Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Hornet

The medical team at Mercy Medical were making me homicidal. With all the miracles of modern medicine, I did not understand why they didn’t have a better handle on what was going on with Brook. By the time she came out of surgery, I’d never felt so helpless. I wouldn’t exactly say she was fighting for her life, but she was in a bad way, and I couldn’t do a damn thing to help her. Right now, she needed doctors and medicine much more than she needed my love and care, but I’d be with her every step of the way.

I stayed by Brook’s bedside for hours, so long I dozed off sitting in my chair. A strong hand on my shoulder and the smell of coffee woke me up some time later. I looked around and found Storm and Hacker. I took a sip of the offered cup of morning brew they brought me, happy to see our club president and IT specialist.

“How are you holding up, Hornet? You look like shit,” Storm said.

“Thanks,” I replied. “Same to you.”

“How did the surgery go? Did they tell you anything?” Hacker asked.

“Yeah, they told me pretty much everything because they think we’re together. “Doctors say she shattered her shoulder. Her surgery lasted for four hours because they had so many bone fragments to pick out. They pieced it back and put pins in place to hold it together while it heals. The doc knows I’m ex-military, and he said it was more like the type of injury you’d see in the battlefield or in survivors of vehicles that had driven over landmines.”

“Fuck. Sounds like it’s gonna be a prolonged recovery for her.”

“At least four to six months.”

Hacker nodded and maneuvered his wheelchair a little closer. “It’s a shame all this happened to her. Want a run down on who I think did this or do you wanna save that for another time?”

“I wanna hear all the details so I can plan out all the ways I’m going to make whoever did this pay.”

“I ran another check on the ex, managed to get into the asshole’s bank account and found some pertinent info. Would you believe he now drives a pickup truck? Bought it two weeks ago for five hundred dollars.”

“I can’t wait to have a little talk with that fucker.”

Storm glanced towards the door and lowered its voice to a whisper. “Do you want us to pick him up now? He can stay with us at the clubhouse until you’re ready to interrogate him.”

I shook my head. “He’s not going anywhere. Get him today or get him tomorrow or get him next week, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is that in the end is I get a little one-on-one time with him.”

“We’re here to back you up when the time comes, brother.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Turning to Hacker, I said, “Show me his picture. I wanna see what he looks like.”

He nodded and showed me a picture on his cell phone.

This man was not attractive at all. He was a little younger than me and was a skinny little punk with shitty tattoos who looked like a strong wind might blow him away. He had a receding hairline and beady eyes.

I snorted a laugh. “He’s one ugly fucker, that’s for sure.”

Storm shot me a knowing look. “Feeling a little insecure, brother?”

“Hell no. And mind your business, sir.”

Both Hacker and Storm smothered back a laugh. They stayed with me for about an hour before they had to head out, it was good to feel supported by my club brothers.

***

Brook woke up about an hour after they left. It took her a while to shake off the grogginess. “So I finally got a room. I was a little worried that I was gonna wake up back in the emergency room.”

“No, kitten. You’re on an orthopedic floor.”

She suddenly looked panicked again, “I can’t feel my fingers, I can’t move my arm!”

“Shush kitten, it’s all good. The doctor said you’d feel numb for a few hours after the surgery. They’ve immobilized your arm in a shoulder cast. It’s only for a few weeks and after that you can have a removable brace.

“Did they manage to get all the bone fragments out?”

I took her hand in mine. “Yes. They even did an X-ray afterwards to make sure nothing got left behind, and the neurologist thinks the nerve damage is just a temporary reaction to the swelling.”

“Thank goodness.”

Leaning closer, I gazed down at her. “I have a question for you, kitten. When that truck hit you, did it seem like an accident or like it was done on purpose? Can you remember anything?”

She thought that over for a minute. “They were swerving all over the place, at first I thought they were drunk or something, but they came at me from behind, I got dazzled by the headlights. I tried to pull away but then they got closer, and I realized they were trying to run me off the road.”

“Law enforcement arrived at the scene shortly after I did, and I made sure they had all the information they needed.”

“I hope they managed to find whoever did this.”

“So do I, kitten, so do I.” Now wasn’t the time for me to tell her that I think I knew exactly who had done it.

***

Brook was in the hospital for eight days. I barely left her side the entire time she was awake, only returning home at night to Ariel. Seeing Brook weak and vulnerable brought out all my protective instincts, and all I could think about was helping her get through this so that we could all settle down into some kind of normal routine. My kitten was a real trooper. She got up out of bed and forced herself to walk every single day even when she really didn’t want to. She learned all of her physical therapy exercises so that she could practice them at home.

When the day finally arrived to break her out, we were both so excited we could hardly stand it. My dad came to get us in his van thanks to the ridiculous amount of stuff she’d collected over her eight-day stay. Then again, I had the prospects bringing in everything I could possibly think of to make her stay more comfortable and homey.

My father didn’t say a word. He just loaded it all up while I helped Brook inside and buckled her in.

“You’re too good to me, baby, I don’t deserve all this,” she whispered as I sat down beside her.

“That’s crazy talk, I gotta treat you right. My old man would beat my ass if I didn’t take good care of a woman.”

“Brook isn’t just any woman, you knucklehead. She’s your nanny. The one who cares for our grandkid. You better be extra nice to her.” He turned around and grinned at me, “Though if I heard correctly, I think she’s more than just a nanny to you.”

Me and Brook had already had the discussion about what was going on between us after her accident. I didn’t want to lose her with any more misunderstandings, so I had made sure that she knew there would definitely be an us going forward—if that’s what she wanted. But I wasn’t gonna have that conversation with my parents just yet.

“Just drive, old man, can’t you see the lady’s tired.” I said to my dad.

“Don’t backchat your chauffeur, or you’re walking home.” My dad retorted with a laugh.

Brook sighed and shifted herself sideways so she could cuddle up to me. “I don’t know how in demand one-armed nannies are. I feel like I’ll be pretty useless.”

“Don’t worry about that. We’ll hire another nanny.”

Shock permeated every inch of her face. “You’re replacing me?”

“Of course not. You’re getting promoted to girlfriend. If push comes to shove you can always earn your keep with kisses.”

My dad chuckled from the front seat as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Brook just laughed. “I might have been irritated by a conversation like that before my accident. But now we’ve spent so much time together, I know it’s just your quirky sense of humor.”

“Finally, someone who understands me,” I said dramatically.

“Well, hold on, handsome. I’m not sure I’d go that far.”

We talked about all the qualities Brook would like the temporary nanny to have. I felt a little sorry for whoever we were going to end up with, because I had a sneaking suspicion Brook was going to micromanage them to death.

At home, Brook was so eager to spend time with Ariel that we curled up on the sofa and held her. We were lucky enough to get some awake time with her. This bright-eyed child of mine loved being held, especially when the holding came with feeding.

Later that evening, once the baby was down and Brook was tired, I carried her up to my bed, undressed her, and slid her under the covers. She yawned behind her hand and smiled at me when I shucked my clothing and climbed in next to her.

“Is it kissing time?” she asked sleepily.

I cuddled up to her, skin to skin, and kissed her on the top of the head. “No, it’s sleeping time. You need your rest if you’re going to make a speedy recovery.”

I rubbed her back and she fell asleep within moments, safe and happy in my arms. I turned my thoughts to plotting Tate’s demise.

I honestly hated the bastard for causing the woman I loved so much pain. I hated her old man for the same fucking reason. I had been blessed with loving parents who doted on me, and club brothers who would die for me. My sweet little kitten had been all alone in the world, trying her best to escape an abusive relationship and fend for herself. Life wasn’t fair. I knew that already, but this situation really drove that point home to me like nothing else ever had.