“She came to a few minutes ago.”
“Good. Maybe that concussion wasn’t as bad as I thought.” He walked over to the edge of the bed and smiled. “How you feeling, doll?”
“Been better.”
“I imagine so. You were pretty bad off when they brought you in last night.”
“Who are you?”
“I’m Doc.” He reached for my wrist to check my pulse. “I’m the one who fixed you up.”
“Oh. Well, thank you.” I tried to shift my position but quickly stopped when it hurt too badly. With a grimace, I told him, “Appreciate … it.”
“No need to thank me. I was glad to do it.”
The other man glared down at me as he grumbled, “I told you we were trying to help you.”
“Ah, I guess you’ve met our boy, Shotgun.”
“Shotgun?” I glanced over at the man whose name he just mentioned and asked, “Oh, geez. What kind of name is that?”
“The kind you’d be wise not to forget.” Doc chuckled as he leaned forward and whispered, “He can be a little rough around the edges sometimes.”
“Yeah, I noticed.”
“I hope he hasn’t been too hard on ya.”
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
“Give him time.” He snickered. “He has a way of getting under people’s skin.”
“I’m sure he does.” After Doc finished taking my pulse, he stepped over to the counter to grab some bandages. Feeling chilly, I pulled at the sheet and blanket. Noting a strange sensation, I glanced down and realized I was naked. Horrified, I leaned up and groaned. “Um ... Where’re my clothes?”
“Unlike you, they didn’t make it.” He chuckled under his breath. “Don’t worry. We’ll get you something to put on. We’ll also move you to a more comfortable room where it’s a little warmer. It can get a little cool in here at times.”
When he reached over and started to connect a drip to my IV, I got nervous it might be something harmful and asked, “Wait a minute. What’s that?”
“Moving’s gonna hurt like a bitch, but these pain meds will help.” As he reached for the second injection, he said, “I’m also giving you an antibiotic to hopefully prevent any infection.”
He was busy administering the medications when a third man walked into the room. I’d thought that Shotgun looked intimidating, but he had nothing on this guy. Even though he was much older, he was built like the freaking Hulk with tattoos covering his arms and a menacing look in his eyes. I could feel the power radiating off of him as he stepped over to us, and I suddenly wished that Shotgun was standing a little closer to me. It was a feeling that caught me by surprise. Maybe it was the simple fact that I’d met him before and he’d come to my rescue, but I felt safe around him, like he’d protect me, and at that moment, I felt the need to be protected. The burly man’s eyes were trained on me as he asked, “How’s she doing?”
“Doing better than I expected,” Doc answered.
“She tell us what she knows?”
“Yeah, but so far, she hasn’t been able to remember much,” Shotgun answered. “All I’ve gotten is that her name is Remington Taylor.”
“Fuck. It’s already been two damn days. Gonna need more than just her fucking name.” Until that moment, I hadn’t realized that I’d been out of it for two days. The thought startled me, but it was quickly forgotten when the angry man looked down at me with a hateful scowl. “Who did this to you?”
“I don’t know.” My voice trembled as I continued, “If I did, I’d tell you. I swear.”
Sensing my distress, Doc stepped between us and calmly said, “Just give her a little time, Prez. I’ll get her moved into one of the rooms, and when she’s a little more comfortable and has had some time to relax, it’ll come back to her.”
“It damn well better,” he snarled, making my entire body shudder. “Two fucking days of nothing, for Christ’s sake. We don’t have time for this shit.”
Without another word, the man stormed out of the room. Shotgun looked over to me like he had something to say, but he simply turned and followed the man out of the room. When the door slammed shut, I asked, “Umm...Who was that?”
“That, my dear, was Viper, the president of the Ruthless Sinners.”
“The Ruthless Sinners?” I gasped. “You mean the motorcycle club?”
A spark of pride flashed through his eyes as he replied, “The one and only.”
“Oh God. This is bad. Very, very bad.” I stared up at the ceiling as I muttered, “How did I not know he was a Ruthless Sinner? I’m such an idiot. This is a nightmare.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Haven’t you heard what people say about the Ruthless Sinners?”
Clearly amused, he started laughing. “You can’t believe everything you hear, Remington. We aren’t so bad.”
“Wait. Are you one of them too?”