Hanging up the phone, I turn my attention toward the woman as she makes her way over to me.
“Hello again Hartley. I know the nurse asked, but I want to know how you’re feeling right now,” she begins, looking at the monitors and making notes on her chart.
“I feel as though I’ve been hit by a truck and my head is pounding. What can you tell me about my injuries?”
“Well, the majority of your injuries are cuts and bruises along your body. You’ve got a bump on your head and that’s the reason for your headache. I’m not too thrilled about giving you any pain relievers right now because there is one last thing I need to tell you,” she says, hesitating. “You’re pregnant, Hartley. I’m not sure how long, but you did test positive.”
“Oh, um, I knew there was a chance,” I tell her, looking down. “You, um, you can’t tell anyone right?”
“No, I can’t let anyone know what’s going on with you. It’s against the law. So, I will keep your secret. If I can give you one piece of advice, it’s going to be he deserves to know. He’s a good guy once you get past the hard exterior that is,” she says as if she knows already the baby is Lash’s.
“I know. I’ll tell him. The only thing I can say is I just need some time to digest this information. And we’re not exactly on good terms right now. He’s got a lot going on right now and this isn’t something he needs. But, I promise I’ll tell him. Can I take a nap now?”
“Of course you can. Lunch will be in soon. Afterwards, we’ll see if we can get an ultrasound down. I’m not making any promises though.”
“Okay. Thank you. How long will I have to stay here?” I ask her.
“I’d like to keep you at least a day or two. With the pregnancy and your head injury, I want to make sure you’re okay before going home. I don’t want you alone until we’re sure you’re okay.”
With a nod of my head, I close my eyes and let sleep claim me once again until Jae gets here. I have no clue how the hell I’m going to tell her I’m pregnant and the baby is Lash’s. For now, my head is bothering me enough I can’t think of it. I’m not going to think about anything other than sleeping and getting rid of the pian.
A BUNCH OF us just got back from the diner and searching for Eric. He’s still close by if he’s hanging out with the Rising Rebels. And they’re meeting at a bar in the next town over in order to get close to Mona. Mona’s also still hanging out with them. When I packed her shit, I managed to slip in a tracking device because we want to know where the hell she is and what she’s doing even though she’s not in the club anymore. It’s in several pairs of her clothing and shit. When she was out meeting with them to begin with, Zeus went in and planted a few devices on her. It’s part of what he does. Zeus hacks into shit not many of us know what the hell he’s doing. Now, we know they’re at the bar a few times a week and she’s been staying in the next town over. We’re not sure if it’s where the clubhouse is for the club or if she’s staying on her own. My main concern is Eric.
Today, even though we passed by the house, there was nothing out front to let us know it’s anything out of the ordinary. No bikes were parked out front, the grass is high as hell and hasn’t been cut in longer than I can even begin to figure out. The house is falling down and where the barn once stood is a pile of dried-up lumber and a pile of shit. We can’t figure out why Mona would be staying here unless she’s with the club or one of the members who doesn’t give a shit about anything. None of us are too happy we’ll have to investigate this place further.
After looking at things, I made my way to the diner where I was lucky enough to witness the banter back and forth between Kari and Talon’s grandfather George. I spent an hour catching up on paperwork and making sure the schedule was set for the next two weeks. With everything going good at the diner, I decided to head to the clubhouse for a much-needed beer and then take a shower so I can go see Hartley. With Mona out of the picture, there is nothing stopping me from spending time with her when I can and moving her back closer to the clubhouse. Along with her sister.
Parking my bike, I make my way inside to find a majority of the guys who were on the road with me all morning sitting in various places around the common room. Porn is playing on the TV which is common when Trina and the other women aren’t here. Unless we’re talking about the rebels. They don’t give a shit what’s on the TV. All they care about is finding someone to fuck. With porn playing in the background, it’s just incentive for them to take care of any problems which may pop up with the guys.
Sitting down on a stool at the end of the bar, Cal hands me over a beer. Evan is out at the gate today and I hope he pulls his weight unlike what he’s been doing in here. At least we don’t have to worry about Cal listening in and trying to get club business. He does his job and goes out of his way to anticipate what we need before we even ask him to do something or go help us with a run or any other business. Austin is the same way. Both of them will be patching in soon. The only difference between the two of them is the length of time they’ve been with the club. Austin has been with us almost a year and is two years older than Cal’s eighteen years of age. Cal’s been here with us for about seven months now. They’re both a perfect fit for the club and will make good brothers when they finally patch in.
My phone ringing in my pocket pulls me from my head. Pulling it from my pocket, I see it’s Talon. He’s still out searching for Eric. Hope fills me and I wonder if my best friend has found him and is calling to give me some good news. However, those hopes are soon dashed.
“What’s goin’ on Talon?” I ask answering the phone.
“Haven’t found him yet. Callin’ because it looks like Hartley’s car is sittin’ at the garage. It’s not in good shape at all. Have you heard anythin’ from her? Or Tommy?” he questions me, his voice filled with concern.
“No, I haven’t. Let me call you back. See if you can find out any information for me,” I order, hanging up the phone to call Tommy.
Tommy Fredrick is our friend in the police department. If shit is going down and things, he gives us a heads up. We also give him a heads up if we’ve handled shit the wrong way and need him to cover our tracks so we can take care of business. Well, we only make that phone call when it involves helping a woman get out of an abusive relationship. There is no other way to handle certain situations and we need to have a friend on the force in order to help clear our way a little bit. So, Tommy helps us out every now and then when we need it. We all went to school together and played football together in high school.
Before I can place the call to him, there’s a commotion outside. I can hear a woman screaming and shouting at the top of her lungs about something. Her voice might be muffled but she’s still loud as fuck. All of us jump out of our seats and race through the front door to the gate. What I see has me stopping in my tracks. Jaelyn is standing there, arguing with Evan as tears roll down her face and she can’t seem to catch her breath. Evan is standing in front of her with his arms crossed over his chest and a glare aimed in her direction. Sabotage, who’s at my side, tenses up as he takes in the scene before us.
“What the fuck is goin’ on here?” I question Evan as his head snaps around to face me. “Why is Jae out here screamin’ and yellin’ so loud I can hear her inside?”
“She’s not on the list of people to let in,” he says, not an ounce of remorse in his voice as he glares at me.
I don’t know who the fuck this kid thinks he is, but he’s a pissant compared to a full patch member.
“I don’t know who the fuck you think you’re talkin’ to,” Death steps up next to me, his voice cold and hard as he walks straight up to the fucking prospect.
“And there is no fuckin’ list of people who can and can’t come in here with the exception of Mona. There is absolutely no reason for you to keep Jaelyn or anyone else out of the fuckin’ compound unless one of us tells you. I don’t recall any of us sayin’ Hartley or Jaelyn weren’t fuckin’ allowed here any longer. They’re both welcome here at any point in time they want to show up for any reason at all,” I bellow, grabbing his cut and slamming him up against the small building out by the gate. “You’re on fuckin’ probation until further notice. And someone else will be out here with you at all times on gate duty until I believe you’re responsible enough to be out here alone. One more fuck up and you’re gone. Do you fuckin’ understand me?”
Turning my attention toward Jaelyn who’s still standing on the opposite side of the gate with her car still running and the driver’s side door wide open. With it still sprinkling out from the rain all day, her car is going to get soaked if it stays open much longer even though it’s not raining hard at all. With a look at Zeus, he heads for the gate to move her car. Sabotage walks inside the building so he can open the gate for Jaelyn and Zeus can get out to her car. In the blink of an eye, Jaelyn is in my arms.
She’s crying and shaking so hard her little body is shaking my own. With my arms wrapped around her, we make our way inside the clubhouse, and I forego all the tables, chairs, and bar stools in favor of one of the couches so we can sit and talk.
“Jae, I’m so sorry Evan didn’t let you in,” I tell her, hoping this is what’s wrong with her and not something more after the phone call from Talon.