MERCS
A persistent beeping echoes through my brain. It’s annoying and even though everything feels heavy, weighted down and hazy, I have this nagging feeling like I’m half awake, half asleep. My body is tingling, and not in a good way as I furrow my brows trying to move, but I can’t seem to make my eyes open. There’s pressure in my left hand, and I can’t seem to place what it is as the beeping becomes a little clearer and the fog begins to shift slightly more. My eyes finally function and I will them to open. Blinking slightly, shards of light slither into my view. I groan at the intrusion of light into my puffy, sore eyes as weight shifts from my chest. Effa’s head pops up, and I look down to see her, her eyes red from crying and overly tired as she weakly smiles at me tightening her hand on mine.
So that was the pressure I felt.
Her hand holding mine.
“Welcome back. You had me worried you weren’t going to wake up there for a while.” Her hand moves up gently caressing my cheek as she gazes into my eyes.
With a small smile, I swallow hard, my throat dry and hoarse. “Did he hurt y-you?” I ask, my voice cracking slightly with my concern.
She shakes her head. “No. But we told the police that it was a street gang, who were high and wearing balaclavas. We didn’t know them, and they came out of nowhere just looking for a fight. You told Raoul to take me while you fended them off.”
Furrowing my brows, I shift uncomfortably on the bed. “Why?”
She winces. “If we didn’t, they were going to go after Kiera. We couldn’t risk her, Kaden.”
A knot forms in my stomach. I want to throw up. I’m not sure if it’s from the pain radiating through my body or from the thought of him going anywhere near my sister. Either way, I feel like death right now, and I know fucking Hex is the reason for that.
“The police are going to want a statement from you, now you’re awake. You’ll need to say what I just told you to corroborate what Raoul and I told them.”
Nodding, I sigh. “Okay…” I tighten my hand in hers and look into her eyes screwing up my face in annoyance at myself. “I’m sorry.”
She looks down to the floor and exhales shaking her head. “Sorry that Hex found you? Sorry I had to fend him off? Sorry I had to decline his attempts to make me work for him? Sorry I had to dissuade him from Kiera? Sorry that I had to lie to the police? Which one exactly are you sorry for, Mercs, there’s just so damn many?”
“All of them. I hate that you even had to talk to him, let alone fend him off in any way. But what I’m truly fucking sorry for is not telling you I was in debt… a gambling debt.” Opening my eyes, I look at her to see her eyes welling with tears.
“I had no idea… none. I never pictured you as a gambler, Kaden. And online gambling, too? I mean you were twenty thousand dollars in debt. How the hell does that happen?”
“I’m not an addict. I didn’t do it for fun. I only did it once. And I did it for a reason, Effa.”
She snorts turning away from me. Standing up she starts pacing the hospital room floor. “What the hell possible reason would you need to gamble for?”
Wincing through the pain, I try to shift, so I’m sitting up in the bed. I grimace through the pain in my ribs as I slide up the bed to look at her. “I wanted the fucking money for Kiera’s procedure. I talked to Rory from Fort Affliction… this was way before you met them before I even fathomed that all of you would come to Ligonier. He told me about Sportshark and Hex, and that if I bet on a particular horse it would be a sure thing and I would win. If I won, I would have had some money to at least get things started for Kiera’s procedure, but the fucking horse didn’t even finish the race.”
She scoffs turning away from me and shakes her head. “So you went to a gambling site instead of coming to me? Even after we discussed about being honest with each other?”
Sighing, I shake my head. “I know how stupid it was, Eff. Trust me, I know. I was desperate, and I let people get inside my head.”
She spins back to face me and furrows her brows. “What do you mean? Don’t tell me this is a Jett fucking thing again?”
“That shit’s been ringing in my ears ever since Jett said it. I didn’t want to ask you for the money. I fucking wanted to find a way out… myself. Plus, let’s face it, you’ve already given my family more than enough.”
She throws her hands in the air in frustration. “You’re a complete idiot! I know you’ve been the breadwinner for a long time now. You’ve been the man of the house, and you feel like you have to be the provider. But Kaden, it’s okay to let someone else be the provider, and just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t be that provider.”
“Fuck! Eff, you might as well chop off my balls. This whole thing has been one gigantic clusterfuck, and I’ve let you become involved in something you were never even supposed to know about. I fucking don’t want you paying for my mistakes.”
“So, what… Kaden? Your pride’s a little damaged because you couldn’t get the money you needed for Kiera your way? But think about it for five fucking seconds… by finding me and by me giving you the money… that was you finding the money for her treatment you dickhead. You did it all for Kiera, and if you told me about this stupid fucking gambling debt, I could have helped you with that too.
“The thing is, Kaden, I know money is an issue for you. You’ve had to work hard for it your entire life. And I have it flowing in, in bucketfuls. So, you know what… I’m happy to give it to you. I don’t need it. Just in case you missed the memo… I don’t tend to spend my money on expensive things. So if I can use it for something amazing like curing your sister, or pulling you out of a bad situation, I’d much rather that than buying another pair of fucking shoes. Am I getting through to you?”
She reaches out grabbing my hand, I take a deep breath and nod. “Yes. But—”
“No damn buts, Kaden. Just shut up and accept what I’m saying.”
“Problem is, Eff… pride’s a bitch sometimes.”
“Yeah, well your woman is a bitch when she needs to be. So I’ve taken care of your little gambling debt. You don’t need to worry about that anymore.” My eyes open wide and I go to speak again, but she puts her hand up halting me. “No arguments on this, Kaden. I wanted Hex out of our lives, and so now he’s gone, for good. But I swear… if you ever, and I mean ever, go behind my back again or forget to mention anything this serious to me, I’ll be the one holding the baseball fucking bat.”
Letting out a small chuckle. “Is it weird I’m kinda turned on by you right now?”
She rolls her eyes. “Yes. Shut up. Now rest and recover. You’ve got some pretty good injuries, mister,” she reminds me as she moves in fluffing the pillows behind my back.
I look down to see my leg raised slightly on a pillow, I wince as I shift to ease the pain in my torso. “What’s the verdict?” I ask, and she sits back down in the seat next to my bed.
“Luckily, your nose only has a hairline fracture, but the skin was opened up pretty bad. You have stitches on the bridge of your nose, but they should heal with minimal scarring. Your right thigh has deep tissue bruising, but that will heal on its own. However, you’ll be pretty damn sore for a little while. You are lucky it’s not broken. But you do have two broken ribs on your left and one on your right, but again they’re only small breaks, nothing that some time won’t heal. You swallowed a hell of a lot of blood when they socked your nose, so then you started to throw it all up. We thought you might have had some internal injuries, but turns out it’s just some hardcore bruising. You hit your head pretty hard when you fell, though, and it caused a concussion. You’re pretty doped up on morphine right now, which I’m sure is helping with the pain. You were lucky, Kaden. It could have been much, much worse.”
Sighing, I shake my head. “I’m sorry I put you in that situation. It must have been terrifying.”
Her face falls, and she winces like she’s reliving it. “Seeing the man you’re deeply in love with being beaten nearly to death…” she clears her throat, “… I’m just glad you’re awake.”
I reach out for her hand, and she threads her fingers with mine as I look at her. She’s still in her leather dress and boots, wearing my jacket and I furrow my brows. “Have you been back to the hotel yet?”
She shakes her head. “No. I haven’t left your side.”
“What time is it?” I ask, and she looks above my head obviously at a clock on the wall. “About eleven.”
The sun is shining so she must mean in the morning. “Have you slept at all?”
She shakes her head again. “No. I was so worried you might vomit blood again. Plus, I wanted to be awake when you woke up. And I needed to tell you the story in case the police came in.”
“Jesus, Eff. I’ve put you through so much damn shit. Fuck! I put you and Kiera in danger.”
She sighs. “I don’t think I was ever in danger really. Hex seemed only out for you. Raoul did well in keeping me back. He’s taking it tough, though. I think hearing that they wanted to go after Kiera has him on edge. He wanted to go back to Ligonier straight away to keep her safe, but of course, we wouldn’t let him. We need him here with us. But we sent a security detail to the hospital in Pittsburgh to make sure everything is fine. They’re keeping a low profile, and Gran and Kiera don’t even know they’re there. So far, there are no reports of anything since Hex has been paid out.”
“Raoul really cares about Kiera that much?” I ask.
Effa shrugs. “Seems so, they’ve bonded quite a lot. It’s cute. He rang and told Kiera and Gran you’re in the hospital. That you had an accident but didn’t tell them what. Just that you’d be fine and not to worry. I think he wanted to check on Kiera as well… you know, make sure she was okay.”
Letting out a long sigh, I nod. “I should call them.”
“Yes, you should. But first, I need to let the doctors know you’re awake so they can check you out.” She presses the call button, and I lay back waiting for the doctors to come in.
After the doctors inspected me, the police followed. I gave them my statement, just as Effa told me to, and they seemed happy with my version of events. I’m glad that with the morphine high I’m currently experiencing, I remembered everything Effa told me to tell them.
But after that, I sent Effa back to the hotel to get some much-deserved rest. Putting her through so much stress in her already weakened state, really has me concerned for her health. I should be looking after her, not the other way round. And Effa having to spend a vigil all night awake by my bedside has me feeling like absolute fucking shit. She asked if I wanted her to cancel the show at Madison Square Gardens tonight, and I told her that would be ridiculous. We’re only three weeks back into the band’s tour, and for her to cancel another show now, just because of my stupidity, would be very unwise. So Tank is taking the lead while I try to recover.
I’m not looking forward to having Luke visit me. Hell, I don’t know if I even have a job to go back to once I’m back on my feet, but all I know is that the show must to go on. Even if I’m stuck in this hospital for a few days and I have to catch up to them. They can’t stop for me.
But right now, I have a call to make while I wait for Luke to show up. So, I grab my cell on the portable bench by my bed and dial Kiera’s cell at the hospital. It doesn’t take long before it answers.
“Kaden?” Kiera’s voice chimes down the line.
“Hey, booger-butt…”
“Oh… my… God, it’s so good to hear your voice. What the hell happened? Raoul was not helpful at all, and would only tell me you’re in the hospital with broken ribs, and a banged up nose. What the fuck, Kaden?”
Smiling, I relax into the bed at hearing her voice. Part of me thought even though Effa sorted shit out with Hex that he would still go after Kiera. After all, he realizes that Effa’s a money pit, and I was sure he wouldn’t stick to his word, but the man does have a moral compass after all.
“Man, it’s good to hear your voice, Kiera.”
She snorts. “Are you high on morphine? You’re never nice to me.”
“High on morphine, yes. But this bullshit has shown me what I really care about… you, Gran and Effa mean everything. I love you guys, don’t ever forget that.”
She is quiet for a moment. “Kaden… you’re scaring me. Are you more hurt than you’re letting on?”
I chuckle. “No, I’m fine. I promise. I’ll be good as new in no time. How are you feeling?”
She sniffs and clears her throat. “This phone call is not about me, Kades. We are solely focusing on you and how you’re feeling.”
“I just need a little recovery time, and then I’ll be good as new.”
“Will you be home before Christmas?” she asks, and I find it strange she’s asking that question when she already knows the answer.
“Of course, I’ll come home as soon as the band breaks for Christmas.”
She’s quiet for a little while longer, and I furrow my brows. “Kiera, are you okay?”
She exhales and laughs. “Fine, just processing. I hate the idea of you being hurt. I want to make sure you’re home for Christmas so I can see you.”
Tensing up, something’s off with her, but I don’t want to push. “I’ll be home. You don’t have to worry about that, booger-butt. I promise.”
“So, you gonna tell me what the hell happened to you?” she asks.
Clearing my throat, I grimace. “I was attacked in an alley, after getting a tatt with Effa—”
“Oh my God, is Effa okay?”
“She’s fine. They only went after me. Raoul got Effa the hell out of there while I distracted them. They were junkies looking for some cash.”
Fuck I hate lying to her, but the fewer people that know the truth, the better. I don’t want Kiera messed up in Hex’s fucking business. She can think the same as the cops and so can Gran. As long as we can keep the truth in-house, then we should be fine.
“Did they get away with much?” she asks.
“Enough. But we don’t have to worry about them, Kiera. They were just thugs. They won’t bother us again. The police have made sure of it.”
She lets out a relieved sigh. “And are you okay? Physically, I mean? Are you in a lot of pain?”
“I’ll be fine. Give me a couple of days of healing, and I should be good to go. How’s Gran?”
“Worried as hell. She’s gone down for a coffee at the café, but I’ll get her to call you when she gets back.”
I nod even though she can’t see me. “Okay. And how are you? Really?”
“I’m fine. Don’t worry about little old me. I just want you to look after yourself, and make sure you look after Effa. I know you and she are meant to be together. She’s the best thing that’s happened to you, Kaden. So I want you to keep her around. No matter what. Promise me you’ll marry that girl…” The tenor in her voice has dropped taking on a more serious tone.
“Of course, I’m not letting Effa out of my grasp. She’s the one for me, Kiera. I can feel it, so yes, I promise you.”
“Good, I’m glad to hear it. Because she is perfect for you. And I love her, too. So that’s what really matters, right?” Her tone’s returned to playful and cheery.
I smirk and chuckle. “Right.”
The door to my hospital room swings opens, and I glance up to see Luke walking in, his face cold, hard and definitely angry.
I take a deep breath. “Well, booger-butt, I better go. But I want you to know that I love you, and next time I call I want to hear all about how well you’re doing.”
She chuckles, and the sound is music to my ears. “I love you, too, Kaden. So much. You have no idea what you have done for me. You’ve been the best brother a girl could ask for. I can’t wait to see you and if you can, bring Effa with you, too. I’d love to see her again, even if it’s just for Christmas.”
“I’m sure she’ll be there for Christmas, booger-butt. But I’ll be there as soon as I can. I promise.”
“Talk soon.”
“Will do, love you.”
“You said that already, I’m hanging up now.”
I chuckle as she hangs up the cell and I take a deep breath as I place it down and then look up to Luke who’s standing at the edge of my bed, arms crossed, and a scowl on his face that would scare little children.
Hell, it’s intimidating me.