CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Ky
We’d been sitting there for hours with no word. A few more brothers had shown up and a few had gone to help out with the search for Ingram.
Iron made it clear that I was to stay put. I wanted to fight him, but in the end, I saw that he knew what was best. I was a mess and barely holding myself together. As much as it killed me, I stayed there because I had a feeling that I would only fuck things up further if I went along.
My only hope was that she had her cell phone on her and that they wouldn’t even think to check. I couldn’t imagine that things had changed so much that they started letting those into the camp. So I prayed that they didn’t even think or know that they would need to look for something like that.
Everything was all wrong. This night had gone from hope-filled to a nightmare in an instant. I could only imagine how Ingram must have been feeling. I should have seen his coming. I really should have. Sure Ingram left and once that happened you were pretty much forgotten. But Ingram situation was different, she was carrying the leaders baby. It was stupid of me. Careless. I should have been prepared for anything and everything and I simply was too busy trying to bury my head in the sand. It was all too much and yes, I did try, but was it really enough? No. I’d definitely say not because Ingram was God knew where and probably scared out of her fucking mind.
“Sir,” a nurse said as she stepped into the room.
“Hi, yes,” I said as I shot to my feet.
“I just wanted to let you know that he is out of surgery. The doctor will be in shortly to give you an update.”
She flashed a tight smile then backed out of the room before I could even thank her.
I could only hope that it meant that Chris was okay.
We all looked around at each other, the somber tone of the room lifted only slightly.
It was about twenty minutes later when a middle-aged man walked in and asked for me. I told him that he could speak freely in front of everyone. The doctor explained that Chris had lost a lot of blood and since Brand had been able to give them his blood type not long after he got here, they were able to get him what he needed fast enough. I mean, that was the boiled down version of what the doc said. I was trying to follow along as best as I could.
“The was a small nick to his lower intestine, we were able to clamp it and stop the bleeding. I don’t foresee him having any problems in the future, but of course, there are things that can happen,” the doctor said with a tight smile. “We’ll be giving him antibiotics and monitoring him closely for the next twenty-four hours.”
And as for the one on his neck, what I got out of that was that it would leave a nasty scar but it didn’t go deep enough to do any real damage.
In other words, Chris was going to be okay.
I nearly collapsed with relief.
“The next two weeks he’s going to be sore and he will probably need help getting around. I recommend that he doesn’t do anything strenuous and tries to rest as much as possible. Things like getting up and down are going to be painful and should be kept to a minimum. Your fiancé is very lucky, a wound like that could have been a lot worse.”
When he called Chris my fiancé, I simply cut my eyes over to Iron and gave a quick shrug. I wasn’t going to even try and explain it right then and there. I was a bit nervous that most of the club had heard that only because that wasn’t how I wanted to tell them. I mean, it wasn’t like Chris was actually my fiancé, but it sort of hinted to what was there.
I just hoped Chris didn’t hate me.
I’d let him down.
I’d gotten him stabbed and scarred.
I wasn’t able to protect him or Ingram.
I knew I’d forever carry that on my shoulders and I wouldn’t hate him a little if he blamed me too.
“He’s resting now, but if you’d like to see him, I can show you back there.”
I hesitated and glanced at Brand. While I really wanted to be there with Chris, it wasn’t right for me to deny Brand from seeing him.
“We both need to see him,” Brand said taking a step forward and clapping me on the back.
He didn’t leave any room for the doctor to argue and so the man just nodded his head and turned on his heels. The walls seemed to close in on me as we walked the long hall.
“Here we are. I’ll come by and check on him in a little while.”
The doctor left us just outside the door. I pushed it opened slowly afraid of what I’d see when I stepped into the room.
Chris looked so pale. The bandage on his neck seemed so big to me. I took long, heavy steps until I was at his side. With a sigh, I took his hand in mine. It was cold and clammy. I hated this. I hated that I’d let this happen to him.
“I knew something was up with you two,” Brand said as he rounded the other side of the bed. He was speaking to me but his eyes were on Chris. “I tried to get him to talk about it the last time we hung out, but he wouldn’t. We don’t keep secrets, Ky. Not me and Chris. Not me and the club.”
I swallowed hard.
“The same should go for you.” His eyes slid up to meet mine in an almost creepy way.
“I don’t have an excuse. But you don’t know what it’s like, Brand.” I wasn’t necessarily trying to defend my actions as much as trying to explain. “I wasn’t even sure what was going on with me to be able to talk about it at first. And when I started to figure it out, I wasn’t sure…”
I shook my head because I was at a loss for words.
“What, Ky? If the next words out of your mouth are something about the club, then so help me God. If you think we’d judge you for this—turn our backs on you for this, then you don’t really know your brothers like you should.”
That hurt. As I’m sure it did him as well. I hadn’t put faith in my club to love me no matter what. To be there for me no matter what.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, moving my gaze back to Chris.
“How did this even happen?” he asked and ran his fingers through his hair.
“Um…” Did he really want me to try and explain the whole Chris and me thing?
“No, not the two of you—although, I am really fucking curious on that one. I mean this, tonight.”
“I fucked up. I should have seen it coming. I should have been there.”
“Don’t put this on yourself, Ky. Fuck! I need to go update his parents and see if they were able to get a flight tonight.”
Brand had taken over on handling all of that. He knew Chris’ parents and kept in contact with them the whole night. I honestly was glad that he knew Chris so well. It also made me realize that I’d just been hovering on the outside of his life. I didn’t know Chris like I wanted to or his family. I knew it was my fault, I’d kept myself there but I also couldn’t say that it didn’t hurt me.
“You sit with him,” I said, blinking back the tiny amount of moisture that was starting to gather in my eyes. “I should go.”
“Or you could stay.”
His voice was soft and raw. I wasn’t sure if I’d even really heard it. Hell, that shit could have been in my head. Then Chris squeezed my hand and I nearly lost it.
“Please, stay,” he said as his beautiful eyes opened and looked into mine.
“I bought you flowers,” I blurted out because…well, I had no idea why.
Chris laughed and then winced as he wrapped his free arm around his side.
“I’m sorry. Don’t laugh. Just, don’t move. What can I do?” Everything rushed out at once.
“I’m fine,” he said blinking his eyes. “Tell me about these flowers. And more importantly, why did you buy me flowers?”
His amused smile was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. I wanted to bend down and kiss those lips. I wanted to touch him all over and breathe in his scent until it consumed me.
“Should I leave?” Brand called out from the corner.
“Hey, man,” Chris said looking over at Brand.
“I’m gonna go call your parents. They were trying to get a flight out here. I’ll let them know you’re awake.”
“Shit. Thanks.”
“Never again,” Brand said and I got the feeling like there was something I was missing.
“Yeah, yeah,” Chris whispered then Brand was out the door. “Wait! Ingram? What happened? Where is she?”
“We’re looking for her. Timothy, my mom, my dad…they’re all dead.” There was no way around it, I had to tell him. “She wasn’t there when I got there and I don’t know where she is.”
“There were two other men with them. One of them was the one that stabbed me when I opened the door. I tried, Ky. I tried to save her but I couldn’t move. They went into the living room, got Ingram, two of them took Ingram out of the front…then I don’t know.”
“Ky,” Iron said as he popped his head into the room. He didn’t have to say it, I could feel that something was wrong.
“Go,” Chris whispered as he sensed my hesitation to leave him.
I squeezed his hand and walked out of the room. Iron was already five steps ahead of me heading toward the elevator.
“Tell me you found her?” I asked, a desperate need for everything to be alright clinging to my tone.
“They had her at a motel. Mouse, B-ry, and Mason went in but then they were able to get out through another room. My guess was that they were waiting for…the head guy to come back.” I could tell he wasn’t sure what to call him. I was following along with no problem.
We stepped into the elevator and I waited for him to finished the fuck up already. Once the doors slid closed and we were alone in the metal box, he turned to me, a somber look on his face.
“They were attempting to get her down the stairs and—”
“No,” I said seeing the whole thing happen in my mind.
“Calm down, brother. We got her, she’s on her way here. I don’t know how bad it is, but she fell down almost a whole flight of stairs.”
“Fuck,” I said and tears filled my eyes. “Fuck!” I threw a punch at the metal wall. “No. No. This can’t be.”
“Ky, she needs you calm. She was still breathing when the ambulance showed up and her vitals were good.” His phone dinged the moment we stepped off the elevator. He pulled it out and checked the text as we moved forward. “She’s here, let’s go.”
Our feet pounded on the cheap floor as we navigated the corridors. Mouse came into view first, his face a mix of sadness and pain.
“Where is she?” I barked out.
“They just took her back. She passed out on the way here. Fuck. It was all my fault. I’m sorry.”
I rested my hand on his shoulder. I didn’t blame him. Hell, if he hadn’t have gone after her then I might have never seen her again. She had to be okay, I wasn’t going to think any other way.
“You got to her, thank you,” I said then dropped my hand and looked around for someone that could give me some information.
“Excuse me?” a nurse said as she approached us. “I’m looking for someone named, um, Mr. Mouse.” Her face conveyed her confusion.
“That’s me,” Mouse said stepping out in front of all of us.
My eyes cut to him and though he couldn’t see it, I had a look that was threatening to show irritation and anger.
“Miss Ingram is asking for you. She’s awake. Are you family?”
“I’m her brother,” I said stepping up beside Mouse.
“Ingram is awake, alert, and stable. The baby is being monitored and everything looks good. I’ll let the doctor tell you more. However, she is in labor right now. She’s asking for…I’m sorry, Mouse?” I couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You go, she probably doesn’t know you’re here and all,” Mouse said taking a step back.
“Yeah, okay.”
I followed the nurse and once Ingram came into view, I ran to her side.
“Thank fuck you’re okay,” I breathed out as I hugged her the best that I could.
“Ky—oh! Oh! Owie!” Her body knifed forward and sweat dotted her brow.
“It won’t be long now, Ingram,” The doctor said popping up from between her propped up legs.
Oh, um, wow. I had heard the nurse say that she was in labor and all, but clearly, I hadn’t really thought about what that meant.
I did not want to be here for this. Nope. Not one little bit.
But I knew I couldn’t leave her.
“Everything looks good with the baby. I’ll be back to check on you in about twenty minutes. You’re at eight centimeters and we’d like you to be at ten. The nurses will be right here if you feel any discomfort or feel any unusual pain. Other than that, I suspect things will be ready to go when I come back.” The doctor smiled and patted Ingram’s knee. Then she walked out of the room.
“This is not fun, Ky. I didn’t know it was going to be like this.”
“It’s alright, Ingram. I’m here.” I tried to sound reassuring and strong.
“No, please. I’m not mad at you, but I don’t want you here. I don’t want you to see this. Please, get someone else. Mouse?”
I wasn’t happy that she somehow found comfort in Mouse but it wasn’t the time to bring it up. When I stepped back to look at it, I couldn’t really be mad. Mouse had taken Ingram under his wing. He’d treated her like family should. Like a good brother would. Way better than me, and I fucking knew it. So, I was going to push my overprotective big brother instincts down and go out there and get her what she needed at the moment.
“Okay, I’ll get Mouse.” I bent over, brushed the hair from her face, and kissed her forehead.
“Wait,” she called out before I could step away. “Chris?” Her eyes went wide with panic.
“He’s a few floors up. He’s fine. I just left him and he was awake.”
“Oh,” she said sounding winded. “Good. I tried to—”
“Shhhh,” I said smoothing her hair. “He’s fine, and we can talk about it all later, when things are more private.”
I didn’t know what she was going to say, but I needed to keep that shit on lockdown for right now. She gave me a frantic nod like she understood but was freaking out.
“You sure you don’t want me to stay?”
“No, this is awful and weird. I don’t want you to see.”
“Okay, I’m going to go get Mouse now.”
“Thank you.”
I left the room, hating that I was leaving her but also a little relieved that I didn’t have to witness all of that.
“Is she okay?” Mouse said the moment he saw me as his body jerked away from the wall.
I stood tall, crossed my arms over my chest, and stared him down. He didn’t bulk up at me but he also didn’t flinch away like he was hiding something. Then I broke, because I was in the wrong again and I saw it.
“She wants you in there. But I’m telling you now, your eyes better be on hers or the fucking wall behind her back. Not so much as a glimpse of down there. I fucking mean it, Mouse.”
He smiled and nodded his head. Then his arms came around me in a manly hug. I let out a long breath and hugged him back. We broke apart like it’d never happened and we both let out a short laugh.
“I’m going to see Chris, call me when it’s safe to come down.” I didn’t add in anything about if something went wrong because I wasn’t even going to let those thoughts invade my head.
“I’ll take care of her, I promise,” he said, then with a firm clap on the back, he was off in the direction of Ingram.