Stud paced in the hospital waiting room, trying to contain his anger. He was there along with Betsey and Tambre. One phone call and the club women always rallied to take care of everyone. Stud had followed the ambulance on his bike from the half-finished bar. Eva’s father had insisted her brothers stay and keep working on the site.

“No sense in all of us going. Too much time lost, and we’re a man down now,” he stated as he motioned his sons to get back to work.

Connor lost it before Stud could.

“Are you out of your mind?” he yelled, throwing his arm out and pointing to Eva’s broken form. “Your daughter is lying there injured, and you’re worried about a fucking job!”

“We have to be in Wilmington for another one in three weeks! We can’t afford any down time!” the old man yelled back.

Connor blinked in surprise. “What the hell are you talking about? We’re nowhere near being finished here! Is that why you’ve been pushing us to spend every waking minute on the site? Because you fucked up and cross-booked another job?”

Fergus threw his hands wide in a dismissive gesture. “I didn’t look at the calendar. The Wilmington job is a big one. Four resort hotel bar remodels, one after another.” He huffed. “We can still get this one done if we keep up our pace. Eva’s already got the bar construction done on the inside. Owen and Garrett can do the rest of the finish work, while the rest of you shingle the roof. I’ve almost finished the wiring in the interior walls.”

“Un-fucking-believable!” Connor threw his hands in the air, the movement similar to his father’s as the old man walked away. He stood for a moment, anger radiating off him in waves. If the look he shot his father’s retreating back could burn, the older man would have been incinerated on the spot.

“God fucking dammit! I hate this shit! I’m so goddamned tired of it!” Connor turned to Stud who was still crouched over Eva’s still form. Pain ravaged his face, making him look much older than his thirty-four years. In one of their nighttime conversations, Eva had talked to Stud about Connor being the glue that was holding the family together. The brothers were depending on him to keep the company going for their livelihood as their father was getting older and starting to make mistakes. This was a heavy burden to carry, and Stud could see the man buckling under the weight of it. Stud got the impression Connor wanted nothing more than to tell Fergus to go to hell and go to the hospital with Eva, but there was still a job site that had to be shut down properly and no one else but him to see that it got done.

“Would you please make sure the hospital does right by her and call me? Not him?” Connor’s voice ground out like he had a mouthful of gravel. “I’ll get this shit straightened out here and get there as quick as I can.”

Stud didn’t say anything to the struggling man. He just gave a short nod.

The ambulance showed up and the paramedics took charge. Stud had hoped Kat would be working the emergency room. She was one of the most competent people he knew, and he could trust her.

Stud turned and paced in the other direction, his mind both racing and numb at the same time.

“Miss Eva MacAteer?”

Betsey stood up when the doctor entered the small waiting room and Stud stopped his pacing to focus on the man.

“Not as bad as it should have been. X-rays show two cracked ribs, which is remarkable given the fall and the weight of the stones. Lots of bruises, so she’ll be sore and breathing will be hard, but I don’t see any major internal damage. I was expecting full breaks and a lot of them.”

Betsey clapped her hands. “Lord have mercy! That’s good news!”

Stud was both relieved and irritated. It sounded like the doctor was disappointed there wasn’t more injury. “Yeah. She’ll try harder next time,” he said drily.

The doctor cleared his throat and continued.

“She is concussed, but her pupils are normal and her responses are good. She has a severe laceration on her left thigh, but not as deep as we originally thought. The stone did not pierce the main artery. A few other smaller cuts and scrapes, but nothing serious. She’s being stitched up and will need to stay overnight for observation, but I’m relatively sure she can go home tomorrow.”

Home. Stud thought about it and turned to Betsey.

“Give her my room at the Lair. Only makes sense. Her house is not set up for this, her family obviously can’t take care of her, and you’ve got too much happening between the club, the bar, Brick, and Blue’s shit with Jonelle. Plus, you’re still working on Kat and Mute’s wedding.”

“All that’s true, darling.” Betsey blinked. “And I was thinking the same thing about the Lair, but lettin’ her use Table’s room since he left for Asheville this morning. He decided to go back to his grandma’s place for a bit for some help with the baby and to get his head together. He won’t be back for a while and that leaves us a space to use.”

“No,” Stud said firmly. The thought of Eva in Table’s room and ultimately in Table’s bed, even if she was alone in it, was completely repugnant to him. It was not going to happen.

“But if you ain’t got a room, where you gonna sleep? And who’s gonna take care of Eva when I cain’t?”

Stud loved that about Betsey. Always ready to help someone, club or not.

“I still have a condo out in the big development, the one I rent out all the time to tourists, but this week it’s free and I can take it off the rental site for a while. I’ll make the commute if I need to, or stay in whatever guest cabin in the compound is open. Eva will be better off in the main lodge with more people around. As far as taking care of her, I plan on doing a lot of it.”

Betsey pursed her lips, lowered her chin, and looked at Stud with both eyebrows raised. Brick called it her mama bear face. She crossed her arms in front of her body and spoke in a low don’t-mess-with-me-I’m-serious voice. “You’re a growed-up man and a good one, Stud, but I do got eyes in my head. I ain’t seen you like this over a woman before, and I’m sure as the day is long, if it were Nikki or that new girl Bambi in there, you wouldn’t be out here walking up and down like a bad-tempered bull. I reckon you got some feelings for this girl, and if that is true, then I’m happy for you, but I’m gonna have my say in that this ain’t no episode of Stud’s angels where you need a blonde, brunette, and redhead chasing after you. I’ve spent enough time with her to know Eva ain’t no woman who’s gonna chase any man. Table was right interested and would’ve been good for her, but that’s out now. If you’re gonna step in, by all means, but you just make sure this ain’t no pissin’ contest ’cause Table stepped in first.”

Stud met Betsey’s look head on. Her words made him furious. This was his business, and she had no right telling him how to handle it. But this was Betsey and he knew that when it came down to brass tacks, she had his back. The club was still tight no matter what.

“Nikki is out. She needs to be gone for good from the Lair. Last few times I’ve seen her she’s been more than drunk. She’s been tweaking on something, and anyone in this club knows that’s not done here out of respect for you and your house.”

Betsey relaxed her posture and face.

Stud kept his eyes steady on hers. “Bambi is of legal age but still way too young to be around us. She’s more fascinated with the club than with me. Been with more than just me as well. She thinks life’s a constant party and if she’s not careful, she’ll end up like Nikki. She’s still a good kid and could use some mama love.”

Betsey nodded, taking the hint.

Stud kept his voice even, but there was a core of steel in his tone. “As far as Eva is concerned, that’s my business and no one else’s.”