CHAPTER TWELVE

– LEONTINE –

I feel groggy. My mouth is dry, I’m having a hard time opening my eyes, and every slight move of my body causes a wave of dizziness and nausea to roll over me. What the hell happened? I clear my throat and try to shift my body while I blink to get a clear vision.

“Easy there, babe. Here, suck some of this down, it’ll help.”

I recognize the voice, but it makes me even more confused. “Lynn? What are you doing here? Where am I? What happened?”

“Too many questions. Start sucking this water down and I’ll give you some details, okay?” she tells me except her voice carries a snap that makes it sound like an order.

I welcome the icy goodness and take a few sips.

She removes the straw from my lips. “That’s enough for now. We don’t want your stomach to get upset again.”

“Again?” I wonder.

“Yeah, you’ve been fading in and out of consciousness. It’s to be expected with the dose of ketamine your body had to deal with.”

Ketamine?

“What happened?” I urge once again.

Lynn glances at the door and I suddenly realize, “Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be in Ryckerdan? Am I hallucinating?”

“Calm down, darlin’. Winsor and Linnette are in their own bubble with the little one. I sucked enough of her new baby scent to stay away for a few days. I’m needed right here with the shit that blew up. Hell, Deeds was the one who dragged me onto the plane this time. Quite the change for once. No arguing from me, I completely understood. We remember all too vividly how a member betrayed the club all those years ago. To hear our son is going through the same thing? Having to kill one of our own? You getting hurt again, another member’s life hanging on by a thread? Yeah, that’ll cause a shockwave for sure. The waiting room is filled by not just one MC. Well, I like to say three, but Areion Fury is just a handful of members ’cause we have a past with them and my bestie, Blue is here for me. Blennies Hitch is here full force along with every single member of Broken Deeds of course.”

“You’re not making sense,” I croak and shift, feeling a sharp pain shoot through my leg.

Wait. Did she say I was injured? Again? Dread fills my veins. Why can’t I remember? Did the same thing happen again?

“Calm your tits, chickie. Those monitors are beeping like an alarm in crazy town. You’re safe and need to stay calm for your old man, okay? Remember that when I give you all the details.”

“Just tell me,” I demand, gritting my teeth while still fighting the wave of grogginess my body is still enduring.

She sighs. “I should get your daddy in here.”

Panic slips through my veins. My old man should be here. Veloz. Why isn’t he here?

“Fucking heartbeat spiking again. Okay, I’m gonna rip that Band-Aid right off and spill everything. Here we go. You chickie were the one who saved yourself and pointed the guys in the direction of the one who fucked it all up. Sully. He took you from the clubhouse by injecting ketamine that knocked you out. Veloz opened your laptop and noticed the info of the trackers with Sully’s highlighted that he was in New Jersey when the cell tower placed the burner there. Asher, your dad, my son, Pax, and Veloz went to your house where Sully had you in your bed. Later they found a bag with his shit packed so they assume he was going to leave. Anyway, they managed to get him away from you but with the shootout, Sully stumbled back into the room and…well, he stabbed you with a knife in your leg by accident.”

Lynn shakes her head. “That asshole tried to keep himself upright during the bullet spree Veloz and Asher were giving him.”

“He’s dead?” I whisper, not remembering anything of what she just mentioned. Not even the part where I found the information that pinpointed Sully in New Jersey at the time when those photographs were sent to the burner phone.

“Uh huh. Toe tag, locked up in a freezer dead. The fucker admitted to everything. Veloz, your dad, Pax, your twin, my kid, they all witnessed him spilling his guts to your sleeping body. Including the part where he said he killed his own fucking parents. I dug up the photographs they took of his injuries when he was admitted to the hospital all those years ago. He did have defensive wounds, but some also consistent with injuries incurred while stabbing someone. That whole case was a mess, don’t get me wrong. Still, when you look at it with the knowledge of what Sully said? You can see the evidence agrees with it. He killed his parents. The tailspin he came in by growing up in the club made him feel like a supreme being who was allowed to kill anyone who he thought deserved to die.”

Lynn plants her ass in the chair next to my bed. “If it’s any comfort…they don’t think he was going to hurt you. The fucker was angry at Peter and only was in contact with him because he was going to kill him. Twisted idiot. He could have reached out to any of us. We have fucking rules in place, and he damn well knew those by heart.”

“Lynn,” I whisper and wait till her eyes hit mine. “Why isn’t Veloz here with me?”

As sympathy fills her gaze, dread seeps into my veins. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. They’re doing everything they can to save his life. That’s why your mother and twin aren’t here right now. They’re overseeing the operation. Your mother insisted and since she used to work here and with our kind of authority she arranged the best surgeons, or a complete healthcare team, whatever they call it. Something about fighting for her daughter’s old man because you would have if you could. Now your twin? He”s there to give us updates, him being a link in the chain between Blennies Hitch and Broken Deeds the way Veloz is as well.”

“Is he going to make it?” I barely manage to get those heart aching words to spill from my lips.

The door swings open and I swear I hear Lynn mutter, “Thank fuck.” Why? I have no clue, but I have a feeling it doesn’t entail anything good.

“You’re up,” I hear my father quip. “Let me get Asher in here real quick.”

He steps out into the hallway and a heartbeat or two later my father and twin step inside my room.

“Hey,” Asher rumbles as he grabs me in a hug.

Warmth fills me and I hug him back to relish in his comforting embrace until I smack his back. “You’re squeezing too hard.”

“I thought I was going to lose you again.” He sounds tormented.

I grab his leather cut and ask the question I know he will answer truthfully. “Veloz, how is he?”

His face turns grim and my heart stops for a heartbeat or two.

“No,” I croak. “He can’t die.”

“The fucker lost so much damn blood by ignoring the fact that he was shot,” he growls and then releases a deep sigh. “By the time we noticed, his lung was already collapsing due to the bullet to the chest.”

“How long have they–”

Asher cuts me off and states, “Everything went well, he’s in recovery. He’s a fighter with a healthy body.”

I know exactly what the risks are and how major the surgery Veloz just had is. It’s not an advantage at this point because all I can think of are complications that might happen.

“Hey now.” My father places a hand on my foot. “You heard what your brother said. He’s a fighter with a healthy body. Fucking hell, the way he pushed through the pain to make sure the threat was gone from your life showed how strong the man is.”

I push up from the bed. “I want to see him.”

“You need to rest,” my father states.

At the same time Asher rumbles, “That’s not a good idea, sis.”

Lynn’s voice is what catches my attention. “I knew you would, it’s why I brought a wheelchair.”

“You rock,” I tell her and grab my leg to guide it off the bed.

“I sure do.” Lynn grins.

My father and brother both curse but we ignore them as Lynn helps me into the wheelchair. My brother jumps into action when I’m about to pull out my IV with fluids. He disconnects the machines and makes sure I’m comfortable. Lynn is about to push when the door opens.

“Oh no, you’re not getting out of bed, young lady,” my mother states and glares at Lynn. “I knew you were going to spring her out of bed to check on her old man. She has a deep knife wound in her thigh and shouldn’t–”

“As if someone could keep you away from checking on your old man. You would drag your mangled body over the floor by using your thumbs if those were the only body parts left functioning.” Lynn waves her hand. “Now scoot. Your girl needs to see with her own eyes that her old man is still breathing.”

“Fine,” my mom huffs. “But I’ll be the one taking her.”

Lynn places a kiss on the top of my head and whispers, “My job here is done. Let me know if you need anything else. I’ll be in the waiting room with the rest.”

She’s about to walk away when I reach for her wrist. “Wait. There is something.”

“Anything, just give me the words.” Lynn gives me a warm smile.

“Can you get equipment here to ink the patch on me? With my old man in recovery, it will take a while and I would like to focus on the positive, a future. He’s it for me and we should have inked the patch already, but work got in the way.”

“I’ll get some and come find you, chickie,” Lynn assures me.

My nerves are blown to shit when we reach Veloz. It’s a punch to the gut to see this strong, muscled man lying on a bed with wires, machines, bandages, and everything surrounding him. His skin is ashen and his face lacks all the warmth and kindness he always gives me.

My mother places me right next to his bed and I instantly reach for his hand. Tears spill over my cheeks and I can’t help the sob that rips from me.

“I love you,” I croak, knowing very well he can’t hear me, but I need those words out in the open to remind myself of what we have right here.

I feel my mother placing a hand on my shoulder. “He knows, sweetie. And from what I’ve been told he loves you as well. Your brother and father were right there with him when they faced Sully, except Veloz was crazy enough to walk through the line of fire to get to you. Every single one of those men would have given their life to save yours…though he made sure to be first in line.”

Her voice cracks due to the emotion running through her as well. I place my hand on top of hers and keep my blurry vision on the man who holds my heart. After everything I went through with Peter, waking up in the hospital, and then remembering everything that happened, I made a promise to myself.

I wanted to live life to the fullest and make sure I never had any regrets. It’s the reason I wanted to experience sex and offered myself to Veloz, knowing he was an honest and respectable guy from the details I had of his background.

Taking what I wanted in life was my priority, being graced with finding love is the bonus part I didn’t see coming. The desperation running through me from waking up in a hospital for the second time leaves me again with the need to live life to the fullest, except this time I only want it if it involves having Veloz by my side.

Time slips away while I make more promises to myself and pray we get to turn dreams into reality. There’s too much darkness seeping into my life, I should be allowed to have some warm and bright light shining onto my future. All for the sake of balance. Yet nothing is as unpredictable as life, I should know, having the many scars to prove it.

“Hey, sweetheart.” My mother’s voice pulls me from my sleep.

I didn’t realize I dozed off. Blinking a few times I notice Veloz’s eyes on me.

Straightening in my wheelchair I squeak in relief, “You’re awake!”

“I could say the same about you.” He tries to grin but it’s more of a grimace.

Turning to my mother I tell her, “He needs more morphine for the pain.”

“You’re not my doctor and neither is your mother,” Veloz grunts. “I don’t want that shit clouding my brain and for sure as shit don’t want to sleep again. Just let me be for a moment, okay?”

The corner of my mouth twitches. “Sure, grumpy, we’ll do it your way…for now.”

He closes his eyes, as if this tiny discussion took all his energy away, and softly whispers, “Sounds good, except not just for now, forever is more like it.”

I bring his hand to my lips and place a kiss on his knuckles, wishing it was his mouth. Dammit, why the hell are we both injured?

“Even if I want to get married on your speedboat and jump into the water while screaming ‘yes’ together?” I tease.

His eyes open and he turns his face toward me. “Especially then. Fuck. I’m going to make that happen ’cause that sounds damn fine if you ask me.”

“Well, I guess we’ll see because I didn’t hear you ask her to marry you,” my father rumbles as he steps into the room.

“Maybe I should sink your damn speedboat,” Asher grumbles.

“No one is sinking any damn boat,” Perrin growls. “Not at my marina anyway. Good to have you back to the land of the living, Veloz. I guess it will take some time before you can enter the water, eh?”

“Six to eight weeks recovery at least, if there aren’t any complications. I won’t have him going into the water, risking an infection or anything,” I ramble.

Veloz squeezes my hand and gently states, “No one is going to risk anything.”

“Why don’t we give those two kids some alone time,” Lynn states and ushers everyone out of the room.

I now notice the room was filled with bikers of both Broken Deeds and Blennies Hitch.

Lynn is the last one to leave and right before she slips out, I ask, “Lynn, could you?”

She cuts me off by holding up her hand. “I have the equipment and will come find you to ink your patch, don’t worry. Your old man will fall asleep soon enough.”

“You need to do mine as well,” Veloz states.

“Not until–” I start, but now Veloz is the one cutting me off.

“As soon as my ass is out of this hospital, that’s the only compensation I’m willing to make.”

“Fine,” I grumble, already looking forward to that day because having him home will be better than seeing him in this hospital bed.

Everything is a vivid reminder of what just happened, and the time I spent in here myself.

“I still can’t believe it was Sully,” I croak. “All this time…I just…it’s hard to believe it was one of us.”

“He lost track of what’s right and wrong. Lines blur sometimes,” Veloz gently states.

I snort at that easy statement and with bitterness lacing my voice I grit, “For him, it was more like a switch being flipped. Broken Deeds brings criminals to justice, none of us play judge and decide on who gets to live or who dies.”

“It’s why they keep the MC’s activities out of the public eye. No one needs vigilantes trying to save the world.”

I raise an eyebrow. “I remember an MC filled with vigilantes who were doing Robin Hood activities in a modern world.”

He shoots me a grin and my heart skips a beat at the sight of it. “It’s why I switched MCs, love.”

“Oh, is that why?” I chuckle. “Here I thought it was because I cleared your ass to give you that chance.”

“I owe you my life in many ways,” the man easily states.

I swallow hard. “You almost gave up your life to save mine.”

“And I’ll do it all over if I had to,” he vows. “We made a deal, remember?”

A laugh escapes me. “I thought that involved dinner and taking my virginity.”

“Everything has a start, but when it comes to us there’s no end to anything. I’m in it for the long run and it’s why I claimed you as mine in every way. Sucks that we didn’t get our patches earlier and decided to put work first. We will rectify that as soon as possible.”

I bob my head at his statement. “It’s why I asked Lynn to do mine while you recovered from the anesthesia. Sadly, I fell asleep or I would have had my ink already.”

“You need to sleep and let that leg of yours heal,” he firmly tells me.

“I will, later. For now, I need to be here. You scared the crap out of me.”

He squeezes our joined hands. “We scared the crap out of one another. Fucking hell, becoming aware you were missing, that Sully took you, seeing you on that bed out cold? Then that fucker stumbling back and the knife…damn, that took years off my life.”

“Oh, and getting shot in the chest didn’t?” I try to joke but my voice comes out too thin and vulnerable.

“All in the past,” he assures me.

I bob my head in agreement. “We leave everything in the past and will only focus on the future from here on out.”

“Agreed, as long as you marry me in six to eight weeks. Sooner if I’m fully recovered,” he grits.

I try not to laugh and grumble, “Such a romantic proposal.”

“It’ll be a fucking romantic wedding when we take that leap into the water.” He squeezes my hand once more. “I can’t wait. Because my body would be healed by then to take you on our wedding night. Fuck. I hate feeling weak. I want to kiss you and hold you so damn bad.”

“Hold that thought,” I tell him and wrinkle my nose. “Not the sex part, we’ll definitely have to wait for that to happen between your chest and my leg injury.”

I turn my head toward the door and bellow, “Asher, I need a hand.”

My twin instantly stalks into the room. “What do you need?”

My father is right behind him. Yikes. I might not have thought this through.

My cheeks flush and I’m about to ask what I had in mind when Veloz takes over. “My old lady wants to be in my arms and to be honest? I would like nothing more than to accommodate her wish.”

“Not a good idea,” Asher grumbles.

To my surprise my father states, “But we’ll make it happen anyway.”

After a few minutes, I find myself in my old man’s embrace and can give in to the urge to sleep. Knowing we’re both alive and recovering I let myself drift off, dreaming of all the things I would love to make a reality in the near future.