Hawke
“No!” I scream out. “Don’t you dare leave me, Lu. Keep your eyes open, baby, stay with me!” Blood. There’s so much blood. Her torso is covered in it, her top no longer white but a bright red colour, and it’s spreading. I pull my shirt over my head and cover her wound with it, applying pressure there. “Keep your eyes open, baby,” I beg and lift her head and lay it on my knees. “Call a fucking ambulance!” I look down at her, she’s so pale, almost white. “Don’t you dare die on me, Lu, not now. Not now that I’ve found you. You can’t, you hear me? You’re it for me.”
Lu’s hand reaches up and she cups my cheek. Her voice is low and weak when she says, “I love you, Hawke. Always remember that.”
Fear chokes me, washing through me like nothing I’ve ever felt before. “Don’t you dare leave me, Lu. Stay with me.” Her eyes flutter closed and I swipe my thumb over her cheek. Crying, I beg her to keep her eyes open. “Lu, please keep them open, please, baby. Don’t go to sleep, fight it. Fight it hard, baby.”
Lu’s eyes remain shut, no sign of them reopening. I lean down and kiss her lips; they’re still warm. “I’m sorry, baby, I should have protected you.” My mouth dries out as I beg God to not take her. Sirens, I hear sirens getting louder. “The ambulance is close, baby. You stay with me, you hear me?” Someone nearby is wailing with pain, and I look to see Quill carrying Jasmine in his arms, telling her she’s going to be okay, promising her it will all be fine.
How can it be possible for both of us to be going through this? Our women have been hurt, we didn’t protect them. Medics run forward with a stretcher, fighting with Quill to let Jasmine go, but he refuses. “I’ll fucking put her on the stretcher, get your hands off her.”
“Sir, if you don’t let us take care of her, she will lose this baby.”
“Please, baby,” Jasmine says weakly. “Let them take me.”
The look of utter pain on Quill’s face is exactly how I feel. He nods at the medics, transferring her gently into their arms, and they lay her flat on the stretcher. She turns to a fetal position and grips her stomach. “You’re going to be okay, baby, you’ll see.”
I hope he’s right.
“Over here!” I yell when I see another couple of medics running through with a stretcher. I lift Luisa under her knees and carry her over to it.
“What happened?” they ask looking down at her, then around the club.
“She’s been shot. Please, please tell me she’s still alive.”
One medic places two fingers on Luisa’s wrist, his lips turning up in a smile after a tense moment. “She still has a pulse. It’s weak, though, we need to get her to the hospital right away.”
“Can I ride with her?”
“Of course,” the female medic says, and I follow them to the ambulance.
Holding Lu’s hand as the medic opens the doors, I whisper in her ear, “You’re going to be okay, baby. I promise.” They start to push the stretcher into the van, and I’m told to hang back while they get Lu settled. I look to my left and see Quill standing back while they push Jasmine into the back of hers. He has his face buried in his hands, so I shout, “Brother!” Quill looks up and over to me. “She’ll be fine, they both will.”
Quill’s look of pain now holds a little hope, and I’m brought back to Luisa when the medic says, “Okay, sir, you can step in now.”
I run to the back of the ambulance, and sit beside Luisa once I’m inside. One medic rushes up front to start the van, and the other begins to put all kinds of wires on Luisa, and a mask over her nose and mouth to keep her breathing. While the medic continues doing what he’s doing, I lean in and whisper in Luisa’s ear, “You’re going to be fine, you hear me? Don’t you dare leave me, Lu. If you do, I’m going to spank your ass.” That catches the medic’s attention, making him pause what he’s doing for a moment, but I don’t care. Luisa needs to know she’s gonna be in big trouble if she even thinks of leaving me.
The van moves quickly through the busy streets, siren blaring, and it’s not long till we’re at the hospital, the back of the van opening as soon as we pull up. I jump down out of the vehicle and move out the way as the medics get Luisa out. After that, everything is such a blur as she’s hurried through the hospital’s emergency doors, and nurses come running and take over. The medics give a full brief to them on what’s happened to Luisa. I can make out some words, but the rest goes way over my head with the fancy terms they use.
We’re stopped just before a couple of doors, and I’m confused as to why. One of the nurses looks pointedly at me. “Sorry, sir, you’re going to have to stay here, you can’t go into the operating theatre.”
“Like fuck I can’t. I’m not leaving her.”
“Hawke.” I feel a hand on my shoulder, and I look over and see Quill standing next to me, eyes bloodshot and looking like death. “Let them work, brother. They’ll look after her.”
I inhale deeply and let them go, but not before I lean down and kiss Luisa’s lips. “I’ll be waiting right here for you. See you soon,” I whisper, then stand back and allow them to rush through the doors.
I fall back against the wall, feeling at a complete loss. Sinking to the floor, I rest my arms on my bent knees, dip my head between my legs and start crying, praying to God to make Luisa survive this.
I hear Quill beside me follow me down the wall, and his arm drapes over my shoulders. “She’s gonna be fine, brother, we need to be strong,” he whispers, voice shaky.
I wipe my eyes with my thumbs and look over at Quill. “Fuck, man, we fucked up. We didn’t protect them.”
Quill sighs and runs his hands down his face. “I know, brother. Believe me, I feel fucking guilty as shit. I could lose my baby because I wasn’t on top of my game. I should have had more security on….”
“Was anyone shot?” I ask hesitantly.
“Just Gunner. Fucker thinks he’s gonna pick up more chicks now, with a bullet wound.”
I smile before taking a deep breath. “How’s Jasmine, any news? Did they mention anything about the baby?”
“Nope,” Quill says rotating his wedding ring around his finger. “If she loses this baby, man, I will never forgive myself.”
‘I feel ya, brother.”
“Where are they? Their names are Luisa and Jasmine.”
I look up and see Hailey standing at the nurses’ desk, looking panicked.
I stumble when I stand up, then walk up to her. I tap her on the shoulder. “Hailey, she’s in surgery.”
“Oh, Hawke, thank God. I got here as fast as I could,” she explains as she hugs me. She then starts to cry, and pulls back. “She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?”
“I’m not sure,” I say honestly. I look around the waiting room and see all our brothers sitting there, waiting for news as well. I step away from Hailey and walk over to them.
“Hey, man,” Trigger says getting up from his seat, along with Bear and Rhyder and the others. “How’s Jasmine and Luisa? Any news?” Trigger has tears in his eyes. Fucking tears. They love Luisa and Jasmine just like family.
“Don’t know, brother. She had a weak pulse when they took her in.”
“And Jasmine?” I don’t miss the wobble in Trigger’s voice, I know he feels something more than friendship for Jasmine.
“Don’t know,” I say honestly again, answering all the brothers’ questioning gazes. “Thanks for being here.”
Quill walks up behind me. “I just spoke to Jasmine’s folks, they’re catching the first plane down. They’re telling Luisa’s parents too.”
“Thanks, man. I didn’t even think of calling.”
“It’s okay, you’ve got shit on your mind.”
An hour passes before a nurse approaches us. “Is Mr. Owen here?”
Quill quickly jumps up from his chair. “I’m here, I’m Mr. Owen. Is my wife going to be okay?”
“The surgery went well. Your wife lost a lot of blood, so we had to operate right away and do a C-section. The baby is in intensive care right now, and he’s doing well, but because he’s premature he needs to be on a twenty-four hour watch, and in the incubator at least until he’s strong enough. But you can see him and your wife now, Mr. Owen.”
“Him?” Quill looks stunned. “You mean Jasmine had the baby, and it’s a boy?”
“That’s right, Mr. Owen,” she says smiling.
“Fuck me!” he grunts out, smiling wide. “I had a boy!” He turns to his brothers, and we all stand up and congratulate him, slapping his back.
“Wait, nurse? Is my wife okay?”
“She’s weak and very tired, but she’s doing fine.”
“Thank you, Lord,” he says looking up at the roof. Quill quickly rushes past me, but just as he’s about to walk through the doors, he turns back and retraces his steps, stopping in front of me. “Luisa is going to be fine, too, just wait and see,” he promises me.
I let his positive words wash over me, and I nod. “Thanks, brother. Now go and enjoy your family.”
“You’ll call me when you hear about Luisa?”
“Sure thing. “ I smile, and repeat, “Now go.” Quill returns my smile before turning and rushing off through the doors.
A son. Quill has been blessed with a son. Fuck, I’m gonna be an uncle.
“Coffee?” I look up and see Tess standing in front of me, and I happily accept the cup she’s holding out. I take a seat again and she sits beside me.
“How are you holding up, Hawke?”
I lean forward resting the cup between my knees. I take a sip of coffee, it tastes like shit. “Okay, I guess.” I sit back, running my free hand through my hair. “I fucked up, Tess.”
“What? Why?” she asks.
“I should have protected her. We weren’t in a good place.”
“Oh, Hawke, you can’t blame yourself. It was crazy, you did what you had to do.”
I sigh and rest my head back on the chair. “Maybe you’re right, Tess. I still don’t feel good about it.”
Another hour passes and I’m starting to get irritated. What the fuck is going on? Why won’t anyone come out?
I’m just about to ask the nurse at the desk, when I see a doctor exiting the doors from the surgical area. He removes his mask and runs the back of his hand over his forehead. When he walks over and stops in front of me, I look intently into his eyes, trying to gauge if it’s bad or good news he’s about to deliver. I swallow hard. “Is Luisa alive?”
“She is, and who are you?”
“I’m her….” I stop myself. “Her fiancé, I’m her fiancé,” I lie. There’s no fucking way I’m telling him I’m her boyfriend, he needs to know that I’m family or he won’t tell me shit.
“Well, then.” My brothers all get up from their chairs and step up behind me, along with Hailey and Tess. The doctor’s eyes widen when he takes in the other members of the club. Luckily I have a shirt on now, Trigger rode back to the club to get me one… well, what’s left of the club.
“Sir, I think it might be wise if we spoke alone.”
I look over at my brothers. “I’ll just be a minute. I’ll come and give you the news once I’m done.”
They sit back in their seats, and the doctor and I move over to a quieter area.
“Sir….”
“Reece,” I say, confirming my name to him.
“Okay, Reece. I’m Dr. Salvator, and I’m the one who operated on your fiancée.”
“How is she, doctor?”
“Your fiancée has lost a lot of blood. We were able to remove the bullet from her stomach, but it hit a major artery somewhere along the way.”
“But she’s going to be okay, isn’t she, doc?” My palms are sweating now.
“She’s in a coma right now, so only time will tell. The next twenty-four hours are crucial, and with her being pregnant, it’s very important she rests as much as she can, in order for the baby to survive. We’re monitoring the baby, and as far as we can tell its heartbeat is nice and strong.
The doctor keeps talking but I can’t hear anything he’s saying, just a loud buzz screaming in my ears. My mouth dries out, and my stomach dips. I finally find words. “You said baby? Are you sure?”
The doctor smiles. “Why yes, I am sure. You didn’t know she’s pregnant.”
Air, I need fucking air. I can’t breathe. My eyes blur and I feel like I’m going to faint. Baby? Luisa is pregnant? Fuck!
“Sir, are you okay?” I shake my head, trying to focus on him. He gets up and walks away, then returns with a plastic cup of water. “Here, drink this.”
I shakily take the cup out of his hand and swallow the cold liquid.
Snapping my head up to look at Dr. Salvator, I ask again, “She’s pregnant? She’s carrying my baby?”
He smiles at me. “That’s right, Reece, so it’s imperative she rests. The coma is probably good for her right now.”
“Fuck! I’m going to be a father. I’m going to have a child.” I laugh.
The doctor looks at me, concerned now. “Yes, Reece, you are going to be a father,” he confirms, and puts out his hand to shake mine.
I shake it and thump his back. “Thank you, doc.”
“You’re very welcome, but please understand that we’re not in the clear quite yet, Reece. The baby is doing fine, but if Luisa takes a turn for the worse, we’re going to have to make some tough decisions.”
“Tough decisions? Like what?” I ask, crushing the plastic cup in my hand.
The doctor looks down at it, then his gaze lands steadily back on me. “Let’s just wait and see, Reece. We don’t need to deal with all that right now. You’ve been through a hell of a night.”
I inhale deeply. “Can I go in and see her, doc?”
“Sure, but don’t be too long, you need rest yourself. She’s going to need you if she pulls through, so you need to be strong.”
“I’m not leaving her,” I warn the doctor.
He sighs and doesn’t push me. “Of course. Follow me, I’ll take you to her.”