Chapter 27

Quinn

Pain shoots through me,making me squeeze my eyes tight, as memories of yesterday hit me hard.

Damn, was I really shot?

I blink as I try to move my shoulder, and the pain intensifies, the body lying next to me shifting then going still. The pain, the ache, the stiffness—yep, I was shot.

Damn.

I hear a rustle to my left. On my right, there is a warm weight snug against me, and I don"t even need to look to know it"s a sleeping Alex. I look toward the rustle and make eye contact with Tech, who"s sitting, watching.

I clear my throat and rasp, "You know it"s creepy to watch someone sleep."

He half smiles but shrugs. "It was the only way our boy here would get some sleep. I checked the cameras at two this morning, and he was watching you. He needed rest."

I nod and ask, "Noah?"

He smiles. "Is okay. He"s with his Grams and Gramps, wanting his momma."

My eyes tear up a little as Tech sighs, sitting forward.

Needing a distraction, I ask, "What"s on your mind, Tech?"

He shrugs. "Not a lot." I raise a brow at him, running my fingers through Alex"s hair, hoping he sleeps for a little while longer.

I know I"m in trouble with him, but I would do it again if it meant saving his or Noah's lives.

Tech looks at his hands for a moment and I grin, noticing something. I comment, "Is that Brook"s name on your wrist I see?"

He smirks a little and admits, "Brook is the love of my life. Fuck…." He runs a hand through his scruffy blond hair. "I never knew what love was until her."

I sigh. "Then why…." I trail off, not knowing how to ask. If he was in love with her, then surely, he"d still be with her, and his ex-girlfriend wouldn"t be hanging around the club.

He gives me a small smile. "Nina is vicious. When we got together, I thought I was in love with her; she was sweet, kind, and docile, and I must admit, her coming back did scramble my head. It was like a blast from the past, and it shocked me, but more to the point, it made me understand it was only lust, and my mother trying to push us together, just like she is yet again. After graduation, Nina showed her true colors." He looks at me. "When I said I wasn"t willing to leave the club for a high-paying job, she left with some other dude, while trying to bring the club down at the same time. She ruins people"s lives; she wants what she wants, and will do whatever to get it, including selling club information that my momma let slip to her to our enemies."

My eyes widen in shock, and he nods. "Momma loves her despite knowing the shit she"s been causing. She still wants her as a daughter-in-law. She tolerated Brook because she made me happy, but as soon as Nina showed up—which I"m not fucking blind—was instigated by my mother, she turned on the woman I love. Fuck, because of Nina's actions, it took longer for us to find Violet and save her from her uncle, and Momma still wants her with me."

Knowing how difficult his mother can be, I swallow and ask, "Why didn"t you tell all this to Brook?"

His eyes shined a little before he rasped, "I wanted to, but when Brook entered the room, Nina kissed me. She refused to speak to me, and then she went home with some guy, and I-I fuck, I slept with Crystal after I found out, even knowing she wasn"t in the guy's apartment for long. Even knowing that nothing happened between them, I slept with someone else out of anger and spite. I was adamant we were over when, in my heart, I knew we weren"t; she was just hurt." He looked down, gripping his hair, "I don"t deserve her, plus, she seems happy now. She"s been seeing a guy, or I think she is. He came to the wedding with her, and I"ve seen them together often. I need to let her go."

Alex groans, then mutters, "Tech, that"s bullshit, and you know it. You made a mistake, and if you let her go, you"ll regret it for the rest of your life."

Tech chuckles as I move my nose underneath Alex"s chin, inhaling his musky scent.

"You"re supposed to be sleeping, brother," Tech replies.

Alex hums, gently kissing my nose and making me smile, before he replies, "I was, but hearing your bullshit woke me up." He lifts his head and raises a brow at Tech. "I"m going to let you in on a little secret Brook begged me not to tell you, and Ken will most likely kill me for revealing." I look at Tech, who looks confused, before looking back at my man and raise a brow in question. He winces, stating, "The guy she"s hanging with is her cousin. She's being harassed, but she refused to have a brother with her for protection, after what happened with you two, and with how your momma has been acting toward her. The guy at the apartment is the reason her cousin is in town." Alex sucks his lip ring into his mouth and admits, "The guy was a high school friend. He asked to spend time and catch up, but attacked her when she went to his apartment. He tried to spike her drink, but she saw. She got away but not before he bruised her ribs, and the fucker has been in hiding since. She told Kennedy, who told me, begging me to keep it a secret. I"ve been with Tats, trying to find the fucker."

Tech"s body shakes with anger, and I wince and give him some home truths.

"So maybe you need to get off your pity train and kick your ex to the curb, win your girl back, and while you"re at it, maybe put your momma in her place, and help my man here find the soon-to-be-a dead man. Maybe not in that order, though."

Alex chuckles in my neck as Tech narrows his eyes at me playfully despite anger radiating off him. He nods and stands, walking over to me. He kisses my head, and rasps, "I have a soon-to-be-dead man to find first, darling. Get some rest, yeah." He looks at Alex. "And you get some fucking sleep, because you and I will be in the ring later. You should have told me."

Alex looks at him, his eyes softening. "You"ve had Nina hanging off you for months, brother, and don"t stand there and act all innocent when we both know you slept with Brook a few weeks ago, then disappeared the next morning." Tech eyes widen and Alex nods. "Yeah, women talk, and Kennedy, well, you know our relationship. Other than the old timers, you"re the only brother who knows who I am to Ken, and she likes to speak to me. Go win your girl back."

He chuckles but nods, patting Alex"s back before leaving, and I giggle. "He"s such an idiot."

Alex hums and replies, "Yeah, but so are you."

I wince as he sits up next to me, and I whisper, "She had a gun pointed at his head, Alex. She knocked out a pregnant woman right next to her child in her stroller, and April was hiding behind the slide…. I-I couldn"t stand back."

He shakes his head. "She didn"t have the gun pointed at his head, baby; it was a scare tactic. She wanted money."

I swallow hard and admit, "I know," making him tense, and I state, "The woman had crap aim; she was hysterical, and the things she was saying to Noah, a part of her wanted to shoot him, Alex, and where she shot me would have been the side of his head. I couldn"t allow it. He-he may not be my blood, but he is mine. He"s my son, my everything. I love him, Alex, and I love you. I didn"t think when I heard ‘gun and yard', and my instincts kicked in."

My tears fall as Alex places his forehead against my head and whispers, "And I love you for that. I love that you"ve taken on the mother role, but Goldie, you need to understand that I can"t breathe without you. Yesterday, I finally understood your fear of being consumed by my love for you, because if you had left me, I would have followed you."

I shake my head and sob. "You can"t say that; you have Noah…."

He cups my cheek, making me look at him before rasping, "So do you. Don"t you understand, Goldie? You have me, and you have Noah, and we need you."

His lips touch mine in a soft, sweet kiss, sending tingles across my body. I can feel the love pouring off him, and I melt, gripping his chain around his neck, grateful to have this man in my life.

A few hours later, I'm leaning against Alex"s chest as he plays with my fingers, his lips resting on my shoulder.

Doc has redressed my wound, and my dad has called to check-in. Knowing he"s the one who did the surgery, my heart hurts. He shouldn"t have had to deal with it, but Doc needed help.

Apparently, Momma wants to speak to me. She screamed the clubhouse down when Dad refused to let her in my room, but I'm not ready to see her. My fears, all of these years, all stemmed from her actions, and she didn"t do what she did to me because she was heartbroken. She did what she did to get my father"s attention but, when I walked into the bathroom that day, decided that turning me against him was a better idea.

I was seven. Seven!

How can I forgive her for ruining my childhood?

How can I forgive her for ruining my relationship with my father?

I know what he did was wrong. I hated him for years because of it, but over eighteen years" worth of unearned hate…? She traumatized me.

A phone pings, and Alex sighs, checking his before rasping, "Lola wants to speak to you…."

I nod. For over a month, she"s been trying to talk to me, and Ken has asked for me to speak to her, which I planned on doing before this happened. In a way, I owe her a thanks for trying to ruin my reputation. I nod and state, "Okay…." before I feel him kiss my head.

A few minutes later, the door opens, and Lola walks in, looking a little scared. She takes a seat near the bed and asks, "How are you feeling?"

I smile at her and say, "A little sore."

She nods. "You were an idiot for doing that, but you were also brave. You showed everyone how much you love Noah."

Alex sighs. "Lola…."

She cuts in, "I don"t mean it negatively. I just…. You two have a love that Daddy and Shelly have, a love I wished for, and you were right, Breaker, I did latch onto you. Growing up, I had a crush, then jealousy hit me when you spent most of your time with Ken, and then I got angry because you never gave me the time of day like you did her, and I felt like I wasn"t seen. When our parents got together, I decided to blame your momma…my momma…. Because I didn"t want to believe I was the problem. Shelly is Momma. She was the one I went to with all my problems, hair advice, and makeup advice, and because of my selfishness, I pushed her away. I just wanted someone to love me the way Daddy loves her, the way you love Quinn, and Smokey loves Liv. I-I don"t want to be alone, and I thought a club brother would treat me right."

My eyes soften, and I whisper, "You won"t be alone, Lola, you'll find someone who'll take your breath away, and love…it"s not smooth sailing. Before you made your accusations against me, I was already struggling. I have a fear of being consumed by my feelings for another person, because of trauma caused by my parents. And Alex…he held onto me tightly. When you find the one you truly love…." I smile and admit, "It"s going to scare the living shit outta you, but jealousy isn"t the feeling you"ll feel. You'll feel consumed, and the feeling of loss, when they"re not around, will overcome you."

She laughs a little, wiping away some tears, and whispers, "I"m so sorry for the trouble I caused."

I smile before admitting, "If I"m honest, if you hadn"t gone to the school and caused me to look for a different job, then everything that has unfolded between Alex and me, between my dad and me, most likely would not have happened. So, if you want to make yourself feel better, think of it that way; you brought the two men I love back to me."

She lets out a sob as Alex holds me tighter. He turns to her, and rasps, "You made a mistake; you got angry and confused. It"s in the past, Lola. Move on from this, and try and find someone that"s not in an MC. We both know Dad won"t allow it anyway."

She shakes her head. "I caused so much trouble for you two, for Noah at school, and for Momma."

Alex sighs. "Lola, look at me." She does. She looks up with tears coating her cheeks, and he rasps, "You are my sister. That is how I look at you, which means I can easily forgive you. Momma loves you like her own, so she never told Dad half the stuff you said or caused, and Noah sees you as an aunt."

I cut in, "Yeah, and I was shot, so let"s just move on. Life's too short."

She giggles and wipes her tears. "I don"t want to be let off easy."

Alex smiles. "You were banned from the club and all activities, so you"ve missed out on years of that mother-daughter bonding with Momma. Dad cut you off, forcing you to get a job at the bar while in college, and I"m pretty sure Kennedy chewed you a new one after Noah was hurt. Coming from experience, Ken can be vicious, so I think you"ve suffered. Let"s move on, and maybe, when this one agrees to marry me, you"ll be a bridesmaid."

Lola"s eyes light up as I snort. "You need to ask me first." Lola and Alex chuckle, though guilt still shines in her eyes, which, to me, is a good sign. She cares and is remorseful.

After staying an hour, Lola leaves, and Alex and I were quiet for a few minutes. Then I ask, "Are we going to talk about the cut laying on me or just ignore it?"

He chuckles, kissing my head. "There's nothing to discuss. You"re my old lady, plain and simple." He moves his lips to my ear, gently kissing behind it before whispering, "I"m never letting you go, Quinn, and I think I"ve proved that over the past few months. I love you, my Goldie."

My eyes tear up, but I smile wide and whisper, "I love you too, my Alex."

How did I get so lucky?