CHAPTER TWELVE

– brAN –

We walk the hospital hall together, side by side with his warm palm against mine and our fingers linked. Everything that happened, adrenaline pumping wildly with the sound of gunshots, is a reminder of the danger motorcycle clubs are surrounded with.

My father died as a result of some dispute between two bikers. Hell, I was driven to kill a person, a biker, to protect my sister and Heath. Everything about this should have me running in the opposite direction and yet I strongly feel I'm right where I need to be.

A younger guy is standing in front of the room Lynn is in. He's wearing a leather cut and when he turns the word "Prospect" stares at me. Another reminder of death with the prospect that was killed today.

I know Blue, Lynn, and Bee told me and my sister club life isn't always death, danger, and destruction. How their club has the rough edge due to the crime cases they take and how Areion Fury MC only has shit hitting the fan when it's another MC entering their territory. Which doesn't happen very often.

Though, it's happening now, and with the same ones who are after Dee. I would say me too, but to be honest…Dee is the witness. They saw her and know what she looks like and will testify against them to get justice for our father.

"Everything okay?" Heath whispers.

I blink a few times to clear my head and realize I'm frozen to the floor. "Sorry, my mind just went in a tailspin after I noticed the prospect's bottom rocker."

Heath cups my face and feathers a kiss against my lips. "It's a lot to process but we'll get through this. It'll probably get worse before shit gets better, but we will overcome and get back on track."

I place my hand on his leather cut, covering the president's patch. "I know. The old ladies explained it. And to be honest? Tar Lines found us and I'm sure they would have if we were anywhere else. I'd rather be here with you, facing everything together." I wince and add, "I'm not sure about my sister and Hayden, though. Those two might kill one another while we're trying to fix things."

"You and me both," he grumbles. "We'll tackle that issue after we've handled Tar Lines. The first priority is keeping her safe. You too 'cause for a lot of people you two are a carbon copy of one another. People can easily mistake you for your sister."

"Yeah," I muse and give a gentle pull on his leather cut.

He catches on quickly and bends down to kiss me. I'll never grow tired of the way his mouth feels on mine. The tingling rush entering my body, making me crave to feel him everywhere.

"Are we gonna visit Aunt Lynn?" Hayden rumbles, making Heath break our kiss.

"Asshole," Heath snaps.

Hayden flips him off. "There's a time for tonsil tag, but right now isn't it, brother. We have family to visit and havoc to handle."

Heath links my fingers with his again and pulls me into the room. The whole space is filled with people. Lynn is on the bed, her head is bandaged, and Deeds is beside her talking to her.

I squeeze our joined hands and murmur, "Lynn has a small bleed on her brain and they are keeping her overnight for observation. If all goes well it should resolve on its own, but they are keeping a close eye on her to ensure proper healing and prevent any complications."

"Thank fuck Uncle Deeds demanded she get checked out at the hospital," Heath replies.

Bobbing my head, I tell him, "Lynn really didn't want to go. Deeds and Archer threatened to put her on lockdown, preventing her from interfering with her kids and their MCs, they even went as far as taking her phone. She eventually gave in because Leontine recited the symptoms of a brain bleed and Lynn admitted she felt some of those."

"Damn. The woman is fierce, but she also knows when to take a step back and listen," Heath muses.

His mother steps toward us. "Hey, I'm going to get a cup of coffee. Want one?"

"I'm good, thanks, but I can come with you," I offer.

Heath squeezes my hand. "I need you with me, at least for now. Where's Dad?"

Blue smiles at us and clears her throat when she addresses Heath, "He went back to the clubhouse with some of the Broken Deeds brothers. Vachs, Kray, Austin, Arrow, and I think he mentioned a few others."

"Good," Heath grunts. "Ma, take the prospect with you."

Blue frowns. "I'll just be down the hall and there's people everywhere."

Heath shrugs. "Don't care. Take the prospect."

She rolls her eyes. "Fine. Are you sure you don't need some caffeine, sweetheart?" Blue asks me. "It's going to be a long night for sure."

"I've had way too much already waiting for Heath to regain consciousness," I tell her. "Thanks, though."

Blue smiles once more and slips out the door.

"You were waiting for me to wake up?" Heath croaks.

I turn to stare into his captivating blue eyes. "I went to you as soon as I heard you were here too. Your annoying twin kept me company in front of your room after you came out of surgery to get the bullet out. All the others are in the waiting room, and those with a connection to Lynn are in her room. Dee stayed with Lynn to avoid Hayden."

Heath winces when he moves his arm and I can't help but worry. "Are you sure it's okay to be out of that hospital bed?"

"No, but I can't afford to lay down and rest." He releases a deep sigh and gently brushes his knuckles along my cheek. "I'll lay down when I know the damage that's been done to my brothers and the club."

I turn to glare at Hayden who is leaning against the wall, his gaze locked on my sister who is avoiding him.

Turning my attention back to Heath I ask, "There are two of you, Hayden should take lead while you get some shut-eye to heal your body. Kyan has his back as well."

A blinding smile is what I get in return. "My old lady slides in fucking hot. I should have invited my aunt and the rest of the old ladies over the second I brought you into my world. Fucking hell, the lost time between us is definitely something we'll make up, and I'm thankful my mother put you first by being there when you almost ran out on us."

I step closer and press myself against him, careful to avoid his injured arm. "I'm not running out on us again."

"Damn right," he murmurs and uses his good arm to pull me tighter against him. "Now, let's get through this day that hopefully ends with you and me in bed together."

"Heath, can I have a minute?" Archer asks.

Heath keeps his arm around me when he faces his cousin. "Sure."

Archer's gaze slides to me for a heartbeat. "In private or?"

The next words coming from Heath solidify our bond when he states, "Bran is my old lady and has killed to protect me so you can speak freely in front of her."

Archer grins and the fucker smacks the shoulder of his injured arm. "Fuckin' A, congrats on finding the perfect one for you. My ma rattled some shit about her and her twin, but I haven't heard anything solid coming from you or Hayden for that matter."

Heath winces, and I internally cringe and agree with my old man when he states, "Bran and I are solid. Hayden, though–"

When Heath falls silent, I finish his sentence with, "Is born second, just like Dee so those two might need more than a few minutes to catch up."

Both Archer and Heath chuckle, and it's Archer who says, "Sounds about right. We have twins in my club who drive others to madness with the claiming part." He gives a shake of his head and switches topics when he states, "Tar Lines didn't leave town. Earlier we spotted a handful of Tar Lines members at Mia's house."

"Derek's sister," Heath muses. "Forgot about her with all the shit going down."

"The brother I put on stakeout at her place didn't see her and he tried to follow the Tar Lines bikers who were at her place but he was spotted and had to end the pursuit when they started shooting. They were in the middle of town, a busy street for fuck's sake," Archer snarls, keeping his voice low not to draw attention of the others in this hospital room.

"They killed my father as an innocent bystander because two members were having a dispute," I grit. "So, it doesn't surprise me at all. Tar Lines doesn't care about anyone else, except for themselves."

Archer nods. "I'm sorry for your loss, and I think it's honorable to stand up and fight the way you and your sister have done."

I look away because there's nothing honorable about speaking the truth and having to leave everything to run in an effort to stay alive.

Heath tightens his arm around me and places a kiss on the crown of my head. "We're going to end it, darlin'. This might not be over today, tomorrow, or next week, but we will bring those fuckers to an end."

Archer narrows his eyes. "That line should end with ‘bring those fuckers to justice.' You know I can't help Areion Fury if you're going on a rampage over a turf war."

Heath stares his cousin down. "This ain't about a damn turf war. Those fuckers came into my damn town to wreak havoc with the determination to kill a witness that can bring down their president and VP. All while willing to slaughter everyone who gets in their way."

I swallow hard because the things I went through today might not have been the same as what Heath and the others went through. Pierce's death is a solid reminder.

"And that's what my report will say and what I wanted to talk to you about. We need to stay focused and work together on this. They came to your clubhouse and you guys defended yourselves. I'm standing here as your cousin giving you a reminder that the government gave me fair warning. No vigilante shit from Areion Fury members. So, keep that in mind. When shit hits the fan, call me and we'll go in, okay? No flying under the radar on this and going out on a rampage." Archer glances over his shoulder at Hayden. "Make it clear to your twin as well. Between the two of you, he's the hothead and you always think before you act, that's why I'm telling you."

"Appreciate it," Heath grunts. "The heads-up, the warning, and coming to me first. I'll talk with Hayden, but Archer?"

Archer sighs and his hand comes up with an "out with it" move.

Heath keeps his voice low and full of menace when he says, "If I get a chance to take down those Tar Lines fuckers? I'm not going to leave it up to you."

They stare at one another until Archer shakes his head with a disapproving look on his face. "Just make sure there's no blowback and bury those bodies deep."

"When I'm done with them there won't be anything left to bury," Heath promises.

"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," Archer grunts.

I should be horrified by Heath's plain reference to killing off human beings. Yet, when it comes to people who are after my sister, who killed my father? I wholeheartedly agree with him.

Suddenly I feel tired, even with all the caffeine I consumed. I should have taken up Blue's offer to get some more coffee. I glance around the room and come up empty. Frowning, I check my phone to see it's been over twenty minutes.

"What is it?" Heath questions.

I shrug and blurt, "It's been twenty minutes and the coffee machine is down the hall. Your mother should have been back by now or did she go somewhere else to get some coffee?"

"No, she wouldn't," Heath states.

While Archer says at the same time, "None of the people tied to the club would leave without calling it in first. Besides, Blue has had two cups of coffee from the machine down the hall already, so why would she go anywhere else to get some more?"

"I'm going to check," Heath states and strides out the door.

Archer follows him and so do I. The coffee machine can be seen from here and there's no one standing in front of it. The prospect who accompanied Blue is there, though. He's standing against the wall flirting with a nurse while his gaze is set on the other side of the hallway.

"Where's my mother?" Heath snarls.

The prospect straightens and the nurse quickly walks off. "She went to the ladies' room."

I take a step in that direction. "I'll check."

A hand grips my upper arm. "Stay with Archer."

I roll my eyes. "It's the hospital, Heath. The ladies' room for fuck's sake. Besides, the prospect was watching, if anything weird was going on in there he would have either heard or seen bikers entering. I'm sure he wouldn't be flirting with a nurse if that was the case."

"Don't care," Heath grits and steps in front of me to open the door to the bathroom.

I hold the door and am about to step inside when Archer passes me.

"Assholes," I mutter and see both men palming a gun.

My heart freezes inside my chest when I notice smudges of blood on one of the stalls. Scanning the rest of the space I come up empty. No Blue, no other people, and there's also blood on the edge of the sink.

"What happened here?" I whisper in shock.

"The window is open. Someone got to her," Heath grits.

"Wyatt, Blue was just taken. Go outside and check if there's any evidence and fire off a notification." Archer ends the call and tells Heath, "We'll get her back, they can't be far."

"She's been gone for almost thirty minutes," I state. "Even if she got coffee first, which I'm sure she didn't, they would have a head start of roughly twenty minutes. They would be long gone by now."

Archer stares at Heath. "You guys should consider getting a GPS tracker."

"We don't work for the government and have to deal with kidnapping on a regular basis like you do," Heath snarls. "Though, I have a feeling we'll know my mother's location very fucking soon because they want something we have and now they got something we want too."

"Fuck," I whisper while dread fills my veins.

Heath is talking about my sister. He's right. They must have taken Blue so they can make a trade. This is one huge clusterfuck that isn't going to end well.

Archer throws a glance my way. "We need to get her out of here."

Heath's expression changes. It's as if every single emotion slides right off his face leaving a cold, hard look in place. At this moment I doubt if he cares about me or my sister at all. Because if it comes down to choosing between his mother's life or my twin's? Yeah, my blood will get the short end of the stick because everyone sides with their own when push comes to shove.

We're in the waiting room with all the members of Areion Fury who are at the hospital when my suspicion becomes reality when I watch Heath update Hayden. I don't even need to hear the words Hayden is giving his twin because the finger he points at my sister is enough for me to know that asshole is willing to trade Dee to get his mother home safe.

Dee has been trying to get me to tell her what is happening. I haven't said a word since she's a hothead, just like Hayden. Though, when I catch the slight inclination of Heath's head and the relief on Hayden's face? Yeah, fuck them.

Without turning my head I tell my twin, "We need to get out of here right now."

"Why? Tell me what the hell is happening and why everyone acts as if shit's about to go down," Dee hisses out her words in a low whisper.

"Short version?" I question.

"No, the long version so we can knit a sweater while waiting for another bomb to go off," Dee deadpans.

Ignoring her remark I state, "Looks like Blue has been kidnapped. A bargaining chip to get you."

Her hand slips into mine. Our gaze stays in front of us to keep an eye on all the members of Areion Fury who are talking to one another.

"Slowly," my sister whispers. "We need to slip out of the room."

We're almost at the door when Heath and Hayden both block our exit.

"Where do you think you're going?" Heath grunts.

"Bathroom." I give him a challenging smile and hope to fuck he knows I was aiming to slip out of the window.

Heath narrows his eyes. "Not happening. We agreed not to run and stand strong together, remember?"

"Standing strong together? You're talking about you and your brother, right? Because I can tell by the look in both your eyes that you're willing to sacrifice my sister," I fire back, unable to hold back the condemning tone in my voice.

Neither of them deny my statement. Even worse, what follows only seals our fate when Hayden states, "Now."

I scream when Hayden lunges for Dee while Heath grabs my hands. I try to fight, an instinct I'm trained for, but there are two others holding me incapable of any movement. All I can do is stare at Hayden who knocks my sister out, throws her over his shoulder, and walks out of the hospital.