Chapter 17

Chapter 17BellaForge had stayed with me all night long reassuring me that everything was going to be alright, even though I looked like death warmed over and had clearly been through the wars. They’d given me painkillers which made me groggy, I also realized I needed to go to pee badly.I tried to ease out of the bed to go to the restroom, and Forge jolted awake, looking around the room like danger was near. “Hey, calm down, everything’s okay. I’m just trying to get out of the bed to go to the restroom.”He jumped out of the chair beside my bed to help me get out. He wrapped one hand around my waist and led me to the restroom. It was all kinds of embarrassing, but he sat me down and stepped outside while I did my business and cleaned up. It was none too fun to do with only one good arm.I had a spiral fracture in my lower arm that required a cast. I had also cracked my collarbone, bruised my ribs and sprained my ankle badly. Given I’d thrown myself out of a moving car I guess I’d gotten off lightly. Truth be told, I would do it all over again if it got Crystal away from the crazy people who abducted me. I had a bad feeling they would have just killed her right off the bat if they’d caught her as well.By the time Forge came back in to help me I had gotten my head together. “You don’t have to stay here with me every minute of your day. I’m sure you have better things to do with your time.”He turned me around to face him and cupped my face in his hands, tilting my head up so I could look into his eyes. “There isn’t one single thing in my life that’s more important than you and there never will be. I really need you to understand that, so you won’t feel guilty when I go the extra mile for you every single time.”I nodded, fighting back tears. Aside from my grandmother, no one had ever been so nice to me or made me feel like I was important and loved the way Forge did.I was ready for the next stage of my life with Forge to begin. The part where everything slowed down and we could just be together. When I was taking care of my grandmother, it was hard to stay in the moment because of the memories of how things used to be with her. And when I was being forced to work at the club, all I could think of was escaping and all the wonderful things I would do with my life once I was free.Well, I was tired of living in the past and tired of dreaming about the future. The thing I craved most was the present with the man I had fallen hopelessly in love with.I couldn’t wait to ride on the back of his bike, eat the wonderful breakfasts he made for me, and shoot his rifle together at the cabin. I wanted to learn every single thing there was to know about his club. I was eager to meet all his friends and their girlfriends and wives. Heck, I even wanted to spend time getting to know all the club bunnies. They had to be pretty smart to have figured out how great the brothers were.I wanted to find some productive way to support the club Forge loved so much and spend time taking care of him in all the little ways women did for their men. Forge was by far the most intelligent, hardworking, dedicated man I’d ever met. And he was so brave. Maybe that was why I fought against my abductor, I wanted to prove I was strong and worthy of a man like Forge. I wanted to make him proud. I’d met some of the other wives and they were all amazing women in their own way. It made me believe that I could be more than just a pretty little songbird.***I got discharged from hospital the following day, and when we finally made it back to the clubhouse, it was evening. I just wanted to crawl into bed with the man I loved. Forge carried me inside and helped me get undressed. I had to admit that sex was the last thing on my mind by the time we got into bed. He gave me a final dose of my pain medication and curled up next to me. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep on his chest. I got all the rest a traumatized girl could ask for and woke up the next morning to so many different aches and pains.Forge jolted awake when I repositioned my head on the pillow. “Good morning, princess. How are you feeling?”“Not so good. My arm is throbbing and my ribs hurt.”He sat up and reached for my medication on his bedside table. “You can have another dose of the pain medication, but the doc said you can’t take it on an empty stomach.” I saw him rummaging around in one of his drawers, and he pulled out a breakfast bar. “This should be enough, while I get us something decent.”I pushed myself up using my good arm. He dropped a couple of pills in my hand, screwed the lid off a bottle of water, and handed it to me. I quickly took the pills, eager for the pain to cease and ripped the breakfast bar open to take a bite. “Thanks, babe.”He climbed out of bed and slid his jeans on. “I’m going to go down and grab breakfast. Do you feel like anything in particular?”“A muffin if they have any, and orange juice.”“You got it, princess,” he responded before leaning down to give me a kiss.I lay back down and pulled the blankets up to my chin. I didn’t know what I did to deserve Forge, but I was so glad that he loved me. I couldn’t keep the smile off my face even though it made my cheeks hurt. I couldn’t have looked very kissable this morning, but he didn’t mind. It blew my mind that this man liked me even when I looked rough as hell. But he was genuinely a good person. He liked and respected the real me. I sat up and tried finger combing my hair and making a place to put a tray. Falling in love was just as amazing as I always thought it would be.Forge walked in wearing nothing but his jeans, carrying a tray full of food, including what I asked for. He sat the tray down on the bed beside me and sat facing me.He snagged a muffin and held it out to me. “I got a little of everything.”“After playing truth or dare with the pavement and living to tell the tale, I’m feeling a little adventurous. Maybe I’ll try a bite of everything.”He poured me some juice from a small glass pitcher. “You should only try the things that look good to you. Most of the time our bodies know what we need. We just need to pay attention to what it’s telling us.”“How did you get to be so smart?”Forge’s head slowly lifted. “You think I’m smart?”“Of freaking course I do. So does everyone else. You figured out who was trying to kill the Russo brothers, protected me, and saved the day. I’d say that anyone who’s ever doubted you now knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that you’re as smart and capable as any man in this club.”His expression lit up and he broke off a piece of bacon and tossed it happily into his mouth. “I haven’t had a lot of positive reinforcement in my lifetime. I appreciate you saying nice things to me.”I grinned at him, irrationally pleased that he appreciated my support. “Well, I can’t imagine that ever changing. I love you and have a lot of respect for the way you stick your neck out for other people. You didn’t have to take an interest in my welfare, and doing so only brought you trouble.”Forge grinned, “In case you haven’t noticed, most of the brothers in this club are nursing hero complexes a mile wide. I’m no different. It feels good to do good deeds, even if it does occasionally put me in harm’s way.”“Speaking of you being in harm’s way because you’re protecting others. I don’t like that. I hate to think of you getting injured or killed by the likes of Mr. Russo.”“Well, fortunately, you don’t have to worry about that. The Russo brothers have solved that problem for the foreseeable future.”“How did they do that. That old man seemed all kinds of stubborn and determined to get that insurance money.”“To take out a life insurance policy on someone, you have to either have their consent, or be able to prove you have an insurable interest. Lombardo had your boss Marco do it on his behalf. He was able to prove the viability of the business depended upon your pretty singing voice and unfortunately you countersigned the policy.”I looked down at the breakfast tray, my appetite suddenly gone. I was so stupid, I’d been so happy about getting a job I’d just signed everything that Mr. Lombardo pushed in front of me. “What happens now?”“As the very much alive subject of an insurance policy, you can get it cancelled. Our club lawyers will be straight onto it. There’s enough proof to show that you were coerced into signing, so you won’t be liable for any cancellation penalties. Your old boss Marco was very helpful—after the Russo brothers persuaded him that his cooperation was essential to his survival.”I shuddered at the mention of Marco’s name. I thought he had been protecting me, but he was just as dirty as the rest of them, except less hands-on. “So Mr. Russo won’t have any reason to track me down again?”Forge nodded. “Yeah, that’s right. The Russo brothers will be coming here later today to work out a formal agreement with Storm for an alliance. I think their old man was in cahoots with your bosses, they were all looking to get rid of the brothers. I believe Mr. Russo had designs on taking Don Diavonte’s place and his two friends were planning to step into senior positions.”I choked on a bite of muffin. Thumping my chest with my fist, it took me a minute to clear my airway. Forge picked up my orange juice and handed it to me. Once I’d taken a sip, I said, “To think that a father would try to kill his own kids blows my mind.”“Mine too,” he responded somberly. “Storm had a long conversation with them while we were in the hospital. They promised their old man would be under lock and key for the foreseeable future.”I didn’t know how that was going to work out long term. The old man was ruthless and cunning. I hoped he had managed to instill those characteristics into his sons, because if not, they didn’t have a fighting chance against him. “I sure hope they don’t turn their backs on him.”“That seems to be their family motto,” Forge responded dryly. “Right now, we just need to focus on nursing you back to health and figuring out where you go from here.”“I already figured that out. I’m going wherever you are.”A slow smile spread over his face. “You thinking about staying in Griffinsford?”I nodded enthusiastically. “Yes. I want to be with you.”“And your favorite movie star, Crystal Connors, right?” His teasing voice was cute.I shrugged with one shoulder. “I don’t know if I want to be her friend. She me left alone on the side of the road.”Forge froze and his expression morphed into one of disbelief. “Bella, you jumped out of her car when you were being chased by mobsters. Surely, you didn’t expect her to circle back around and pick you up.”I just stared at him, willing my expression into an inscrutably blank one.“I think you might need a few more visits with your therapist.”I let my blank expression slip and raised my hands above my head in a gesture of victory. Then immediately regretted that decision when pain shot up my side and arm. Lowering my arms, I laughed, “Crystal is going to give me acting lessons so I can join her theater group. I think I already have some natural talent.”He shook his head as his shoulder relaxed. “You got me on that one. I thought you were being serious.”“Nope. I’m rarely serious, and that makes me a perfect girlfriend for you. You need someone to lighten the mood when you get too philosophical.”He crawled around the tray and sat close to me on the bed. “I think you might be right about that, princess. That’s why I’ve decided to plan us a special getaway once you feel better.”“God only knows when that’s going to be.”He leaned close and right before his lips touched mine, he whispered, “It doesn’t matter how long it takes. You’re well worth the wait.”When his lips covered mine, they were tender and sensual. I wrapped my good arm around his neck and tugged him closer, wanting more of what only he could give. And Forge didn’t disappoint. He kissed me to within an inch of my life and then drew back to press his forehead against mine. “I love you, Bella. You’re the most precious thing in my world. I hope you know that.”“You’re the most important thing in my world as well. I feel like the luckiest woman in the world to have captured your notice and I’m going to spend the rest of my life doing my best to make you happy.”