Eagle
LINK WAS STILL on the phone when he tossed me the keys to his bike. Nodding toward Naomi, he angled the phone away from his mouth and said, “Get her to the hospital. Keep me in the loop.”
Palming the keys, I kept Naomi tucked under my arm as we made our way to her brother’s bike. Before I climbed on, I turned to face her. Her face was bruised, her eyes were red and swollen, and they looked different… off. Lost.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She couldn’t hold my gaze. “I don’t know,” she said, looking at the ground.
“Did he… did that motherfucker… touch you?” I could barely get the words out.
She shook her head. “Nothing sexual. They injected something into me and Joe… beat me up pretty good. I’m… I’m worried about the baby.” She looked up at me, and her eyes were bright with unshed tears. “I’m sorry. I tried to protect—”
“Stop. You did everything you could. I should have been there. I should have followed you, but I was just so damn stunned I couldn’t move. It’s been a long time since I’ve allowed myself to even dream about a life and a family. I thought that shit all died in Iraq. But then you showed up two years ago and made me remember what it was like to be alive. I don’t want to fuckin’ die again. No matter what happens with the baby, I meant what I said. I’m in this for the long haul.”
A tear slid down her cheek, so I gently wiped it away, carefully avoiding the bruise.
“Thank you for coming,” she said.
“Sweetheart, nothing could have kept me away. I really want to kiss you right now, but that cut on your lip looks painful and I don’t want to—”
Her mouth landed on mine before I could finish. The taste of her blood and tears about did me in, and I had to pull away before I lost myself in her. Before I lost myself in fear of all the shit that could have happened to her. We stared at each other for a beat and I saw the same fear in her eyes, along with worry. My tough-ass woman was barely holding it together.
I plucked Link’s helmet off the back of his bike and extended it toward her. “I know you don’t usually ride bitch, but you shouldn’t be driving right now. What do you say you let me take you to go get checked out?”
She accepted the helmet and slid it on, wincing when it went over the back of her head. Anger pulsed inside me, making me want to go kick Joe’s corpse right off the pier. I’d wanted to kill the son-of-a-bitch, but Naomi had needed to. I wouldn’t have dreamed of taking that duty from her.
“I suppose I could ride bitch to a Marine,” she said with a ghost of the smile that had first drawn me to her.
I climbed onto the bike and she settled in behind me. Instead of taking her to a hospital that would take forever, I drove us to a local urgent care clinic.
“Where are we?” Naomi asked, handing me her helmet as she dismounted.
“A coworker of mine is married to one of the doctors here. I didn’t know what kind of shape you’d be in, so I called him, and he said she’s working tonight. She’ll get you right in and we won’t have to worry about the cops showing up to fire domestic abuse questions at us.”
“Thank you,” Naomi said, her eyes once again brimming with emotion. “Sorry, pregnancy hormones suck ass.”
Chuckling, I grabbed her hand and we entered the clinic together. There was a vending machine right inside the door, and Naomi’s eyes went wide as she groped her side and then swore.
“What?” I asked.
“I have no idea where my purse is.”
“You hungry?” I asked.
“Starving. And thirsty.” She was practically salivating as she stared longingly at the machine.
Handing her my wallet, I stepped back and texted Link to let him know where we were and ask him to search the van for Naomi’s purse. Naomi withdrew some bills and fed the machine. She got a bottled water, a protein bar, Cheetos, a sports drink, and barbecue chips. Seemed like a weird combination to me, but since I wasn’t the one pregnant, I didn’t say shit.
She handed me back my wallet, downed the water, and started on the sports drink between bites of the barbecue chips before we hit the front desk. The receptionist welcomed us and handed over a questionnaire. As we sat down to fill it out, Naomi looked torn between answering the questions and eating, so I finally took the clipboard from her and wrote so she could eat.
By the time the form was complete, Dr. Jolene Farrell appeared and introduced herself to Naomi. I’d already met Dr. Farrell at company dinners and get-togethers. She was a tall, thin brunette with short hair and dark-rimmed glasses. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw Naomi’s face, but she recovered quickly and invited us to follow her to an examination room.
Dr. Farrell had Naomi undress from the waist down, enabling me to see the still-forming bruises for the first time. If Naomi hadn’t killed Joe, I would have hunted him down and killed him myself. I’d never had much use for bullies or abusers and it was clear that Joe had been both.
While Dr. Farrell did a physical exam, I got a text from Link letting me know they’d found Naomi’s purse. I gave her the good news as we followed Dr. Farrell back to another room where Naomi was given an ultrasound.
The moment the ultrasound technician put the jelly-covered wand on Naomi’s belly, I heard a whooshing thump-thump sound. “What is that?” I asked.
“That’s the baby’s heartbeat,” the technician replied with a smile.
Naomi teared up again. “The baby’s okay?”
I was having a difficult time getting past the whooshing thump-thump sound. That heartbeat had to be the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard. I squeezed Naomi’s hand and she looked up at me. “That’s our baby,” I said, grinning like a fool.
She matched my grin, then winced at the pain from her split lip. “Pretty cool, huh?” She turned back to the tech. “But is everything okay?”
The tech continued to roam over Naomi’s stomach, every so often hitting a bruise that made Naomi jump. She and the doctor were both studying the screen. Finally, they both nodded, and Dr. Farrell turned the screen to face us.
“Yes. It appears so,” the technician said. She highlighted an area and added, “This is the head. It looks like you’re almost ten weeks along. See, here’s the heart. All the vital organs are formed. Here’s an arm. The other arm. Legs. Umbilical cord. Everything’s measuring perfectly. Looks like you have a strong little fighter in there.”
The breath rushed from Naomi’s lungs. “Thank you.”
“Our pleasure,” Dr. Farrell replied. “We love giving good reports. Would you like us to print a couple of pictures for you to take home?”
“Please,” Naomi and I both said.
The need to be near Naomi was so damn overwhelming, I had a hard time keeping my hands off her as I texted Link an update, she got dressed, and I settled the bill. Thankfully, she seemed content to have my arm draped over her shoulders or snaked around her waist. She didn’t even give me any lip as she climbed on Link’s sled behind me. Knowing she needed a little more sustenance than vending machine food, I offered to take her to an all-night diner, but she declined. She didn’t want people to see her face and think I did that shit.
Just thinking about what had happened to her made me pissed all over again. Naomi’s arms around my waist and her head pressed against my back calmed me down on the way to the fire station, though.
Jake and Margo were waiting for us just inside the front door. They mobbed us as we entered, Margo’s eyes widening for only a second at the sight of Naomi’s face before she got her shit together. Jake had a harder time controlling his anger.
“That goddamn motherfucker! I hope he rots in hell.”
“I sent him there, Daddy,” Naomi replied.
“I know you did.” He tugged her to him and kissed her unbruised cheek. “I’m proud of you, Slugger.”
“And Link said the baby’s okay?” Margo asked.
“Yes. They did an ultrasound. Everything checked out.”
“Thank the Lord,” Margo gently patted Naomi’s belly. “I can’t believe I’m going to be a grandma. You keep fighting in there little one.” She glanced back up at Naomi. “Are you gonna find out the gender?”
Naomi glanced at me. “We haven’t really had the chance to talk about anything yet.”
Jake dropped a hand on my shoulder. “I’m gonna steal Eagle here for a minute, so Link and I can have a talk with him.”
“Dad—” Naomi started.
He held up a hand. “He knocked up my daughter. I need to find out what his intentions are.”
She sighed. “Can’t that wait? I’m tired and hungry.”
“Come on, dear,” Margo said, steering Naomi toward the kitchen. “I’ll make you something to eat while the men go stomp their feet and pound their chests.”
Jake and I joined Link in his office. Link was sitting at his desk, with a bottle of Crown Royal and a shot glass in front of him. He took one look at us and pulled two more glasses from his drawer. Pouring us each a shot, he passed me mine and said, “How’s Naomi?”
“She’s gonna be okay,” I assured him. “The baby’s fine. How’d it go at the pier.”
“That son-of-a-bitch Naomi shot… he’s Buzz’s son.”
“Shit,” I replied, knowing Buzz wouldn’t let something like that slide. There’d be repercussions. I’d have to find a way to keep my woman and child safe.
“Yeah. If Texas doesn’t put Buzz down, we’re probably gonna have to do it ourselves.” Link looked at his father. “You sure you don’t want to come back and take over, Pops? I fear I’m fuckin’ it all up.”
Jake frowned. “Then you’re doing it right, son. When you stop caring, that’s when you’ll know you’re done.”
“Did you stop caring?” Link asked.
“Fuck no. I recognized that a club’s gotta change—gotta evolve—sometimes to improve. The old guard that I brought in, they’re good men, but they would have held it back. They would have fought change every step of the way. This club’s too important to let any man’s ego or traditions get in the way. It’s gonna have to keep changing to stay relevant, to be what this city and our brothers need.”
“Is that why none of your men made it to the vote?” Link asked.
Jake nodded. “They didn’t need to be there. Sometimes we just gotta do what has to be done. Son, I’m sorry about Brass.”
Link swore, shaking his head. “Still can’t figure that motherfucker out.” He picked up his shot glass. “To fuckin’ Brass. The traitor, thief, and junkie who ate that bullet for me. Bastard surprised us all in the end, didn’t he?”
Nodding, we all drank.
Jake set his shot glass down for a refill. “He made some mistakes, but he redeemed himself in the end.”
“What did you do with his body?” I asked.
“Called in another fuckin’ favor. He’s sitting in a pine box over at Schubert’s funeral parlor. He’ll get a burial.”
Brass had grown up in the system. He had no family and had burned all the bridges with his friends. We were probably the only people in the world that would care that he was dead. Well us, and Buzz, since that motherfucker wouldn’t be getting the money he was owed.
“What about the Serpents?” I asked.
“Texas sent over a crew. They’re taking care of their own.”
“I’m just glad both of my kids are home safe tonight. And I have my first grandkid on the way.” Jake said.
“You better not fuck my sister over,” Link added, his attention back on me.
“I’d think you’d know me a little better than that,” I fired back.
“Everyone knows your reputation, Eagle. You’re an asshole.”
“If I remember right, so were you.”
Cracking a smile, he picked up his shot glass and held it in the air. I followed suit.
“You gonna marry her?” Jake asked, lifting his shot glass up as well.
“We haven’t exactly had time to talk about that. She basically told me she was pregnant and took off. Said she wanted to give me time to process.”
“And have you?” Link asked. “Processed? Whatever the fuck that means.”
Was he fucking with me? I couldn’t tell. “You know damn well how I feel about her, Link. I only stayed away from her this long because she was active duty and I couldn’t go down that road again.”
“Is she out of the service?” Jake asked.
“God, I hope so,” I breathed.
“That makes two of us,” Jake replied.
“Three,” Link added.
We all drank to that.
“I don’t want my little niece or nephew to be a bastard,” Link announced as he poured us another round.
“You think I do?” I asked.
“Well, sounds like you need to marry my sister and keep that shit from happening. By the way, Emily’s pregnant. You have two grandkids baking, Pops.”
“She is?” Jake asked, grabbing his shot glass.
“Yeah. We’ve been waiting to announce it until after her first trimester, just in case, but I’ve been drinking this shit since I got back from the pier and I don’t feel like keeping it a secret anymore. Besides, at least my kid won’t be a bastard,” he added, smirking at me.
My kid wouldn’t be a bastard either. I’d damn well find a way to get Naomi to marry me before it was born and make Link eat those words. “You’re an asshole, you know that?” I asked him.
“Takes one to know one.” He tilted his shot glass my direction. “To the luckiest assholes on the planet. How the fuck did we end up with such great women?”
I had to laugh. It was a damn good toast. “To assholes, and the women who put up with us,” I agreed, throwing back my shot.
Jake had gone quiet, his expression thoughtful as he watched me. Finally, he gave me a chin lift. “Link said something about Naomi getting caught in an ambush while on a CSAR.”
I held my hands in the air. “With all due respect, that’s not my story to tell.”
“No,” he agreed. “But she told you. She doesn’t open up to many people, but she talks to you. I know you didn’t want to be on that roof tonight—that you wanted to be there in the thick of things, exacting your revenge—but you put my girl’s safety above your own pride. You brought her home, and I will forever be grateful for that. You’re a good man, Eagle. She could have done a hell of a lot worse.”
It was high praise coming from Jake, and the significance wasn’t lost on me. He was right, Naomi had trusted me with shit she hadn’t told anyone else. She wasn’t afraid to show me her weakness, because she knew I wouldn’t use it against her. “Thank you, sir.”
“But if you hurt her, I’ll break your neck myself.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less. I would like to marry Naomi… when she’s ready.”
He clapped me on the shoulder. “And when you do, you’ll have my blessing.”
“Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say.
“All right,” Link said, setting his shot glass down for a final time and screwing the lid on the Crown Royal. He picked up the duffel bag of cash from the floor and handed it to me. “Here’s your money back, Eagle. My wife’s upstairs waiting for me and she’s a hell of a lot better to look at than you two. I’m gonna head up while I can still stumble up the stairs.”
It had been nice to clear the air with Link and Jake, but I was ready to find Naomi and take her to bed, too, so I said goodnight and headed for the kitchen.