Chapter 18

Chapter

Eighteen

ARLO

I must have done something remarkable in a past life. Instead of standing the emergency room waiting area, with my thumb up my ass, hoping for information about my woman, I'm here. Watching that walking dead man manhandle my woman toward the shit-stain cop, who hides behind his badge while selling women and children.

Pure intuition had me leading Ace down the ramp to the hospital's underground parking lot. Logically, we should have gone to the surface lot in front of the emergency room. A rock in the pit of my stomach sent me in the opposite direction, and now, I'm glad I listened to it.

"On your six, Digg. Where do you want me?" Ace has lost every bit of the hostile attitude he's been throwing at me for weeks. He may be young as fuck, but he's rock solid when it counts. And right now, it does.

"See if you can circle the van before Doc Chucklefuck gets Frankie to it. Then, you handle the cop." I know Ace is aware said cop is also Frankie's ex, but the reminder of his badge is important. Benson will be handled, but not only do we need him alive for whatever information we can get out of him, but I don't want to make Ace a cop killer. Hence, the reminder.

"Jax and Blake are on the way around. They'll be here in three minutes." Ace being rational enough to secure backup is no surprise. Right now, with my singular focus on getting Frankie away from her abductor, the kid's level head is a real asset.

"Three minutes is two minutes too late. Disable the van if you have to, but neither of them leaves. Clear?"

"Cellophane." He melts into the dimly lit cavern of the parking garage, and I trust him to get the job done.

From my angle, only Frankie's profile is visible. Her features are tight with pain, but I don't see anything else that would tell me she's been harmed. All I can do is hope whatever the problem was has been solved, because what's about to happen will make it impossible to bring her back around to the ER for help.

"Whoa, hey! A doctor! I bet you know how these garage levels are numbered. Can you help me, man? I'm so lost."

I only met the guy once. Hopefully, he doesn't recognize me.

I'm striding toward the him and Frankie as I fake being lost and frantic to find my car. The prick jostles her in his grip, attempting to look less like a kidnapper, I guess.

"Do I look like I waste my time in parking garages? I'm a doctor, for crying out loud." Arrogance oozes from him. Even if he wasn't a people-selling blight on humanity, he'd be enough of an asshole to piss me off.

I'm ten or so feet from him when a grunt followed by a heavy thump from the van behind him has him whirling with Frankie still tight in his grip. She loses her balance at his quick spin. I lunge forward the last few feet between us and snatch her up before her tangled feet take her to the ground.

"Who the fu—" Lughan doesn't have time to finish the question before my fist connects with his jaw. Typical pampered prick, he hits the concrete ground. Out cold, glass jaw and all. Pathetic.

I'm unsure whether I wrap Frankie in my arms, or she wraps herself around me. Either way, it's clear she's safe and where she belongs, now. With me.

"Looks like we missed the action." Jax gripes as he and Blakely rush in from the public access entrance to the parking structure.

"Not entirely, man. We gotta get these two dealt with. Any idea where Frankie's stuff is?" The woman never goes anywhere without the ridiculously oversized tote bag she calls a purse.

"Probably back in the hospital room. Want me to go get it?" Blakely offers.

"Yeah, if you don't mind? Just tell them Lughan discharged her, and she's waiting in the car because she's tired."

It's risky, but Blake's got such a sweetly innocent look to her, except for the times she and Jax have played rough. No one will look twice at her for helping her pregnant friend.

"Babe and I got these two. You get her home." Jax has his arms under the doc's and is dragging him to the van. "FAME and Bender are on the way with Blu in Bender's truck. They'll pick up the bikes, and she'll drive the truck home with me and Blake. You can take mine."

"Thanks, brother." Knowing FAME, that's Shaw who is our club president, and Bender, who is Konrad the VP are on the way lets me know everything is going to be alright. Konrad will ensure there's no video surveillance footage remaining from any of this, and Shaw will coordinate everything.

That's what being Ghost Born means. Even a fuck up like me, one who is still in the doghouse with most of them for the shit I pulled, is family. And when family needs backup, my brothers organize and execute with zero hesitation.

Should I be involved in whatever will go down next with Benson and Lughan? Before meeting Frankie, I absolutely would have been. Priorities shift. Now, she's mine. I can rely on my brothers to handle the dirty doctor and the dirtier cop.

Frankie needs me, and I need to get her and our baby back to the clubhouse to be checked out. I'll message Doc Charm on the way to meet us there. He's not a brother, at least, not yet. At the rate he's been called on when we need medical care, he might as well have a cut of his own.

"Come on, Cuteness. You're safe now. Let's get you home. You didn't need more tests or anything, did you?" I ask. I'm not sure what we'll do if she says she needs to be hospitalized.

"Nah, the pain's better now. Guess Doctor Lughan was right when he said walking would help the symptoms go away." Exhaustion turns her words into a mumble, and she sags against me.

I'll always take every chance I get to have her in my arms. I just wish the circumstances weren't so scary for her to be in them now. This was a close call. Too damn close. Whatever information we get from Benson and Lughan will never be enough to justify the risk they pose to my woman if they're allowed to live.

I catch Jaxon's attention before I carry Frankie away. He meets my stare with a nod of acknowledgement. We don't need speech for the message to be clear. Before he and Ace come home, Jax will make sure the doctor and the cop never return to theirs.