2014
Santana
Bright lights jerk me awake. The shrill sound of beeping monitors is the only noise that fills my aching ears. I try to blink, but my eyes feel like two heavy pieces of lead in my skull. My tongue is dry and it burns, like a scratchy piece of sandpaper in my mouth. I gasp out a breath, flicking it about to try and get some saliva to coat it.
“Santana?” A voice calls. “My name is Roberta, I’m a nurse here. Can you hear me?”
Of course I can hear you, you’re yelling in my face. The words want to come out, but my stiff tongue won’t move enough to let them. Tears burn under my heavy eyelids as I try hard to speak. Where am I? What happened?
“You’re in the hospital. Squeeze my hand if you can hear me?”
A soft hand is in mine. How did I not notice that? I squeeze it, mulling over her words. Hospital. You’re in the hospital. My hazy mind swims as I go over the memories lying dormant inside it. Why am I in the hospital? What happened? Did something go wrong? Where is Pippa?
“You were shot,” the nurse goes on.
Shot? I shake my head from side to side, confused. I cry out, but it sounds like nothing more than a hoarse gasp. The sounds of creaking doors and beeping are too loud.
“Is she awake? Why the fuck wasn’t I called?”
A barking voice fills the room, so familiar. My mind swims, trying to figure out whom that voice belongs to. God, why can’t I remember anything? My mind aches.
“Santana? Hey, it’s me. Maddox.”
Maddox?
More tears run as fuzzy memories become clearer. Running from the compound. Ash, Krypt and Maddox. Together. Having sex. Bullets firing at me. I hiccup loudly, and begin to cry harder as my hand reaches out for the comfort I need the most. Maddox.
“I’m here,” he says, and the bed dips as my body is pulled into solid arms. “No one can hurt you now.”
The words he’s told me so many times. So many times. I flutter my eyes open, and everything is blurry. The nurse comes into view first, her round face staring down at me. She blinks her green eyes and smiles. “Hi, would you like some water?”
I nod, and she passes me a small plastic cup with a straw poking out. I take it, and press it to my mouth. My hand shakes, and Maddox’s goes up to curl around mine. He holds it steady as I take gulping sips, desperate to ease the ache in my throat. I shift, and a sharp pain radiates through my calf.
I got shot.
Someone shot at me.
I let the cup go, and Maddox thrusts it towards the nurse. “Leave,” he demands.
“But I have only just finished checking her vitals. The doctor will want to see her, and . . .”
“I said,” he barks, his voice a deadly hiss. “Leave.”
“I . . .”
“Now,” he bellows.
She hurries out of the room, and the door closes quietly behind her. Maddox shifts, moving out from behind me and getting off the bed. He gets a chair and drags it over, sitting beside me and staring at me with blue eyes that have clearly had no sleep. He’s got dark rings under them, and his jaw is tense, his muscles ticking.
I watch him, and my heart clenches. He slept with Ash. He slept with Ash. My heart burns, it burns like someone has shoved a match inside and lit it on fire. I have no reason for this kind of jealousy; Maddox and I have never been an item. But the way it hurt shocked me. It shocked me, because I didn’t realize it would bother me.
“You slept with Ash . . .” I whisper, dropping my eyes.
“Look at me, Santana,” he orders.
I shift my gaze, staring into his, hating that I love his eyes so much, but I do. I love his eyes. I love his entire, rugged, gorgeous face.
“You have never cared who I fucked before,” his voice is a low rasp. “Why now?”
“I . . . she was my friend,” I say, turning away again.
His voice comes out like a deadly whip. “Didn’t say you could look away. Now turn your eyes back to me.”
I grind my teeth, but I turn back to him. He leans in closer, his leather jacket squeaking with each movement.
“I didn’t fuck her.”
I blink at him. “Y-y-y-y-you didn’t?”
“No.”
“But you were still with her,” I whisper.
His eyes scan over my face before his mouth pulls into a thin line. “Ain’t goin’ into details with you, but yeah, I was still with her. Didn’t know it would matter to you.”
“It doesn’t, it’s fine. I . . . I’ve just had a hard time. It’s nothing.”
“You lyin’ to me?”
“No, Maddox.”
“Santana.”
“Don’t,” I growl. “I have enough to worry about. Do you hear me?”
“Who shot you?” he murmurs, dropping the subject.
I shake my head, my tears burning again. “I don’t know. I left the compound and drove to your house. I got out and suddenly, out of the blue, someone was shooting at me. I had no idea where it was coming from, or who was doing it. I leapt back into my car, too scared to go inside. The bullet hit my calf as I was diving in. I drove as far as I could, but the pain was intense. I got out and went for help, but I don’t remember what happened after that.”
“Someone found you out cold.” His voice is hard. “By the time I got notified, you were already in hospital.”
“Someone shot at me, Maddox. Why?”
He shakes his head. “I’m goin’ to find out.”
I nod, turning away.
“Tana,” he begins, but the door opens and a doctor and police officer come inside.
Maddox growls, low and throaty, and shoves out of the chair. “Why the fuck is a cop in here?”
The cop steps forward, and extends his hand. Maddox looks at it with pure disgust. “My name is Sergeant Rambo.”
Maddox snorts. “That so? Your parents watch too many movies, Sergeant?”
Sergeant Rambo, clearly having lived with jokes about his name, stiffens and nods his head. “I’ve heard every joke about my name. Now, if you’re finished, I’d like to talk to Santana while the doctor checks her over.”
Maddox crosses his arms, unperturbed. “Anything you ask her, you ask her in front of me.”
Rambo glares at him, but nods. He walks over towards me, and as he nears closer I see he’s quite an attractive man. He’s got messy brunette hair, with light grey eyes. He smiles as he sits down on the chair Maddox was on, and I give him a weak smile back.
“How are you feeling, Santana?”
“I’m fine,” I croak.
“I just wanted to ask you a few questions about the shooting.”
“It was a drive-by,” Maddox snaps. “Are you done?”
Sergeant Rambo growls now, turning to Maddox. “I hear you’ve had a few problems with your club lately, Maddox. You’ll appreciate that it seems strange that this young lady was shot only weeks after one of your members was locked away.”
“That shit has been dealt with,” Maddox snarls. “You got Howard in prison. Anything that was goin’ down with the clubs, was on him. Now, are you finished?”
“I’m not,” Rambo says, turning back to me. “What happened, Santana?”
“It was like he said,” I say, meeting Rambo’s gaze dead-on. “I was just driving, and I got out of my car. I heard shots and yelling, and I got back into my car quickly. A shot hit my calf.”
“You see who did it?”
“No,” I say.
“And you’re sure it wasn’t aimed at you?”
I keep my face expressionless. “Yes, I’m sure. I heard yelling over the road, lots of it. Cars were going past, it was hectic. The shot wasn’t aimed at me.”
“It seems strange a shot would come so close, if it wasn’t aimed at you.”
“There were shots being fired at a car, it missed, and came towards me. I don’t see how that’s so complicated.”
He narrows his eyes. “Very well.”
He asks me a few more questions, and then he leaves. The doctor watches him go, before turning to me. He’s been checking my wound. I watched as he unraveled it. It’s not as bad as I thought. It hurt like hell when it went in, like a hot poker through my flesh – but maybe that’s the beauty of it. A neat wound.
“Your wound is looking good, Santana,” the doctor says. “We were able to get the bullet out. There seems to be no nerve damage.”
I nod. “Thank you.”
“She ready to come home?” Maddox demands.
I turn to him. He’s standing by the door, arms crossed. The doctor swallows. “I’d like to keep her another night. She’s only just come out from being put under, and I want to make sure there are no side affects.”
“Then I’m puttin’ two guys on her door.”
The doctor shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry. The patients need their rest.”
“I said,” Maddox snarls, “I’m puttin’ a few boys on her door. She needs to feel safe, and she will.”
“You said it was a drive-by,” the doctor protests. “Why would she need protection if it was a drive-by?”
Maddox charges towards him, causing the doctor to take a few steps back. “Because I don’t trust any fucker, and that girl on the bed, she’s my fuckin’ girl. Now, I’ll be puttin’ two of my guys on, and you’ll fuckin’ like it.”
The doctor nods. “Very well, but they need to stay quiet . . .”
Maddox smirks. “Unless the nurses feel like gettin’ a good fuckin’, they’ll stay quiet.”
I slap my hand to my forehead. The doctor makes a disgusted sound and Maddox laughs. I peek through my fingers and watch the doctor leave.
“That was cruel,” I say, dropping my hand.
“He deserved it. Who do you want on your door, darlin’?”
I shrug. “I don’t care.”
He narrows his eyes and walks over, lowering himself down. His fingers go up and around the back of my neck, and he pulls me forward so his mouth is only an inch or less from mine. “I said, who do you want on the door?”
“I said, I don’t care,” I snap.
“Santana.”
“Maddox.”
He makes a low hissing sound, and presses his forehead to mine. This has always been his way of showing me affection. It’s strange, but it’s his. He smells so good, and I want to wrap myself in him. The ache in my chest is getting bigger, and I feel so frightened.
“I’m sendin’ Mack in, and maybe Tyke.”
“Mack is back?” I whisper, pulling away.
Maddox grunts. “Yeah.”
I smile; I can’t help it. I adore Miakoda ‘Mack’ Williams. He’s Maddox’s adopted brother, and somewhat of a nomad. He travels around, joining in different chapters instead of sticking with one. He enjoys traveling, and being alone.
“Then yes, send him in.”
“You got a thing for my brother?”
I snort. “Would it matter if I did? You have a thing for my friends.”
“Santana,” he warns.
“Maddox.”
With a grunt, he stands. “I’m goin’ to get some things for you. I’ll send the guys in now.”
I nod.
He walks to the door.
When he gets there, he turns back to me. “Santana?”
I stare up at him. “Yeah?”
“Don’t you ever scare me like that again.”