But for some reason, I didn’t even care. The Raisers weren’t my club. Not really. I was club Prez, but I felt like more of an Untouchable than anything else. But calling someone else President might not be all that easy for me. I’d gotten used to calling the shots. I wasn’t really sure what was next for me.
One thing was perfectly clear. My allegiance was with Parker.
I parked at the hospital and headed inside. It was the middle of the night. Parker was alone. One of Cain’s guys was standing in the hallway outside her door. The very same fucker who had been trailing me for months.
Usually, when I saw Hunter, I flipped him off.
This time, I shook his hand.
“Thank you.”
Hunter nodded. He was another quiet one. Not really one for words, like Cain. He was just as big though. It meant a lot to me that Cain had sent his second in command to protect Parker.
“I’m going to stay, you can take off.”
He frowned and shook his head.
“Not until I get the go-ahead.”
“It’s over,” I said in a low voice. The hallway was deserted, but there was no reason to be stupid.
He had been there earlier. For the search. He’d gotten his hands dirty like the rest of us. He deserved to know.
“They are taking him in.”
Hunters eyes got wide. I was pretty sure it took a lot to surprise the big man. I nodded to his unspoken question and went inside, muttering, “At least get yourself a cup of coffee.”
But he didn’t move an inch.
I stood in the doorway, staring. My beautiful girl was lying there, looking like an angel. She was asleep, thank God. I hoped she wasn’t feeling any pain. She whimpered in her sleep, and I rushed to her side, bending over her.
“Shh, sweetheart, it’s all right. I’m here.”
She quieted immediately. I looked down and saw that I was holding her hand. I looked around and hooked a chair with my foot, tugging it toward me as quietly as possible. I sat, unwilling to let go of her hand even for a second.
I watched her sleep, thinking about my fucked-up life and all the things that needed to change. Thinking about what she needed me to change. No more taking risks. No more late nights drinking or needless violence. I would do anything for her. And if she wanted me to give up the club, I would. If she wanted to sail around the world, I would. If she wanted a white picket fence, well, by God, I would get her one.
I would get her a ring too. I was marrying the girl as soon as humanly possible. She was mine, dammit, even if I didn’t deserve her.
I was still terrified that the doctors had been wrong. That she was still in danger. That she wasn’t out of the woods yet.
So I watched. I waited. And I planned.
Every once in a while, she would move or grimace like she was in pain. Every time, I felt it inside me, cutting like a knife. I wished I could take every bit of pain from her. I would take a thousand knives to the gut if it took away even a fraction of her pain. I would take a million. My eyes drifted shut around dawn. I even caught a few Zs, not even noticing how uncomfortable the chair was.
When I opened my eyes a few hours hour later, I was still holding her hand.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Parker
“Do you want any of the clothes she came in with? There is paperwork you can fill out to get them out of evidence. After they are examined, of course.”
I watched Shane as he shook his head, gathering my paperwork and ID from the nurse. I didn’t want any of the things I’d been wearing when I came in. I assumed it was all trashed. My old favorite sneakers were covered in blood. I remembered that from the ambulance ride over.
Shane had been with me then. Just like he’d been with me for the past five days. He hadn’t left the hospital except to change clothes twice, and that was just after I’d told him he was starting to smell.
He wasn’t. But I’d wanted to make sure he was taking care of himself too. Of course, he’d come right back instead of getting a decent night’s sleep like I’d told him to. The man was beyond stubborn, I was coming to find. It was endearing. He really did not want to leave me alone for a second.
He hadn’t left my side once since he’d saved me from the man with the knife. Except that first night.
I still had no idea what had happened during those missing hours. I’d slept through most of it, but I knew from the girls that something had gone down.