And as soon as I found him, I was going to let him know that he did mean something to somebody. He meant something to me, and that was all that mattered. I loved him, and my heart was being torn in two by the thought that he didn’t think he was good enough for me because of who his father had been.
Or his mother.
Hell, look at my father and my family. We were just as screwed up as the rest.
Suddenly the door opened, and I stood, my knees trembling as the doctor came through, dressed in scrubs.
“Are you the Travis family?”
Tessa pushed herself out of her chair, nodding.
“I’m his wife. These are his daughters.”
“I’m Doctor Hill,” he said, pulling off his surgeon’s cap. “We just got through doing surgery on your husband. He’s lost a lot of blood, I’m afraid. The bullet ricocheted inside his belly for some time and tore up his spleen. I’ve removed it and part of his liver too.”
“Oh God,” Tessa whispered, bringing her hand up to her mouth.
I grabbed the chair to keep from falling to the floor, blood rushing to my head.
“Is he…?” I couldn’t get the words out.
“He made it through,” Doctor Hill responded. “The surgery at least. The next twenty-four hours will be crucial. But he seems to be a tough man, and the tougher they are, the better they fight. They will have him in the critical care unit in about thirty minutes, and you can see him then.”
“T-thank you doctor,” Tessa said faintly as the doctor walked out of the waiting room.
I blew out a breath, feeling some relief that my father had gotten through the surgery. He was a tough bastard, and I knew that if the odds were against him, then he was going to beat them with a grin on his face.
Tessa fell back into her chair, looking a bit shell-shocked.
“He’s alive.”
Hayley walked over and wrapped her arm around her mom’s shoulders, giving her a squeeze.
“He is. He’s going to be just fine.”
Tessa started to cry, and I quickly made my way over to them both, wrapping my arms around them.
“He’s going to be fine and we are going to be a family again.”
The war was over. There was no more Grayson Barnes attempting to kill us. There was no more Brotherhood looking to make a name for themselves. Their leader was dead. I imagined that the members would attempt to piece their club back together, but a major blow had been dealt.
And our own club had suffered too. I didn’t know how many men we had lost today, but the number would likely be staggering. What we did with the club after today would be up to my father. I planned to have a word with him and then… well, I would find Eric.
Eric and this child were my future, not the Horsemen, and I was okay with it.
***
Two Weeks Later
“Dammit! I told you I can do it by myself! Get the hell away from me.”
I smirked as I walked down the hall, listening to the sound of my father’s angry voice bounce off the walls. Tessa’s soothing sounds echoed his tirade, and I shook my head. The woman was a saint.
I turned the corner into the master bedroom, standing at the doorway.
“Why are you giving her hell?”
My father glared at me, a white bandage covering the lower half of his abdomen. A smattering of tattoos covered the upper half of his chest, with swirling dark lines that depicted his loyalty to the Horsemen.
“Because. She wants to hold my cock as I pee. I’m fully capable of doing that myself.”
Tessa placed her hands on her hips.
“God, you are such an asshole. I did not want to hold your cock.”
A smirk crossed his face.
“You’ve never complained before.”
I flushed as Tessa slapped him on the shoulder, shaking her head.
“You and your mouth. It’s gonna get your in trouble one day.”
“But you love it,” he grinned, relaxing on the mountain of pillows on the bed. “Is that for me?”
I walked in, crossing the room to set the bottle of whiskey on the table.
“Only if you behave and are a good patient.”
I had thought about bringing him balloons or flowers, but he could care less about those kinds of things.
But whiskey…? Now that was his weakness.
“I’ll take that,” Tessa said, swiping it from the table before he could reach for it. “And put it up until the doctor clears you.”
He growled, but she ignored him, giving me a wink.
“He’s all yours. I’ll be in the hammock out back with a good book if anyone needs me.”
“Witch,” he grumbled as Tessa walked out.
I laughed as I took the seat next to the bed, a place much more comfortable than any hospital chair could be. Since his return home, one of us had been coming over to help Tessa out, and today was the first time I had seen him since he had been discharged from the hospital. He actually looked like he was on the mend, and my heart warmed.
For a week there, he had been touch-and-go, unable to be weaned from the breathing machine, and multiple times his blood pressure had gone dangerously low. The doctor had even warned us that we could lose him, preparing us for the worst possible outcome.
But true to form, Grant Travis was a survivor, and three days ago, after a week and a half of hell, he had come home.
“You look like you feel better.”
He made a sound.
“If you can call it that. Hell, without these pain killers I wouldn’t be wanting to move, much less crawl out of the bed. I feel like he cut me up one side and down the other.”
I would take his grumbling any day over what I had experienced next to that hospital bed. The tubes, the touch and go… I never wanted to experience anything like that again.
“So,” I said, looking around the room. “You have any visitors?”
“A few,” he responded with a smirk. “But you are the only one that has brought me alcohol. I knew I had raised you right.”
I sighed.
“Well, maybe we can get on with a normal type of life now.”
Grayson Barnes was dead. Richard Baer was dead. The Brotherhood were in an uproar, unable to keep it together without a leader, and there were very few left of Grayson’s former league of traitors. There was a rumor that Jenny Baer was going to take over the Brotherhood, and I hoped to God I came across her one day in a dark alley somewhere. There was some simmering rage I wanted to take out on her still.
My father snorted with laughter.
“Baby girl, nothing about our lives is normal.”
That was true.
“What are your plans then?” I asked softly, picking at the blanket on the bed.
“I’m giving it up,” he said with a heavy sigh.
I wasn’t surprised.
“Tessa make you do it?”
He smirked.
“Maybe she was the driving force, but she’s right. I’m missing out on you girls, on a nice life with her. I’ve worked hard for my shit, and I want to be around to enjoy it.”
I reached over and covered his hand with mine, squeezing it lightly.
“I think that’s exactly what you should do.”
He squeezed it back.
“So that means you will assume the role then?”
I swallowed. Those were the words I had always wanted to hear, the words that would solidify all of the hard work I had given to the club. It would be a legacy in the making.
But, I couldn’t.
“Dad,” I started, seeing the surprise on his face. “I have to tell you something, and before you ask a lot of questions, hear me out, alright?”
“Alright,” he said slowly, his expression wary. “Go on, pull off the band aid.”
“I’m pregnant,” I blurted out.
He stared at me, his mouth working, and I knew he was processing the information.
“Someone in the club?” he finally asked, his voice rough.
I shook my head.
“No, it’s not a club member. I… well, I don’t know how to tell this to you.”
“Just fucking say it,” he bit out.
“It’s Eric,” I answered. “You know? The guy who came with Hayley that night to warn you about Grayson’s trap?”
“Huh,” he said, surprise on his face. “Well, he seems like a good guy. I mean he saved our asses, and from what I have been told, he shot Richard and saved your life.”
“More than once,” I answered, telling him quickly about the night my house was set on fire and the previous kidnapping with me, Rox, and Sydney. “He is a good guy.”
My father arched a brow.
“So, then what’s the problem? He doesn’t want a kid?”
“Not exactly,” I said, fiddling with the blanket some more. “I… he’s Grayson’s son.”
“Shit,” he responded, rubbing a hand over his face. “You serious? Grayson never mentioned a kid.”
I nodded.
“Apparently his mom raised him.”
My father was silent for a few minutes before he turned to me, his eyes bright.
“I can’t tell you who to be with Amy. Obviously, you have already made that determination, and you liked him enough to put him in your bed. Grayson Barnes was a good man, once upon a time, a man with morals and loyalty, and if this Eric got anything from his father, I would hope those traits are the ones that he acquired.”
Tears glimmered in my eyes.
“So, you are alright with this?”
“Hell, Amy,” he laughed, giving my hand a squeeze. “My daughter is knocked up. Hell, no I’m not alright with it, but I will get over it. Are you alright with it is the question?”
I nodded, sucking back the tears.
“I’m good with it.”
He blew out a breath. “Well, alright then. Where’s this Eric?”
I swallowed hard. I had been so wrapped up in getting my father back that I hadn’t even attempted to contact Eric, my entire energy devoted to making sure I didn’t lose him.
“I have to find him.”
“When you do,” he said. “Bring him here. I would like to get to know him.”
“I will,” I said, blowing out a breath of relief.
He was taking it pretty well, better than I had.
“Your mom would be happy.”
I looked at my father, who gave me a lopsided smile.
“She was killed.”
He nodded, grief creeping into his eyes. I hadn’t seen that look in quite some time and realized it never had gone away. He had just been really good about hiding it, moving on even though the pain was still lingering.
“I know, and I’m glad that fucker is dead, or I would be killing him myself. I thought he had given up on her. I thought she had been safe.”
“It’s not your fault,” I said gently, squeezing his hand.
“I know,” he sighed, looking away. “But… well, it doesn’t matter now. Go on, tell Tessa the good news. She will be itching to go shopping and spend all my damn money. I’ll be fine for a few minutes.”
I stood, pressing a kiss to his scruffy cheek.
“Thank you for being so understanding.”
He turned toward me, a tenderness in his expression.
“Thank you for being my daughter.”
***
Grant watched his daughter hurry out of the room before he wiped his eyes, glad that he had been able to hold the tears in while she had been there. His baby was going to have a baby. It seemed to strange, but Amy was old enough to make her own decisions, and if she liked this Eric guy, he would learn to like him as well.
Grayson Barnes had a damn son. He couldn’t believe it. But, then again, Grayson had had a fondness for whores.
And Richard… he would like to have that fucker back in a room with him, so he could wail his fists on him for all the pain he had caused his family, caused him over these last twenty years. Heather had been a gentle soul, a woman that was too good for him in the end. He had taken her in, healed the deep wounds that Richard had caused, and given her the one thing that she wanted from him: a kid.
In return, she had given him the loyalty, the love, the companionship that he hadn’t known he was missing. Grant would have done anything for Heather. Anything.
Leaning against the pillows, he closed his eyes, conjuring up her face in his thoughts. He would do right by his family now, step down before he got himself killed. He had given them quite the scare with this injury, and he never wanted to do that again.
The question was: who was going to be his successor?