“I choked the bitch with the rope she used on me. When she ran the car off the road, I got out and made sure to knock her out. Only when I tied her up, I made sure she wasn’t going anywhere. If you head that way, I think a couple of miles, you’ll find her car off to the left in the trees. It’s the one with the front end smashed into a tree.” She had a satisfied look on her face. I was now more terrified. She’d been in a car wreck. She could have internal injuries or the baby might be affected.
I scooped her up and took off running for the truck. “Where are we going?” she asked me.
“I need to get you to a damn hospital. You were hit in the head more than once, Tarin, and then in a wreck. You could have internal bleeding or something. Are you having any pain anywhere? What about your stomach?” I asked in a rush as I buckled her into the backseat. I jumped in beside her. Bear and Payne got into the front. Before we pulled out, Slash came over to the window.
“We’ll go find our kidnapper and bring her back to the compound. You go take care of Tarin and the squirt.”
“Thanks,” is all I could say. Bear was sitting in front, half facing us. Payne took off like a flash.
“Honey, we don’t need to go to the hospital. I’m fine. I’m tired and dirty, my head is sore, but I don’t have any pain anywhere and especially not in my stomach. I’m cold more than anything. Take me home and let Zara check me out.”
“I can’t, Tarin. She doesn’t have the equipment to do it there. We need to go to the hospital. I’ll have your dad call her to meet us there, but that’s it.”
She sighed and rolled her eyes at me, but she didn’t argue. Bear was on his phone talking to Zara, I assumed. When he got off, he looked at me. “Zara will meet us at the ER.”
“She shouldn’t be running out at night. She’s almost ready to have her baby,” Tarin protested. “Dad, call Ilara and tell her not to come. She needs her rest and Hope doesn’t need to be at the hospital with all those sick people. I’m fine and as soon as they clear me, I’m going home to my bed. Don’t think you’re going to get me to stay all night, Outlaw,” she told me with her eyes narrowed.
“Listen, little badass, you do what he tells you. It’s for your own good and the baby’s. I’m not peeling him off the fucking ceiling if you don’t,” Payne told her with a tiny grin.
“Don’t think you can boss me too, Payne. I’ll beat your head off the steering wheel like I did April’s.”
We all burst out laughing. She’d beat April’s head off the steering wheel? She went on to add, “I sure hope her nose heals straight. Wait, no, I don’t. She deserved it. Shit, I hope she needs hours of plastic surgery for her face.”
I didn’t bother to tell her not to worry about it. If I had my way, April getting plastic surgery would be the last thing she’d need. I caught Bear’s eyes. He nodded. We were on the same page. Payne kept up the teasing the whole way to the hospital. I think part of the reason was to keep her alert. When we pulled into the ER, Zara was waiting for us, along with Jocelyn, Jessica, and Mitch. The others must have stayed at the compound with the babies.
The staff hustled her straight into the back. It was only because Zara was with her that I didn’t demand to be allowed to go with her. I sat down in the waiting room with her dad and the others. He was on the phone talking to Ilara. Payne was busy texting. I assumed he was talking to the ones picking up April.
Ten minutes later, the doors opened and in came Bull, Tank, and Joker. Bull came right over to me and Bear. He quietly said, “The issue has been contained and will be at the compound. Some of the guys will stay at the compound and the others are on their way. Too soon to know anything?” He sat down beside me.
“Yeah, she’s in the back with Zara. We’re probably in for a long night. Why don’t you get the others and go back? We’ll call when we know something or they release her,” I told him.
He frowned at me. “You think we’re leaving you two here alone? Hell no. We’re family and we’ll stay until we know something, one way or the other. In the meantime, do you need one of us to go home and get you anything?”
“No, I’m fine.” I looked over at Bear. He shook his head no. “Thanks, Bull. She didn’t want us to bring her here, but I had to be sure. She wrecked the damn car.”
Bull chuckled. “I know, the others told us what happened. They said wait until you see what April looks like. Tarin did a number on her face.”
“I’m gonna do a number on her ass. What the hell was she thinking? Do you think she’s involved with whomever is sending that shit to Tarin?”
“I don’t know. I told Alex and Jake to keep an eye on her out at the Gallows. I told them not to question her or engage, just keep her there. When we’re done here and you’re ready, we’ll find out what the hell happened,” Bull growled. He was scowling as much as me and Bear were.
Time seemed to move at a snail’s pace. The others showed up and took up posts around the waiting room. Zara came out a couple of times to update me that Tarin was doing fine and they were running another test. It was going on three in the morning before I was allowed to go back to see her. They let Bear go with me.
She looked tired, but otherwise okay. I gave her a tender kiss then her dad hugged and kissed her. A few minutes later, in came Zara and another doctor. His name badge read, Dr. Jeffers. He introduced himself then got down to business.
“Ms. Mercer, other than a mild concussion, all your tests came back normal. Your monitoring hasn’t shown any contractions. Your checks show no bleeding or pain to indicate the baby isn’t okay. You’ve got a lot of bruises and will be sore for a while, but I don’t see anything to suggest you won’t be fine. We’d like you to stay for a bit longer, just so we can be sure. I think you’re a very lucky young woman.”
I blew out a relieved sigh. I heard Bear sigh too.
“Dr. Jeffers, I appreciate you telling us this, but if there’s nothing wrong with me, I’d like to go home. I can rest much better in my own bed. If anything changes, I have Zara. She lives on the compound with us,” Tarin told him.
Dr. Jeffers gave her a funny look then glanced at our cuts. He looked a little unhappy. That’s when I realized why I recognized his name. He’d pissed off Bull when he’d brought Jocelyn in here two years ago. He’d seemed interested in her.
Zara was quick to jump in. “She’s right. I live a couple of houses down from them. She’ll be in good hands. Her man will be taking care of her as well as her dad.” She nodded to indicate me and Bear. “If anything changes, we’ll bring her back.”
He harrumphed but didn’t say no. He left us after saying, “I’ll get a nurse to discharge you, since I don’t seem to be needed.”
When he left, Zara snickered. “He’s an asshole. I don’t think he’s ever forgiven Bull for being with Jocelyn. He’s known to try and charm his female patients and the nurses. He tried it when I first started and I told him to leave me the hell alone.”
“Does Demon know that?” Bear asked.
“No, and he doesn’t need to, either. I have only a few days left and then I’m on maternity leave. When I’m ready to come back to work, it won’t be here, thank God. The clinic should be up and ready for us to see patients.”
She was working on having a clinic in town. It was similar to what they were doing out in Dublin Falls with some of the old ladies who were in healthcare. They wanted more consistent hours and more of a say in how they handled patients.
A half hour later and we were on our way home. I wanted to get her settled and a good night’s sleep. Once I knew she was really fine, we’d go have a little talk with April and find out what the hell was going on.