“Darlin’ you hurt?” Mulligan was standing next to me, blood dripping down the front of his shirt. “Look at me, Starla.”
I blinked up at him in shock, before it registered in my head that he was hurt. “I’m fine.” I jumped from where I had been sitting and reached for his arm, moving the collar of his shirt to see the large gash in his neck. “Oh my God, Mulligan. You got shot!”
“Eh, it’s just a flesh wound. Nothing a bitch sticker can’t fix. Are you ok though?” He looked me over from head to toe, physically relaxing when he saw that I’d made it through the fire fight unscathed.
“Who was that, Mulligan?” I asked as he took my hand and pulled me back up the stairs, shielding me with his body protectively.
That night Jameson filled me in on everything that the MC was into. I swallowed down the fear as he told me about the guns, drugs, and the IRA. The natural reaction was to be scared, but deep inside I knew that I needed to be strong for Jameson and for the club. I wasn’t a weak person and I would be damned if I ran now. I took a deep breath as Jameson reassured me that he’d do everything he could to protect me and keep me safe, and as I exhaled I let out all of the fear inside of me. I knew I’d always have Jameson and no matter what, we would weather through it together. But nothing could have prepared us for what happened next.
Chapter Seven
I woke one night, my stomach was churning and my back was killing me. I made my way out of the bed as quietly as I could, as to not wake Jameson, and down toward the bathroom. It would figure with that with the club leaving on a run this coming weekend that I would get sick. I flipped on the light to the bathroom and looked up in the mirror, my face was ashen and pale as I stared back at myself. My stomach kept churning, and I knew if I didn’t make it to the toilet quickly that I was going to get sick right here in the sink. I dashed across the bathroom and made it just in time to get the lid to the commode up.
My entire body ached as I emptied the contents of my stomach. My body was hot and clammy as I tried to stand. I heard the door come open behind me and tried to flush the bile as quickly as I could, but as the thought of throwing up in a toilet that God only knows who uses in this house, I felt the bile rise once more. I couldn’t turn to see who was behind me, but I heard the sink turn on and then felt a cool rag against my neck.
“Honey, something has done a number on you, aye?” I heard Johanna’s voice as she gently rubbed my back.
“I think I’m dying,” my voice was shaky as I reached up and flushed the toilet once more. “I don’t know what came over me. I just woke up and knew I was going to be sick.”
“Wonder if any of the guys are feeling it? Might have been something bad you ate.”
I sat up and turned, leaning my back against the toilet as she pulled my hair up on my head and secured it into a messy bun. You know someone’s your friend when they hold your hair for you while you throw up. She handed me a cup of water and I took a small sip, testing to see if my stomach would turn sour once more. When it didn’t I took a large sip and the door to the bathroom came open once more, damn at this rate we’d all be partying in the bathroom. I looked up to see Jameson standing in the doorway, his face mixed with confusion and concern.
“I’ll go get you something for your stomach, be right back,” Johanna said as she stood and gave Jameson and me some privacy.
“Went to reach for you and you were gone. You ok, love?” He made his way over to me, his hair up in the same messy bun as mine and I giggled.
“I think so. My stomach went sour and I got sick. Probably something I ate.” I smiled up at him, leaning into his knees as he took the seat on the edge of the tub that Johanna had just vacated.
“You need me to get you anything?” He rubbed small circles on my back and up to my neck, making me relax at his touch.
“No, I’m just gonna brush my teeth and then come back to bed.” He helped me from the floor and kissed my cheek before making his way back toward the bedroom. A few seconds later Johanna was back at the door with some medicine and a box. I didn’t pay much attention to it and began brushing the bad taste from my mouth. It wasn’t until I looked over and saw the words pregnancy test that I froze in place.
I turned to Johanna, panic in my eyes as I tried to think back to when my last period was. Jameson and I used condoms most of the time, but not as much as we should have. But getting pregnant wasn’t something that had ever really crossed my mind. Hell, I’d never even known a pregnant woman in my life, and I sure as hell never expected to be one myself. I took the tooth brush from my mouth and rinsed before looking back at Johanna.