Sprite

S prite refused to leave Chains' side as the EMTs loaded him into the ambulance. She insisted on going with him, and they allowed it once she told him that she was his wife. Sure, it was a little white lie, but she had no other choice.

Savage insisted that she ride to the hospital with Chains and that he'd make sure that the cops took her mother into custody and got the recording. She didn't even give her mother a second glance. didn't deserve the attention from her. As far as she was concerned, her mother was dead to her now. Her child would never know how evil his or her grandmother was, and that was just how wanted things.

Bowie promised to call Banshee to let her know what happened, and she thanked him. Everything seemed to slow down around her, and all wanted to do was keep her shit together for Chains. He needed her to be strong when all she wanted to do was fall completely apart.

When they got to the ER, she was asked to wait in the waiting room and when she turned the corner and found Banshee, Phoenix, and Danger sitting in the room, waiting for her, she couldn't help but break down. The Harlots surrounded her, and she had to admit, it was good to have friends who showed up when things got tough.

"How did you guys find out about Chains?" she asked, wiping her eyes on her sleeve.

"Savage called me, and I spread the word," Banshee said. "Some of the other Harlots will be over later. Dallas and a few others have to find a babysitter." thought about her child, rubbing her hand over her belly. She worried that her baby might not have the chance to know his or her father and she started crying all over again.

"Hey, what's that about?" Danger asked.

"What if Chains doesn't pull through this and my baby doesn't ever get to meet him?" she asked. The three women looked at each other, seeming to not know what to say to her. She wouldn't have known what to say either if the situation was reversed.

"You don't have to answer that," she whispered. "I'm just thinking about the worst case and it's scaring the hell out of me."

"I get it, but you can't do that to yourself," Banshee insisted. "Chains needs your strength now."

barked out her laugh, "Yeah, I'm not feeling very strong right now, unfortunately." She barely had the strength to stand on her own two feet at the moment. "I just need some news," she said.

Savage and Bowie practically burst into the emergency waiting room and the four women looked at them as though they had lost their minds. "Did the cops get everything that they needed to put my mother away?" she asked Savage.

"They did," he said. "She made a full confession knowing that you had already recorded her saying that she had killed Jake. It's over now," he assured. "There will be no long, drawn-out court case or anything like that. Her confession will speed up the process. You won't even have to be in the courtroom if you don't want to be."

She shivered at the thought of being in the same room with her mother ever again. "I won't be going to the courtroom. I'm done with her. I just need for Chains to be all right and then, we can start our lives together—this time without the threat of him going away to prison hanging over us."

"That will happen," Phoenix promised, wrapping her arm around 's shoulder. "You'll see, Chains will be okay."

"How can you know that?" asked. "What if he's not okay?"

Phoenix shrugged, "I kind of have a sick sense when it comes to this type of thing. I wouldn't say it if I didn't believe it." had heard about Phoenix's sick sense, and she wondered how it worked. Blindly believing Phoenix scared the hell out of her, but she wanted to think that Chains was going to pull through all of this.

"You should sit down," Danger insisted. nodded and before she could even get her butt into the seat, a nurse came looking for her.

"Is there any news?" almost shouted at her.

"How are you related to the patient?" the nurse asked.

"She's his wife," Savage said, stepping forward from the crowd.

"And you are?" the nurse asked. She looked between Savage and as though she didn't believe a word that Savage was telling her.

"I'm the patient's brother," Savage insisted.

"Well, I can talk to you both out in the hallway, but the rest of your group will need to wait in here," the nurse insisted. Savage grabbed 's hand and walked with her out into the hallway, following Nurse Ratchet as instructed.

"Your husband and brother is a very lucky man," she said.

"We have different definitions of lucky," breathed.

The nurse laughed and smiled at . "He's going to be all right," the nurse insisted. "The bullet went through his left side and the only organ it hit on the way out of his body, was his spleen. He's in surgery now to have his spleen removed and that should stop the bleeding. He'll be in a recovery room soon and you'll be able to go back to see him, one at a time—family only," the nurse said.

"Can he live without a spleen?" asked.

"Yes," the nurse assured. "With some time to heal, and let his body adjust to having no spleen, he'll be fine. Your husband will just have to take it easy for a while, but he'll be back to normal by the time your little one gets here," she said, nodding to 's belly. She had taken off the jacket that she was wearing to conceal her pregnancy from her mother. If her mother never found out about her baby, that would be just fine with her.

Savage wrapped his arm around 's shoulder and pulled her in for a quick hug. "See, he's going to be okay," he soothed. "How long before she can see him?" he asked the nurse.

"He should be out of surgery in an hour or so," the nurse said.

"I'll be waiting in the ER waiting room," said. "As soon as Chains can have company, can you let me know?" The nurse nodded, promising to let her know when she could go back to see him, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to burst into tears or jump up and down for joy.

"Have you eaten today?" Savage asked. thought back over her day and realized that she hadn't.

"Um, no," she said. "We left the safehouse early this morning and I still have a bit of morning sickness before noon. I was nauseous this morning and didn't take the time to eat. I thought that I was going to eat at the diner, but you know how that went."

"Let's get you something to eat then," he insisted.

"I'm too nervous to eat anything," she said.

"You have to eat, for the baby," Banshee said from across the room.

"Fine, I'll have something to eat," she agreed.

"And drink," Danger called.

"Yeah—I'll have something to drink too." She knew that her friends were only trying to take care of her, but all she wanted to do was see Chains.

"Great," Banshee said, "we'll go with you, and the boys can stay here and wait for news."

"Bossy," Savage mumbled under his breath. Banshee loved to give Savage a hard time. She had known him since she was just a kid, and her brothers were a part of the Royal Bastards. Banshee turned around to Savage and stuck out her tongue, making his husband, Bowie, laugh.

"That's the pot calling the kettle black," Bowie teased his husband.

"I don't know that saying," Banshee said, "but I'm sure that we had something of the sort in Ireland. Come on, girls. Let's get and her babe some food before her Prince Charming wakes up and wants to see her." They filed out of the waiting room, all holding hands, and had to admit—it was good to be home with her family. She was right where she belonged, with the Harlots, and she would never take them or their kindness for granted.

By the time they ate and got back to the waiting room in the ER, more than an hour had passed. She worried that Chains would need her, and she wouldn't be there for him, but the Harlots were right—she needed to eat. felt so much stronger after eating lunch and now, she felt ready to take on any obstacle that life chose to throw at her.

"I've been trying to text you," Savage said.

"What's wrong?" choked. "Is Chains okay?"

"He's good. He woke up about ten minutes ago and has been asking for you. I went back to see him, but he didn't want me. He said that he needed you."

"What room?" she asked.

"Just go to the nurse's station and they'll show you back," Bowie instructed. The girls all smiled at her and wished her luck, but for what she had no idea. Even Savage and Bowie seemed a bit excited for her to get back to Chains.

The same nurse from earlier showed her back to Chains' room and she looked him over. He had a lot of tubes running in and out of his body and the heart monitor was making all kinds of noises that she didn't understand. was almost afraid to go anywhere near him for fear of breaking him if she touched him.

"Hey," Chains said. His voice sounded gruff, and she hated that he was going through all of this because of her mother.

"Hey," she whispered. He held his left hand out to her and groaned. "Are you okay? Do you need me to call the nurse or leave so that you can rest?"

"No, baby," he breathed, "I need you close. I just keep forgetting which side they operated on. They have me pretty hopped up on painkillers. I'm sure at some point, they will wear off and I'll feel enough pain to remember where they operated. The nurse just told me that they had to take out my spleen to get me to stop bleeding, and I guess I should count myself lucky. She said that it could have been so much worse. Just a few inches up, and she would have hit my lung. Then, I'd have a ton of problems and a much longer recovery."

"You count yourself lucky that my mother shot you, Chains?" she asked. He held out his right hand to her this time, and didn't hesitate to take it. She sat down next to him on the bed, and he pulled her against his chest.

"I do," he whispered, kissing the top of her head. "Your mother would have shot you if I hadn't gotten in the way, and that would have killed me. I'm so glad she didn't hit you or the baby. I'd get shot all over again if it meant keeping you safe, honey," he said.

"I'm so sorry that you got mixed up in my mess," sobbed. "My mother killed Jake and tried to frame you for his murder. What if I turn out to be just like her with our baby? What kind of sick family do I come from?" she asked. wasn't really looking for an answer, but she should have known that Chains would give her one anyway.

"You are not your mother, ," he insisted. He tucked his finger under her chin and lifted her gaze to look into his eyes. "You are going to be a fantastic mother," he assured.

"You don't have to say that just to make me feel better," she insisted.

"I'm not saying it to make you feel better," he said. "I'm telling you that because it's the truth. You're going to be a perfect mom, honey," he assured. "And a perfect wife," he whispered.

She practically sat up and Chains groaned when she tried to get out of his bed. "Don't get spooked, honey," he insisted, "but there is something that I wanted to tell you for a while now, and I wasn't sure that you were going to take it well." stopped squirming around, trying to get out of bed. "What's that?" she asked.

"I love you," he breathed. "When I felt the bullet go through my side, I was sure that I'd never see you again, and my only regret in life was that I'd never be able to tell you how I feel about you, . I love you."

"Oh, Chains," she whispered. She never imagined that she'd fall so hard, so fast for anyone, but she had for him. "I love you too. I wasn't sure if I should say it first or let you say it, but I've loved you for a while now too."

"Thank fuck," he breathed, "then, this next part will be easy." He pulled a black velvet ring box from underneath his sheets and opened it to show her the most beautifully traditional round-cut diamond that she had ever seen. wasn't a jewelry girl, but this ring was one that she'd definitely wear.

"It's beautiful, Chains," she said.

"Will you marry me then?" he asked.

"How did you get that here?" she asked.

"I had it in my pocket when we left this morning. I bought it before we left Huntsville and brought it to the safe house to ask you to marry me. I didn't want to do it when you found out that we're pregnant because I didn't want you to think that I wanted to marry you because of the baby," he said. "Then, this whole thing with Jake happened and I didn't want to ask you to marry me if I couldn't offer you a future."

"I wouldn't think that Chains," she assured. "Why did you bring it with you today?" she asked.

"Because, if my gut was right, and your mother knew who killed Jake, I was hoping that I'd be cleared and then, I could ask you to spend the rest of your life with me," he said.

"So, you were planning to ask me this whole time?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, "so, how about it? You want to marry me or not?"

"Ever the romantic," she teased. "Yes, Chains, I'd love to marry you." He pulled her back against his body and sealed his mouth over hers as the nurse walked into the room. She cleared her throat, and Chains took the hint and ended the kiss.

The nurse stood over his bed, her hands on her hips, looking down at them. "You two can't be doing that. He just had surgery."

"He just asked me to marry him," explained. She scrunched up her nose when the nurse stared her down. "But you thought that we were already married. Sorry that I lied, but I needed to be with him." snuggled into his side, and he wrapped his arm around her once more.

"And kissing my fiancée is good medicine," he insisted. "I feel better already."

"Well, it's time for you to be moved to a private room," the nurse said. She turned to and smiled, "Congratulations," she said, "but, you'll have to leave. Chains needs his rest, and you can come back to see him in the morning when visiting hours start."

"I want to stay here with him," insisted. "What if he needs me in the middle of the night?" Chains barked out his laugh and she slapped his arm. "That's not what I meant, and you know it."

"I can't help it if I have a dirty mind, honey," he said. The nurse rolled her eyes and cleared her throat as if reminding them both that she was still in the room with them. "And she's right. You need to go home and get some rest," he said.

looked at him and wasn't sure if she should even ask this next question. "Which home?" she asked. "With my mother in jail, I could go back to the trailer park and take over her place."

"No fucking way," Chains growled, "you'll be staying with me, in our home from now on. And if you don't like our house, I'll put it on the market and buy you one you want."

"I love your house," she admitted, "it's perfect."

"Our house," he reminded.

"Our house," she agreed. He pulled her in for another kiss, not caring about the nurse's protests. Chains took his time kissing her and for the first time in her life, she felt safe and loved just laying in Chains' arms. She was finally going to have the family that she never dreamed would happen, but it did. They were going to be a family of three once the baby came and she couldn't wait for that day. had found her future all wrapped up in one sexy-as-sin biker, and that made her feel like the luckiest woman in the whole world.

The End

I hope that you loved and Chains' story! Here is a sneak peek at book four of K.L. Ramsey's Royal Harlots Series—Phoenix is coming soon!