26. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Davina

"Age is just a number at a certain point. You're both adults, and one thing I learned I my travels is that you can't help who you fall for, especially when your heart aches for that person. I would never deny either you or my father your chance at happiness. I certainly wouldn't take away the chance of my sister having a happy, intact family simply because I'm too selfish to get over something as trivial as an age difference."

I listened as Star gave me her opinion on my relationship with her father. It was comforting to know that she felt the way she did. I'd been surprised to find her in the hospital room when I woke up instead of Tripp, but she had quickly assured me that she and Bagger were there to look out for us while he was handling business.

"I grew up with two loving parents and was lucky for it. Coral deserves to grow up the same way. She'll be a little luckier though because she has me, Kip, and Knox in the mix, too. Maybe Scout, if my brother ever pulls his head out of his ass where she's concerned."

"I appreciate you being so nice to me about this, but if it is a problem, I'd rather know the truth."

Star shook her head. "I meant every word I said. Besides, I already saw how you react to cheaters when you thought I was the other woman at Bagger's house." We both laughed about that. "It feels like a good plan to have another woman around who won't tolerate that bullshit. These guys have their loyalty to one another, but we need our own crew that has one another's back. Not that I think my dad would ever step out on you. He's far too enamored to even think of anyone else, truth be told."

"It seems like Bagger feels the same about you," I reminded her.

"I suppose so. We're still building trust after a bumpy start."

"Speaking of, where is Bagger?"

"He just went down to get our food really quick. We tried to have something delivered, so you wouldn't have to eat shitty cafeteria food again. Unfortunately, thanks to all the crazy restrictions, no one would let the delivery person up.

"Hey y'all!" A sweet, girl who looked to be barely out of her teens knocked on the door and then entered the room with what looked like a gift bag in her hand. Immediately, I ran to the other side of the room where my daughter's crib was and grabbed the call button to get a nurse in there.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. Someone just dropped this off for you at the nurse's desk, but everyone was busy with poor Cody Anderson a few doors down." She poked her lip out in a pout. "She…" She seemed to think better of giving us too much information, but the swipe of the tear running down her cheek said enough. Poor Cody probably didn't make it.

"Texting my dad, that doesn't feel right in combination with the bag being dropped off."

Star was thankfully one step ahead of me, but on the same page. "Can you please, drop the bag and get out?" I asked the girl.

She did as she was told and the nurse who was supposed to be on call for my daughter's room entered. "If you're worried about Lexi, she is supposed to be here. She was vetted by the hospital to work here as a candy striper. It earns her a credit toward…"

"We don't care about Lexi's credits. The girl just delivered a gift bag for my sister that was left at the nurse's station. Do you know anything about it?" Star asked in that no-nonsense way she had of making people get on the right track.

"There wasn't anything left at the nurse's station prior to the code we all just worked."

I walked over to the bag and opened it up, figuring it couldn't be anything that would hurt me, otherwise whoever left it wouldn't have trusted it to do its job after sitting around or being handled by others.

When I got it opened, there was a bloody card sitting on top. "I'll get her first, but you're next."

"Oh my God!" I yelled and dropped the bag. The contents rolled out. Besides the threat that had been delivered, there was a babydoll that fell out of the bag. It had been mutilated and stabbed repeatedly. Food coloring or something else was used to simulate the blood coming from each of the stab wounds.

Star didn't waste any more time getting in contact with her dad, Breakneck, and then Bagger who still hadn't come back to the room yet.

"Excuse me!" Someone yelled from the door. "There was a handsome biker in the room with you earlier." The other nurse addressed Star as she spoke.

"Yes, that's right."

"We just found him unconscious on the floor in the bathroom. He's being taken down to the ER for treatment."

Star looked back and forth between the nurse and me. I could see the devastation on her face that she had to make a choice. Stay and help protect me and my daughter or go be beside her man.

"I'll be down as soon as my dad gets here," she finally told the woman.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, now go!" Star shouted at her before she picked up her cell phone and dialed someone else.

"Scout, tell me they're all on the way!" She paused for a minute obviously listening. "Send them a message. Bagger was injured and left in a bathroom. He's been taken down to the ER. It's just me, Vina, and Coral in the room now. We received a package with a mutilated baby doll inside it and it says: "I'll get her first, but you're next."

Star listened to Scout speak for a minute or two more and then she nodded her head and hung the phone up. "She's sending more bodies to be able to cover Bagger and both of you."

"I'm so sorry, Star. We will be just fine if you need to go be with him."

"Nope, I would never forgive myself if something happened to either of you. Bagger is a grown man and he's in the crowded ER. He'll be fine. Besides, Kip is going straight for him. Your dad is coming here with Breakneck, and Scout and her friend are already crawling through video to see if they can track down who took Bagger out and left the package."

An hour later, we had our answers.

June and a man who most everyone else seemed to recognize, were in the hospital. They were disguised well. June slipped into the room of Cody Anderson and did something to her that caused the poor girl to code. That was the distraction needed so that the man could slip in behind Bagger and take him out. Then June left the gift bag there for us to find while the two hauled ass out of the hospital again.

Scout and Keys stayed in the room with us working furiously on their respective laptops to find more answers. "Does anyone know this address?" Keys asked. When she read it out, Tripp immediately spoke up.

"That's June's cousin's place. We went there looking for Anna yesterday, but she wasn't there or wasn't answering the door at any rate."

"My girls are here," Keys stated just before we heard a commotion out in the hallway. "Let them know it's okay for them to come back."

Tripp got up and leaned out into the hallway to tell the nurse to send his sisters back. The nurse rolled her eyes at him but did as he instructed.

"This is JoJo, Christina, and Legs. They're going to stay here with me while you go check out the cousin's place and handle business. I have reason to believe that is where your crazy ex is hiding out." Keys smiled at Tripp. "Don't worry, we'll take good care of your girls while you handle shit. When it's all said and done, the threat will be done for good."

Tripp leaned in, kissed me, and then took off with Mack and Breakneck hot on his heels.

"So, you're all members of a female-only biker club?" They nodded. "That's awesome." I probably sounded like an idiot.

"We think so," JoJo stated. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm just about on my last nerve today, if I'm being honest."

"That's to be expected. I was once in a shootout on the side of a mountain." JoJo confided in me. "It was intense, but my old man was by my side the whole time."

"You obviously made it out."

"We both did."

"Thank you for trying to get my mind off whatever is going on here today, but I don't think it's possible."

JoJo smiled and then gave me a slow nod.

"It was worth a shot." The woman playfully sent me finger guns and a wink before giggling at herself. Under any other circumstances, I could probably be great friends with the women from the S.H.E. MC.