With no other choice, I curl up on the mattress as tears begin to leak from my eyes and spill down to the bed on a cement floor beneath me. Images of Jaelyn, Lash, and some of the other club members, mainly Sabotage and Talon, fill my head causing me more pain. One of my hands drifts down to my stomach where my baby rests safely. The last thought I have is Lash smiling down at me with uncertainty in his eyes and my sister standing next to our parents graves in the cemetery. There’s a new one next to it and I can’t stop the thoughts of it being mine. That’s honestly the last thought as the blackness consumes me and pulls me completely under giving me the first amount of peace since being taken from the hospital by a psychotic bitch with her delusional thoughts.
WAKING UP FIRST thing in the morning, I know I have to get back to the hospital so I can see Hartley. Hopefully she’s awake today so I can talk to her and find out what happened. Hearing about her accident yesterday absolutely tore me the hell apart. I wasn’t there for her and didn’t protect her like I promised her I would. Today I need to spend time with her and make sure she knows I’m going to be there for her, and we’ll get through this. I want to tell her about us continuing our search for Eric and let her know Mona is no longer at the club. She’ll never be another problem for Hartley or Jae ever again.
After showering and trimming my beard, I get dressed, put everything in my pocket, and pull my hat down on my head before leaving my room and locking the door behind me. Sabotage meets me in the hallway, leaving his own room. We walk together to the common room where men are already sitting at the table eating breakfast. I don’t even attempt to get anything to eat because there is no way in hell I can do anything but get to the hospital. I’ll either get something once I get there or I won’t eat until I’m done visiting with Hartley and more than likely Jaelyn.
“You’re not eatin’?” Sab asks me as I continue to walk away from him.
“Nope. Headin’ out to the hospital. Gonna talk to my Pixie and Jae if she’s there visitin’ her. Why? Somethin’ goin’ on?” I question him, stopping in my tracks in case someone found Eric.
“No. just wonderin’. I think I’ll ride out with you,” my brother informs me as Talon, Death, and Boxer stand up from their table and follow us out.
It really isn’t unbelievable to see the five of us together. We were raised in the club together and our families were very close. The five of us, along with Talon and Death’s older brother Judge, have always done everything together. Now, Judge is running a different chapter of the club and we don’t get to spend much time with him. It sucks, but we all understood his need to break away and become his own man. Someone I’m proud to call a friend and brother.
“You’re all goin’ with me?”
“Yep. Not lettin’ you leave here alone,” Talon states as we all get outside and straddle our bikes.
Twisting my hat around so it’s backwards, I tie the bandana around my face leaving my eyes clear. With a twist of my throttle, I take off from the compound as the gate Cal already started to open allows us to leave the clubhouse and head to the opposite end of town where the hospital is located. The ride does absolutely nothing to clear my head, and there is no sense of freedom like there normally is. Instead, I’m wound tight as fuck as a feeling of dread settles firmly in my stomach the closer we get to the hospital. A few cop cars have already flown by us, lights and sirens blaring through the air as we slow down enough to let them pass. Before we can get too much closer to the hospital, I see where they all are; at the very place we’re heading.
What the fuck is going on where they have the entire hospital blocked off and the yellow police tape not allowing anyone to get close?
We park our bikes at the very edge of the old Franklin farm down from the hospital. I have no concern for the safety of my bike or anything else as I make sure the kickstand is down and my bike’s not going to fall over before racing for the hospital. One way or another I’m going to get some answers. Hartley is definitely in there and Jae could be in there with her. When we get up to the tape blocking us from going any further with the cops spaced out every few feet, Talon and Sabotage place their hands on my shoulders to stop me from crashing straight through it.
“Sir, you need to back away. No one is allowed in or out right now,” a young kid tells me, stepping up closer to where we are as a few other officers look on from their positions.
“Ineedto get in there. My woman is in there and more than likely her sister is with her. She was run off the fuckin’ road yesterday and not awake while I was there seein’ her. You gotta let me in to see her,” I tell him, making all the fear, uncertainty, and anger I’m feeling out in my voice.
Sabotage’s hand tightens on my shoulder. He’s not only offering me silent support in this moment but also telling me to back the hell down. The men standing with me have my back and always give me the support I need. Or tell me to reign my shit in and keep a handle on it. Right now, I’m about to lose my shit as I spot a familiar person striding through the mass of cops, fire fighters, hospital personnel, and whoever else has been allowed behind this magic yellow police tape. There are even K9 officers walking through the parking lot with their dogs as my eyes take in everything.
“Tommy!” I call out as he stops and turns his attention toward me.
The young cop in front of me jumps with my voice rising and yelling over all the commotion going on in front of us. Tommy walks steadily over to where we’re standing and walks straight under the tape to pull us away from the prying eyes and listening ears.
“What’s goin’ on, Tommy? My woman is in there and I need to know she’s okay,” I question him when he finally stops walking.
“Woman? Didn’t know you had a woman Lash.”
“Hartley Kincaid.”
Tommy’s face pales slightly as his eyes widen and his entire body goes rigid. Tension and fear fills me even more than it has been in the minutes since we left the clubhouse. Whatever is going on involves Hartley and I know already it’s not going to be good news we’re about to be told.
“Lash,” Tommy begins, dropping his head and staring at the ground for a minute with his hands latched together at the back of his head. “Someone took Hartley from here a few hours ago. I’ve got men inside watchin’ the security footage. A nurse was injected with somethin’ to knock her out and is now in a hospital bed herself from the nasty bump on her head from fallin’ to the floor hard. You got Austin in there?”
“Yeah. Where the fuck is he?” I question him, knowing he would have been watching over Hartley and not let anything get past him.
“He’s currently bein’ treated for dehydration and lyin’ in a bed because of whatever was put in his coffee. Tests are bein’ run to find out what it was. Other than that, we have no information about what’s goin’ on. Or where Miss Kincaid has been taken. Let me do my job and I’ll let you know as soon as I find her or anythin’ tellin’ us her whereabouts,” Tommy pleads with me, already knowing I’m not going to sit back on my ass and do nothing.
Without saying a word, I turn around and make my way back to our bikes. Pain, rage, and fear fill me like never before. This is why I don’t want to get involved with anyone. Hartley might have her ex after her and we’ve found out he’s part of a motorcycle club, but I have a feeling there’s more at play here than something Eric cooked up with his bitch ass club. They’re a bunch of pussies if I ever saw any before. The rebels have more fight in them than those guys. It’s actually pretty damn pathetic if you ask me.
“What do you wanna do, Lash?” Death asks me, his voice hard and cold.
“Everyone on fuckin’ lockdown. Now. I want Jaelyn brought in but no one is to fuckin’ tell her someone took Hartley. She’s been through enough and I will not have this hangin’ over her head. If she asks any of you, or anyone else, why we’re in lockdown, you tell her it’s just a precautionary measure to make sure nothin’ happens to her after her sister was run off the road,” I order. “Sab, make sure Zeus is at the clubhouse before you go get Jae. I already know you’ll be the one to get her. Put her in a room between ours. Don’t give a shit who don’t like it. I will not have her left alone. Talon, I want George and the rest of the families brought in too. No exceptions. Boxer, get mom to the clubhouse. Not one single family member is left out alone.”
“On it,” my brother response, pulling his phone out as he calls his best friend to let him know I need him at the clubhouse.
“Gramps is gonna be fuckin’ livid. I might take him to my house and let him stay there. At least he’ll be away from everyone,” Talon tells me, sharing a look with his younger brother Death.
“If that’s where you put him, I want someone with him at all times. We’re not takin’ any fuckin’ chances.”