“Hello?” My voice is groggy, and I fight to open my eyes a few times before I give up and just leave them closed.
“There was a girl dropped off at the hospital this morning.” Scar’s voice is clipped and tight, he is struggling with this as much as I am. We knew that we wouldn’t catch the guys doing this if it didn’t happen again, but we hoped it wouldn’t.
I jump out of bed, wide awake after what he said, once I am out in the hallway, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. If I yell I am going to wake people up and I don’t want to do that and then have to make up a story about why I am so mad at the ass crack of dawn.
“How is she?”
“Alive, but I’m afraid that is the only good thing I have to say about it.”
Damnit. She has got to be in rough shape if he isn’t just coming out with it, but she’s alive and that’s alright for now but who knows how long that will last? The last girl died and that worked out for the guys that did this because they don’t have to worry about her remembering anything, there is a chance that this girl could remember something.
“Has anyone spoken to her?” I start to pace the hallway, if anyone comes out, I am going to look like a crazy person.
“A few cops that we have on our side have questioned her. As far as her condition, she is lucky compared to the last girl, she wasn’t quite as abused but she had more drugs in her system than the last one. I guess she didn’t have it in her to fight them off, so they didn’t feel the need to beat the shit out of her.” My stomach lurches and for a moment I think I am going to throw up.
“And DNA? Does she remember anyone involved?”
Scar lets out a little chuckle, “I will get a copy of the police report and send it to you, I know that you want to have all the information. If you want, I bet we will be able to get you in to see her.” I don’t need to think about it before I tell him yes.
“I would love to talk to her, she might not have been comfortable talking to the men in the room with what she has just been through. I’ll take my car and meet you there?”
He gives me the address and we get off the phone to get ready. I have to sneak back into the room, I change into a basic t-shirt dress and a pair of white sneakers. I am almost out the door when Raven calls out behind me.
“It’s so freaking early, where are you going?”
“I’m sorry I woke you. I am headed to the hospital; another girl was dropped off and I am going to talk to her.” Raven shoots up in her bed much like I had, horror on her face. “I know Raven. We are working on it.”
The drive to the hospital is terrible. My hands are shaking, and I go from screaming at my dash to wanting to cry for a woman that I don’t know. I have seen so many bloody things in my life, but all of them have been to people that deserve it. I don’t care what a woman has done, she doesn’t deserve this, no one deserves this.
As soon as I pull into the parking lot I see Scar’s bike in the back, I park next to it, and he opens my door to let me out. When he leans in and kisses me on the mouth, I get a little starstruck. I cannot believe that I get to have this man in my life like this. After so many years of just being able to look, I get to touch.
Our kiss lasts a little longer than is probably appropriate for what we are here to do, but when I raise my hands and run them through his blond hair, I get stuck on the little patch of grey right by his ears. When he sees where my eyes are stuck, he grabs my face.
“You still going to like the way I look when my hair is all grey?” The fact that he thinks grey hair is going to make him look anything less than drop-dead sexy shows that he doesn’t see himself clearly.
“Honey, you age like the perfect bourbon, only getting better.” When I am done running my hands through his hair I trace the tips of my fingers over the scar on his eye, he leans into my hand.
“I wish we were doing anything else right now. I want to savor the fact that I get to touch you like this. It might be a little childish, but I can’t wait for the day that we are back at the clubhouse, and I can flaunt it in front of all of those club whores that throw themselves at you.” He wraps his arms around my waist and kisses me again.
It seems crazy but standing in front of him like this makes my throat tight with emotion, Scar kisses me again and puts his forehead to mine. “You didn’t have to go talk to my dad; you know?”
“Yes, I did. He is still my president, and he and I needed to be on the same page.” I have had these feelings for them for so long that I don’t want to keep them in any longer. Six months without them didn’t change the things inside me, if anything it made them stronger. I have lived without them for six months and I won’t spend another minute without letting them know where I stand.
I mean this man went to my father and risked whatever he thought my father might do just to make sure that all was good. I don’t know if it was more for us, or for his position in the club, either way, his loyalty is awe-inspiring.
“Scar?”
“Yes,” his eyes are intense, and the words get caught in my throat again, but I don’t want to leave this parking lot without saying them.
I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him close so that I don’t have to look at his face when I say it, “I love you.”
I hardly whisper the words, but his arms tighten around me, and he picks me up, sitting me down sideways on the seat of his bike. Both of his hands go into my hair, he keeps me from looking away from him, his face just inches from mine.
“Say it again,” his voice is low, he isn’t asking.
“I love you, Scar.”
“Fuck. I love you too. Don’t you ever hide from me like that again? If you have something to say, there is no reason for you to be worried about saying it. Those words should be said with gusto.” Laughing at him and bringing up that using words like gusto show his age would ruin the moment, I keep my mouth shut and kiss him.