Chapter 24

24

Piston

I grin as I walk into the common room.

“Well, look at that smile on his face…. It’s about fucking time!” Bomber, an older brother, shouts from across the room, and the brothers all shout along with him, making me flip them off.

They are right, though, I’m so fucking happy, a feeling I’m just not used to, but this is what she does to me.

She erases my past and makes me want more.

I just fucking wish I made her mine the night we met, put my cut on her then, instead of letting my fear take over.

Waving the brothers off, I go to give Cam my phone when a loud crash echoes, followed by gunshots from out front—and I don’t think. I turn and run toward the front door, knowing my wife will still be near the parking lot.

“Fuck, Piston, wait!” Anchor shouts, but I ignore him and burst through the door, only to roar out in agony as I watch my wife’s car flip.

The brothers rush out behind me, cursing, seeing the wreckage, and I sprint away from the door as her car lands on the hood, my wife’s figure slumped on the windshield.

Bullets start flying my way, and I dive behind the guard box and grab my gun from the holster. I return fire, hitting one fucker in the shoulder, making him drop his weapon.

Screeching can be heard over the gunfire, and I lean over to see what it is, only to growl when I notice two men pulling open the door of my wife’s car while another grabs her arms, and drags her out.

“Motherfucker,” I roar, and move from my position, the brothers shouting at me to get back, but I ignore them and run toward my wife as a black SUV screeches to a stop beside them. They throw her in, and then it spins off.

I curse and don’t notice the guy with a gun to my head until he’s on me, but he soon drops to the ground with a bullet hole in his temple, right next to Adam.

Fuck!

Trying to control the urge to scream, I sprint over to my bike, dodging bullets, and jump on as the brothers continue firing at the fuckers in Killers jackets. I rev my bike and spin out of the clubhouse, Acid and Steal right behind me as I follow the SUV, fucking happy that, for two miles, they can’t turn off the dirt road.

We catch up with them within minutes, and bullets start flying our way. We maneuver our bikes to dodge them, knowing we can’t do fuck all, not wanting to risk my wife.

I rev my bike and go faster, moving down the driver’s side but pulling back when they swerve toward me, going onto the freeway, speeding up.

“Fuck!” I shout and go faster to keep up.

Acid, Steal, and I keep up with them, going in and out of traffic, staying on their tail. Even as they take the off ramp to lose us, we keep on them.

They won’t have my fucking wife!

Just as we get to Brooklyn Bridge, they slow down, and I speed up but roar in pain as I watch them move close to the side of the bridge they can get, crashing through screaming pedestrians and opening the side door, throwing my wife’s fucking body over the bridge, then speeding off.

I skid to a stop, dropping my bike, and sprinting down the hill to the river, my eyes on her lifeless body floating as people scream.

I can feel my brother behind me, and without a thought, I dive into the river and swim toward my wife as her body starts to sink. I grab her underneath her armpits just as her head goes under, and swim backward to shore, trying to keep her afloat.

“Hold on Diamond, fucking hold on!” I shout as Steal and Acid kneel, and pull her onto the grass. I quickly climb out of the water, and rush to her.

Carefully, I move her hair out of her face and panic, seeing her lips blue and her chest still.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck no….” I panic and start CPR, pressing firmly with my palms on her chest, counting, “One, two, three, four.”

“Come on, Nat, don’t give up,” I hear Steal rasp as I blow large breaths into her mouth, then resume chest compressions.

Please, please, please….

Blood pours from a wound on her head, and Acid quickly presses the white cloth Perrie gave him a few years back against it as we hear sirens in the distance.

“Come on, Diamond, don’t leave me, not now, not when we’re finally together, please,” I beg before blowing large breaths into her mouth again, then continue the compressions.

“What happened? What’s her name?” a paramedic asks as he skids next to us, checking her pulse before cursing as another paramedic brings a defibrillator. I continue compressions.

“Her name is Natalie Mathews, she’s twenty-four, and she's his wife. She was in a car accident, landed on the roof, wasn’t wearing her seat belt, then dragged out of the car and taken, before being thrown over the bridge. We were following,” Steal states, and I look up to see a Fed on our payroll standing next to him as he explains everything to the paramedics.

“Okay, stop compressions,” the paramedic demands, and with great effort, I lift my hands, and they cut the tee she’s wearing before placing stickers on her chest. The machine next to them makes a few noises before it says to continue compressions.

I do as it states, before it tells me to stand clear, then shocks my wife.

I hold my breath, but the machine states she’s still flatlined and to continue compressions.

I hear Acid curse, but I ignore him and do as the machine states.

“Please, baby, don’t leave me. I can’t live without you. Where you go, I go…” I murmur.

“Fuck,” Steal curses as the machine tells me to back up, and it shocks her again.

“We have a pulse; we need to move now,” the paramedic says, and Acid pulls me back as I choke back a sob, and watch helplessly as they roll my wife onto a board, and then carry her up the hill.

Acid drags me up, and we follow, running to our bikes. I quickly pick mine up and start it as the ambulance drives off with sirens. We catch up quickly, staying behind it to Memorial, while Steal takes the lead in front of the ambulance, ensuring the way is clear.

It only takes ten minutes to get to the hospital, and Acid and I dump our bikes, knowing Steal will sort them, and run toward the ambulance, only to be met with chaos as doctors surround the open doors.

“Natalie Mathews, in a car accident, not wearing a seatbelt. She was dragged out of the car, and then thrown over the Brooklyn Bridge. CPR was in progress upon arrival, but she was unresponsive, coded. Shocked twice, and she flatlined again en route,” the paramedic explains, and my knees buckle, Acid gripping my arm to keep me up.

“Okay, let’s get her inside now. Does anyone know the family?” a doctor shouts, and we run after them.

“I’m her husband,” I say loudly, causing the doctor to look my way. I wince when I see who it is.

“Fuck, is that….” Acid’s word trails off as doctors rush Natalie into a room.

“Piston?” Cassidy questions with shock, her head swinging back to her patient, someone she drank with late at night, then back to me, and I choke out, “Save my wife, Cass, please. I-I can’t lose her….”

Her hazel eyes tear up, and she nods. “I’ll do everything I can, I promise.”

That said, she turns and runs into the same room Natalie was rushed into, while a nurse passes me some forms, and guides me into a waiting room.

I slump against the wall as Acid grumbles, “Fuck me, can this day get any worse?”

“Piston?”

I turn my head and see Henry, and I frown. "What are you doing here, Henry?”

He swallows hard, running a hand through his hair, and says, “Christy took Cooper out of camp, then purposely crashed her car, trying to kill him. Pedestrians saw, and she bolted. Is Nat here? I messaged her.”

“Fuck, I shouldn’t have opened my mouth…” Acid mumbles, and I nod.

Yeah, he jinxed us….

“Henry, Natalie was run off the road, then thrown off Brooklyn Bridge. I had to give her CPR.”

The man collapses on the nearest chair at my cold words, and I drop my head.

Fuck this day.

Half an hour later, Steal rushes into the waiting room, and Acid curses while I drop my head in my hands, not up for this discussion.

He’s going to fucking lose it, and I haven’t got the strength to hold him up.

“Any news?” he asks, and I look up at him and decide to rip the Band-Aid off.

“Cass is working on her,” I say as a matter of fact, and he stumbles back in shock, hearing my words but not understanding them.

His ex, the woman he tore apart in front of the club, accused of trying to trap him, the love of his life, a woman he hasn’t seen in four years after she left without a trace.

He opens his mouth, wanting to say something but not knowing what, when a figure rushes into the room, and I look up to see Cassidy looking around the room.

She catches sight of Steal, and her jaw tenses, making me wince, but she ignores him and catches my eye before running my way. Henry, sitting up in his seat, also notices her.

Steal looks to his right and steps back again, not believing she’s here after he threatened her not to return, and stutters, “C-Cassidy….”

She ignores him and kneels before me, passing Nat’s cut to Acid who grips it tight before she grabs my linked hands. I tear up, expecting the worst, but I don’t allow the tears to fall.

“Piston…” she whispers.

I sniff hard. “Just tell me, Cass.”

She squeezes my hands. “She has a concussion and internal bleeding. Thankfully, there are no broken bones, which is a miracle, but we do need to remove her spleen. We need to operate….”

I nod. “Then do it, Cass. Save my wife.”

She swallows hard and squeezes my hands tighter. “Piston, Natalie, when we were assessing her, we ran her blood. She’s pregnant….” My eyes widen, my mouth parting in shock, and she continues, “During my residency, I was the doctor on shift when Honey brought her in three years ago. There is a high risk she may miscarry again, especially during surgery.”

I drop my head and croak, “Fuck…”

She squeezes my hands again, and I look at her. “She’s roughly five weeks, and I’ll do everything in my power to save both of them, but Elijah,” I suck in a breath at her use of my given name, “she lost a lot of oxygen; she was revived three times in total. Even if she survives the surgery, even if the baby does, she may never wake, and I need to warn you of that….”

I squeeze my eyes tight before I feel her stand and wrap her arms around my head.

“I’ll do everything I can, I swear it…” she promises, and then kisses my head before she’s gone, and everyone’s silent except for Henry’s sobs.

I lost years without her, and now I could….

Fuck.

She’s pregnant….

I may lose them both.