Ryker
Cuppin’ her belly, teeth grittin’, smoky eyes squintin’ in pain, Vanessa exhales heavily as another contraction takes its vicious toll. “We…must…get to the…fuck… hospital,” she pants, shufflin’ another tiny step closer to her car, wearin’ a pair of silver heels. You heard that right. Stripper, platform heels. She even put on her face. Didn’t wanna be fugly when our son comes into the world—her words, not mine. I cannot believe this is fuckin’ happenin’. How did I leave here hours ago to try and make it right with Kat… to this? It doesn’t make a goddamn lick of sense. But I can’t assume what’s happenin’ inside Vanessa’s body when I don’t have a vagina or human growin’ in my stomach. If these are Braxton Hicks contractions, I’ll leave that up to the doctor to decide. The sooner we get to the hospital, the quicker she’ll stop whinin’ like Peg Bundy on blow.
Pryin’ open her car door, I sweep my hand to the seat for her to settle her ass into. It’s not that hard. Ten steps and she’ll be sittin’ pretty. I gotta be honest, this isn’t how I wanted my day to go. It’s been… an explosion of pain blazes through my leg. What the hell? There’s a sudden flash of headlights from the right… then noise. So much noise. A blast of white slams into my face, throwin’ my head back, stealin’ my breath. My vision recedes to bleak nothingness. What’s goin’ on?! Where the hell am I?! Vanessa unleashes a blood curdling scream, but I can’t see her. I can’t see a damn thing! Inhaling sharply, the metallic stench of blood abrades my nostrils. The world slows, punctuated by the sharp, excruciating agony that throbs through every inch of flesh.
My finger twitches… I think.
What the fuck kinda voodoo shit is this?
A lethargic fog of blackness swirls inside my skull.
Is this what death feels like?
A shivery sensation flows down my arm. Is it really my arm? Or am I imagining all this?
Another involuntary twitch.
Why can’t I see a goddamn thing?
Where are my fuckin’ eyes? Open, you stubborn assholes.
I try to make them and… nothin’. Frustrated, a low growl rumbles in my chest, but stops short when a fresh wave of pain emanates there. Sonofabitch.
“Bro?” A rough heat envelops my twitching extremity, calmin’ it.
Wait… What the… Is that Kade?
Where’s Vanessa? Weren’t we in the car on the way to the hospital? This doesn’t make any sense.
“Bro?” Kade’s deep voice bounces around inside my cranium like a spastic ping pong ball. “Can you hear me? You’re movin’ your fingers.”
Hell, yes, I can hear you, dumbass.
I attempt to open my mouth to tell him where to shove his misplaced concern, only… nothin’ comes out. Fuck. Did my lips even part? What in the good goddamn is goin’ on? Why can’t I see? Why can’t I talk? Why do I hurt so much? And more importantly, where the hell is Kat?
Heavin’ an internal sigh, since my pathetic body can’t seem to get with the program, I focus all my energy where that heat wraps around my hand and force my fingers to move. It’s not much, but I know I’m successful when my brother gasps.
“Fuck. You can hear me.”
Bingo.
With some considerable effort on my part, another wave of inner strength sweeps down my arm and flips him off. Or tries to. Who the hell knows? Subsequently, an equally potent wave of fatigue follows, and my brain dims. Thoughts jumble. Cognition flickers.
Nope. You stupid, weak ass body better not give out on me now. Not when my brother’s here.
“Stop tryin’ to move, Ryker. Your blood pressure’s spiking,” Kade admonishes.
Right. You try layin’ here like a root vegetable and see if you can accept it.
I must expel some sort of noise when my brother adds, “Yeah. You heard me, you stubborn asshole, be still and listen.”
As if I got any other choice than to listen to Mr. Bossy Pants talk.
If my eyes could roll, I’d take a page right outta my Tiger’s book of Sexy as Sin Sarcasm, and roll these motherfuckers.
Kade continues, “I dunno how much of this you’re gonna remember. Guess I’ll tell ya again once your ass wakes up for good…I hate to be the bearer of bad news…but you got in a wreck with Vanessa. A rival club hit you. Flipped your car. Then one of those bastards shot you up. Your leg’s broke. You bled out. Flatlined twice. You’ve been in the hospital for six days.”
Jesus Christ!
My hand twitches again. Not on purpose. The pain intensifies—everywhere. Growin’ from a steady, yet manageable simmer to a raging boil. Fuckkk. Where’s the morphine button when you need it? Isn’t that somethin’ they do in the movies? Give you a button to lessen the damn pain. They better not have given me Tylenol for a broken leg. I’ll crack some skulls if they’re pussin’ out on the narcotics. This shit is… Fuck me sideways! A red-hot poker bulldozes its way through my arm.
I gasp loudly.
Kade pats my hand as if that’s gonna help a thing. “Calm down, fucker. You gotta keep your blood pressure in check. It’s not good for your heart. You went into cardiac arrest. I’m not gonna tell you another fuckin’ thing ‘til you get yourself under control.”
Easy for you to say, dipshit, you’re not lying here helpless as millions of tiny fire ants eat you alive, one tasty cell at a time. Is this the penance God’s making me pay for hurting Kat? Is this what I deserved all along? To drown in agony as the love of my life hates me? Don’t think I don’t know she feels that way. Don’t think I don’t realize that leavin’ her again without so much of a notice broke her in two. I know by not tellin’ her what was goin’ down that I demolished the bridge we were rebuilding to become us again. It’s a choice I had to make to keep her safe. I couldn’t tell her. Club business stays club business. No matter what. Even if that means I ruined the last chance I ever had to be with her. You do what you gotta do to keep the ones you love out of harm’s way, and I refuse to regret a second of it.
Wait…
Kade hasn’t mentioned anythin’ about Kat.
What if…
Centering myself, I pull in a deep lungful of air and release it slowly. Fuck the pain. I need to know where my Tiger is. And if Kade won’t give up the goods ‘til I get my blood pressure down, then I’m gonna force it back to normal. Mind over matter. I’ve got this.
The room falls silent. A constant heat touchin’ my hand strokes the underside of my wrist roughly. At least I think it’s my wrist. This sensory shit is screwin’ with my head. Pain’s no joke.
A tiny knock resonates from somewhere, then a woman’s voice I’ve never heard before speaks. “Everything alright in here?”
“He’s awake. Well, not awake, awake. ‘Cause he hasn’t opened his eyes or said anythin’. But he’s listenin’,” Kade replies.
“Sure. Right.” By the woman’s placating tone, you can tell she thinks he’s a little touched in the head. Fuck her. I’m right here.
“Believe what you want, lady. I don’t care. But he needs more painkillers,” Kade growls. “Now.”
Jesus, I would kiss his ugly mug right now if I could.
Exhalin’ heavily, I try to focus on them, not the fire ants from hell snacking on my innards.
“Sir…erm. I can’t do that without a doctor’s order.”
“Then get it.”
“Sir. We have him on a strict regimen.”
“Yes. A bullshit one. Can’t you tell his blood pressure’s high ‘cause he’s in pain? If my brother’s heart gives out ‘cause you’re negligent pricks, there ain’t nobody in the world gonna save you from me, sweetheart.”
There’s a horrified gasp that echoes, followed by a door slamming shut. Beside me, Kade groans, “Touchy bitches. I swear you’d think they’d never been threatened before.”
Humored by the jackass, I grin on the inside. Kade’s quite the asshole when he wants to be. It’s damn good to hear his voice.
He pats some part of my arm. “No worries, bro. She’s got five minutes to get you somethin’ better, or I’m callin’ Pops to bring the boys in. Trust me, they don’t want a hospital overrun by a bunch of pissed off bikers. And the cops ‘round here won’t do shit about it. If I had half a brain, I’d have made them take you to a better hospital. You deserve better care than what this Podunk piece of shit can give ya. But I guess they’re not so bad if they kept your ass alive long enough for Kat to kill ya all over again.” He snorts. “You’re in so much trouble.”
Kat, just the sound of her name eases something down deep in my soul, if I have one. I don’t care if she’s angry with me or not. I can live with that. If Kade says she wants to murder me, then that’s gotta mean she’s whole. And there’s nothin’ else I want in this world other than my woman to be okay, along with my precious girls. And no, I don’t mean Vanessa.
A door opens tearin’ me from my thoughts. The sound of squeaky shoes on a smooth floor draws closer.
“It’s about damn time. What took ya so long?” Kade scolds whoever’s here.
“Mr. Knox, you need to watch your snappy tone.” A totally different nurse returns with a whole lotta bark. “You may think you can boss Melinda around. But I will not be your whipping post. I know you’re concerned about your brother. That is why I’m here to give him another dose of medication to ease his pain. If he’s awake as you told Melinda he is, that’s not gonna last long once I push this into his IV. So you better say what you gotta say beforehand.”
“No need. Make him feel better.”
“Suit yourself.”
Fingers grasp my hand on one side as a different type of burning sensation flows into my opposite arm, rippin’ through the extremity with a vengeance. I gasp a noiseless breath, flexin’ my fingers a millisecond before a rich, liquid warmth washes over me, extinguishing the pain to nothin’ more than a whisper on the wind.
“Sleep tight, bro,” Kade says.
I will, brother. I will.