Ilara: Chapter 21
I was a nervous wreck. Bear had called to say he was on his way and to hang tight. He’d explain everything once he got here. I was up, pacing Hope’s room. She’d fallen back to sleep after her lunch and then playing. Joker was in the room with us. He put his hand on my arm.
“Ilara, you need to relax. It’s not good for you or the baby to be so tense. If Bear walks in here and finds you like this, he’s going to kill me. You know I already have one ass whooping coming. I don’t want two.” He winked when he said it.
I laughed and felt a little of the tension leave my body. “I’d hate to be responsible for you getting two beatings, Joker. I think I might have talked him out of the first one. We won’t remind him, how’s that?”
He held out his hand. I took it and he shook my hand. “Deal. Now, sit. Do you want me to go get you anything? You can’t have caffeine, but juice or something or maybe something to eat?”
I sat down. “How do you know I can’t have caffeine?”
“Come on, you’re our sixth pregnant old lady. When Jocelyn was pregnant with the twins, Bull made sure all of us knew not to give Jocelyn caffeine, or he’d kill us.” He pretended to shudder.
I laughed at the image of a bunch of tough, scary bikers running around, snatching caffeine out of the hands of pregnant women and looking over their shoulder to make sure the daddy didn’t see it.
“Oh God, I got such a mental picture right now. Well, you’ll be glad to know, I do try to police my caffeine. I remember that from having Hope. I could do with a juice, anything but cranberry. They have some at the nurses’ station if you ask them. They keep it there.”
“I’ll be right back.”
He left the room. I stared out the window. When I heard the door open, I turned, expecting to see Joker with my juice. It was Bear and he had it. I flew across the room and into his arms. He hugged me tightly.
“Hey, baby, how’re you doing? Not worrying yourself to death, are you? If you have, I’ll have to kill Joker.” I looked up at him in shock. He had a teasing look on his face. That’s when I knew Joker had told him what he said.
“No, there’s no need to kill him today. Check with me tomorrow. Tell me what happened.” He went over and sat down, pulling me down onto his lap. The juice was forgotten on the over the bed table.
He quickly launched into his story. “You won’t believe it, but Tate has been trying to find Hamilton ever since we kicked him out. He said he felt awful about being the one to let him know where to find you. He started in Philly and tracked him from there. He kept losing him and then finding his trail. Once he realized he was here, he was searching all around the area, trying to find him. Somehow, Tate heard about him trying to take you that day in the courtyard.”
“How did he find Tarin?”
“I’m getting to it. Anyway, he had narrowed him down to where he thought he was hiding. He was searching that ten-mile area when he found an old house this morning. He went in and found Tarin. She was tied up and had obviously been drugged. He got her to his car and asked where she wanted to go. She told him to me and that’s how he found out she was my daughter.”
I hated to ask, but I had to know. “Honey, did he do anything to her?”
He shook his head and my breath rushed out of me in relief. “No, she said he hit her, drugged her and he had threatened it when he got back, but he hadn’t done it. Apparently, he’d left to go do something to prepare to contact me to make a trade—you and Hope for her.”
“Thank God. I was so worried he would do to her what he did to me. Why did he think you’d trade us?”
“I don’t know. Maybe he thought blood was thicker than water, who knows. I’ll ask him later. So, we had Zara check her out and a group of us followed Tate to the house. There was a car there but no Hamilton. Tate said the trashed place and car were new. We figured he was in the woods, so we broke into teams and went searching. Outlaw went with me and we were the ones to find him. I shot him in the shoulder and we took him back to the others. From there, he’s been hauled to a place where we can talk to him at our leisure. He’s not going to be turned over to the cops, Ilara. A man like that will get out and do it again,” he warned me.
“He shouldn’t be allowed the chance to do it again. You do what you need to do, Donovan. I support your decision. Just make me a promise, will you?”
“Anything, Beloved.”
“Make him suffer and beg,” I said as I remembered begging him to stop and him laughing as he continued to rape me, the pain of him inside of me. I shook away those dark thoughts. I couldn’t go there. Bear held me tighter.
“Oh, I can promise you he’ll beg and suffer, Ilara. For you, the other women we know he’s done this too, and for ever thinking to touch Tarin or take you and Hope. He’s going to see why I’m called Bear.” His voice was low and growly and he had a dark expression on his face.
“Then you need to go start your chat. We’re fine here. Hope played for a while and then as you can see, she napping again. Dr. Beatty was in. He’s planning to let her go home next week, as long as her counts stay like they are. He’s very happy with how she responded to the chemo.”
“Yes! More good news, thank God.” He gave me a kiss. When he was done, he sighed. “I do have to go, but I want you to be ready. I’ll be back to get you or I’ll have one of the guys bring you home tonight. We spent last night here. You and the baby need to be in our bed tonight.”
I didn’t argue. “Okay. Love you. I’ll see you later.”
“Love you too.” He got up and then I walked him to the door. He gave me one last kiss then left. Joker came back into the room. He held up a deck of cards.
“Wanna play some poker while we wait for Sugarplum to wake up? Jokers wild,” he said with a wink. I laughed. He was fun and I couldn’t wait to see him one day when he found a special lady. She’d have her hands full, but then again, I had the feeling he’d have his full with her too. I sat down across from him.
“Deal the cards and prepare to lose. I’m a card shark, I warn you. What’s the bet?”