Diesel stepped out in front of me, blocking my way. “We’ll find them. I fuckin’ promise you. I give you my word that we will fuckin’ find the motherfuckers who did this and make them pay!”
I looked around the room, trying to catch my breath from the rage coursing through my veins. Seeing the rest of the brothers who weren’t put to ground for the first time. All nodding along with Diesel’s words, silently assuring me what he was saying was true. Giving me the only comfort I did want.
Fucking revenge.
“Creed! We need to call an ambulance. Mia is stable, but she needs to get to a hospital,” Doc announced, walking into the living room. Removing another pair of blood-soaked gloves.
“We’re out in the middle of fuckin’ nowhere, you already know that. An ambulance couldn’t even find this place if we painted them a fuckin’ map. Can’t even drive a car through those woods, it’s why we been fuckin’ drivin’ side-by-sides,” I replied, pacing the room, kicking shit out of my way. Raking my hands through my hair, needing one goddamn second to think.
Just one goddamn second.
“We take her! We take her right fuckin’ now!” I tried to sidestep Diesel, but he firmly grabbed my arm before I got the last word out.
“Need to get our story straight. Cops are gonna be swarmin’ when you show up with her at the hospital. Did you fuckin’ forget she’s missin’? I know you gotta protect your girl, but you also gotta protect your club, VP,” Diesel stated, emphasizing the last two letters.
I tore my arm away, looking him dead in the eyes. “You do whatever the fuck you gotta do or say... but you got an hour to get me a fuckin’ cargo van. Need to get Mia to the hospital as comfortably as possible. She’s already been through enough. Have it meet us at the end of the road just out of the woods.” I cocked my head to the side, adding, “And you prolly got less than twenty-four hours to handle this shit and take care of business. Yeah?”
He nodded, pulling out his phone to make the necessary calls to save our asses. Except, I was the only one who didn’t give a fuck about my future anymore. I was already living in Hell. Prison wouldn’t be any different.
All that mattered to me was getting Mia safely to the hospital.
My eyes fluttered open, or maybe they were still closed. Darkness clouded my vision, making it hard to decipher between the two. I tried again, blinking a few times, willing them to focus, but I was so drowsy and tired. My body was so stiff and sore. It felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, sinking into the blankets on the hard surface beneath me.
I groaned, moving my head side-to-side, nestling in my aching body. Pain radiated from the middle of my back, wrapping around my abdomen. Hugging me tight like a vise. I couldn’t comprehend if I was awake or asleep at that point. Feeling as though I was in a moving vehicle.
“It’s okay, baby,” I heard Creed coax from above me. Instantly feeling a warm sensation course through my body. The pain almost immediately subsided into a hazy bliss. The familiar smell of cigarettes and his musky, masculine scent aided in keeping me content.
“Water,” I mumbled, feeling like I hadn’t drank anything in forever. He placed a straw at my lips and I greedily sucked it down. Trying to quench my thirst.
“Easy, babe, gonna make yourself sick.”
I nodded, slowing down my pace. Wondering why the hell I was so thirsty and disoriented. Waiting for Creed to tell me what was going on, but he didn’t say anything. I turned my head away when I had my fill of the water, trying to gather my rambling thoughts and adjust to my surroundings.
The space was darker than I initially thought. My eyes finally adapted to the soft light coming from what looked like a lantern down by my feet, and a few overhead lights the driver must have turned on. My gaze slowly moved around the closed space, realizing I was right. We were in a moving cargo van.
My eyes immediately landed on Creed. His body was hunched over, leaning up against the metal steel with his elbows on his knees, but that wasn’t what caught my attention. It was the fact that he looked like he hadn’t slept in days.
Even through the dim lighting, I could see that his cheeks were sunken in and his skin was pale. His hair was all disheveled and messy as if he’d been yanking at it. A few strands had fallen around his gaze, only accentuating the dark, puffy circles under his eyes, which were also bloodshot red. His bright blue irises that I could never get enough of appeared almost translucent and white. They were void of any emotions, empty pools, no feeling pouring out of them whatsoever. His expression was vacant and hard. I’ve never wanted to know what he was thinking, more than I did in that second.
The more I looked at him, the more I realized the man I loved with all my heart was now a blank canvas. A mere illusion of the person I used to know.
My heart started urgently pounding against my chest. An unsettling feeling churned deep within my stomach. There was something in the way he was looking at me that left me breathless, and more confused. I wanted to ask him what happened, but I couldn’t find my voice. Suddenly terrified to know the answer. I wanted to look around, but I couldn’t will myself to look away from him. Our gazes were locked. Neither one of us willing to break the intensity of our stares as my emotions continued to run wild.
He narrowed his eyes, looking at me with a visible yearning. Showing me a glimpse of the man I’ve known and loved.
The same man I knew that loved me back.
The thought alone calmed me.
His eyes searched my face for I don't know what, eyeing me up and down. Fighting an internal battle that was clearly raging war inside of him. Unfolding right in front of me. He was the first to break our connection, unable to look at me any longer. His face dropped to his boots as his hands dug into his hair, tugging at it like I imagined he’d been doing all night. His mood shifted into a cluster of emotions. So contradicting to the man he had just shown me.
He was bracing himself for something I had yet to grasp or understand.
You know how people say your mind could protect itself from anything it thought could hurt them... I never understood that statement until right then and there. For some reason, I instinctively narrowed in on his nails, noticing for the first time there was dried up blood caked under them.
Which was all it took to set the tracks in motion...
“What do you think baby girl? You like the name, Madison?”
Blink.
“This ain’t over.”
“I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Blink.
“I’d like to make a toast to Mia. For puttin’ up with us foul-mouthed bikers, makin’ this kickass fuckin’ meal, and for handlin’ this situation like a fuckin’ pro. Not being a little bitch or a pain in our fuckin’ asses.”
“And here I thought you didn’t know my name.”
Blink.
“Hey, Doc! You forget something?”
Blink.
“Mia, for the first time in I don’t know how long, I’m actually doin’ somethin’ good. It’s been an honor to be part of your journey with Maddie. I can’t wait to help you brin’ her into this world.”