~ Ryder ~
Walking down the hall beside the gurney, Ryder was reluctant to let Darkness out of his sight. The club physician was meeting them, but there was a surgeon on standby already. Several brothers were milling about when they arrived.
Strong hands grabbed him, and Ven gave him a little jerk. “You can’t go into the operating room, son. They got this.”
Hickory added gently, “Let the doctors do their job.”
Looking from one familiar face to the other, Ryder knew the older men were right. The overpowering urge to stick by his friend’s side and protect him, though, was difficult to contain. “What about the bitch?” he growled.
Hickory leaned over, whispering in his ear, “She’s under lock and key. We got her patched up. Don’t talk about that here.”
Nodding, Ryder refused to leave the doorway leading to the surgical suite. Adrenaline still coursed through his veins, stimulating his baser instincts. Since there was no one to fight, he was filled with an explosive kind of energy, making him feel as if he could run circles around the building right then. Since that would require him abandoning his post, he elected to continue pacing instead. Back and forth, he walked in front of the heavy double doors, wondering if Darkness was going to make it out of surgery.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been pacing, but after some time, Ryder felt a gentle hand on his arm. Tiffany’s soft voice and delicate scent swamped his senses, causing him to come to a stuttering stop.
“I’m sorry, baby. I came as soon as I heard. Are you okay?” Those wide eyes of hers looking up at him with such care and concern, his heart twisted in his chest.
Wrapping her up in his arms, Ryder pulled her close and tucked her head under his chin. Having her close soothed his battered, worried soul. Feeling her arms come up around his waist, he stilled and allowed his racing heart to slow.
Murmuring in her ear, he tried to reassure her. “I’m fine, doll. I promise.”
Holding him tighter, she whispered, “Someone shot at you?”
“No, it wasn’t like that,” he said, well aware he was juggling apples and oranges. “Someone shot at a woman talking to Darkness, and he jumped in front of her.”
“Did you catch the person?”
Feeling his spinal cord turn to steel, he replied quietly, “No, but we sure as hell are going to track them down.”
After a moment, Tiffany sighed and stepped back, her hand falling on his and their fingers weaving together. “Come and sit down. You can see the door from the sitting area.”
Hell, Ryder wanted to keep up with the pacing, but when his woman requested something from him, he couldn’t say no. “Sure thing, sweetness.”
Settling down into a row of joined seats along the wall, Ryder forced himself to remain calm. Eventually, law enforcement came and took a written statement. Naturally, he told them someone shot at them, and he didn’t know who.
Ryder spread his hands. “Maybe it was just kids camped out around there, fooling around.”
Without looking up, the officer typed into his tablet. “Sounds like it. Sign here, sir.”
Too. Easy. Grabbing the stylus, Ryder scribbled his name, knowing the cops in this one-horse town didn’t give a goddamn if the outlaws shot each other up. As long as they stayed away from regular citizens, it was all good.
Shoving the stylus and tablet back at the man in blue, he grumbled, “It’s nice to see my tax dollars in action.”
Mumbling a barely audible reply, the officer turned to his partner, and they headed out.
Disgust and anger only added fuel to the fire already burning inside him. “Fucking pigs. A brother’s life ain’t worth shit to them.”
Tiffany slipped her hand into his, responding quietly, “I don’t think it’s because Darkness is a biker. Law enforcement officers tend to devalue anyone they see a lot. Bikers, addicts, the homeless, domestic violence victims…we’re all just seen as some kind of nuisance in their world.”
Ryder’s eyes jumped up to her clear blue, if somewhat bloodshot, eyes. Sighing, he tugged her closer. “This has been one hell of a night for you, hasn’t it? One minute, you’re nice and drunk, the next you’re snoring, and now you’re here.”
They sat up, as Ven pressed small paper cups of coffee into their hands. “Thanks, old man.”
Squatting down in front of him, Ven whispered, “We talked to Dwaine. Goddamn, that boy stutters so bad I finally had to give it up. We already put the clubhouse on lock-down and have every brother on the lookout for the Seven Devils.”
Nodding, Ryder took a sip of the bitter brew. It tasted like shit, but the shot of caffeine was welcome. “I wish we knew something. What’s taking so damned long?”
Tiffany squeezed his hand, and his father murmured, “Waiting is always the hardest part, son.”
Tiffany’s soft voice added, “I’m sure he’ll pull through. Darkness seems strong. Don’t be thinking that they’ll get him walking out of here any time soon, though. Taking a bullet to the back is no joke. They said he was wheezing, so I think the bullet must have nicked his lung.”
Ryder swallowed thickly. “It did. I heard the EMS personnel talking about it on the ride over.”
The minutes slowly turned into hours as the small number of brothers grew into a crowd. They were all moved to another waiting area after Darkness was taken to an intensive recovery unit for monitoring. Rose showed up, plopped down between Ryder and her father, and turned curious eyes upon them.
It was Tiffany who spoke first. “Darkness made it out of surgery, and we’ve been told he’s doing relatively well. They’re going to monitor him closely for the next twenty-four hours then move him to a private room.”
Looking down, the girl seemed stunned. “I can’t believe he’s down,” she said, her voice hollow. “I never thought I’d see the day when anything could harm him.”
Feeling for the girl, Ryder cupped his hands over hers. “He ain’t made of titanium or nothin’, Rose. We all bleed when you shoot us.”
“You’re all just people. I knew that,” she said, but the tone of her voice suggested otherwise.
Ryder wrapped an arm around her and tugged her close, tucking her head under his chin. Hooking his other arm around Tiffany he pulled her close, too, and she rested her head on his other shoulder. His chest ached when the two of them joined hands. They looked so much like sisters taking strength from each other in their time of need, but it was mostly Rose accepting Tiffany’s consoling.
Ryder had never felt so much as he did at that moment. Normally, he’d take a walk outside and clear his head, but walking out on his woman and sister wasn’t an option at the moment. He wasn’t used to feeling stuck.
Eventually, they fell asleep, and he relaxed back into the large plush seat, making the best of an uncomfortable situation. Replaying the night’s events in his mind, he pulled out his cell phone and began reviewing images of the warehouse.
The Seven Devils had tagged it with their signs, and that meant they weren’t even trying to hide the fact that they’d been there. On the one hand, it was a shitty thing to do because now the cops knew there was a gang-related property dispute over the venue. It would be one of the places they searched if and when the need arose to face off against his club.
On the other hand, they hadn’t actually bought the property yet. Having the isolated, empty building covered in gang signs and the site of a shootout would mean little more than a side note in the cops’ report. They wouldn’t waste much if any time on this crime or the location attached to it.
Another thought occurred to him. Maybe the Seven Devils were trying to make his club think twice about purchasing the property for other than what Devil stated. A nasty thought flew into Ryder’s head and nested there. Perhaps the Seven Devils were trying to muscle into their territory.
He stilled as the blood in his veins ran cold. Stealing a glance at the women snuggled up to each side of him, he thought of the times they’d butted heads with the Devils. Most of those disagreements had been over the Seven Devils’ stock and trade. They were into the skin trade, providing women for brothels all over Dakota Territory.
Clutching his cell phone, he tried not to wake the girls when he squeezed them closer. He would not let them move into his territory or allow them access to the vulnerable women he was tasked with protecting.
Gazing around at the few remaining brothers who had not been assigned other tasks, Ryder brought his cell phone up to type. He texted Hickory, who was in charge until Darkness was up and about again. Even though the VP was sitting right there across the way from him, it was a more secure method of communication.
Ryder: Why do you think the Devils are interested in the clubhouse?
Hickory: I’ve been thinking about that. They don’t want us to have the warehouse.
Ryder: That warehouse is in an isolated location.
Hickory: Maybe they’re lookin’ to expand into our territory.
Ryder: We can’t let that happen.
Hickory: I already sent word to our attorney this morning to buy it up.
Ryder: Good. If the Devils are willing to shed blood over it, there must be a reason.
Hickory: Agreed.
Daylight broke through the windows, waking the sleeping girls. Tiffany spoke with the nursing station and came straight back.
“They’re telling me he’s stable and resting peacefully. We should get some sleep and come back later in the day.”
Hickory jerked his head toward the door. “Go, get some sleep. Ven and I will stay.”
Without anyone saying a word, Ryder knew it was because they’d never leave a brother open when he was down. They would all take turns keeping watch until Darkness was able to go home.
Gathering up the women, he took them to his place, and little Rose crashed out in his spare room. Tiffany’s hands smoothing over his back in a warm caress was the last thing Ryder remembered before tumbling off to sleep.