Looking about the room, I could definitely see there was a struggle of some sort. My woman fought bravely, and I was so proud of her, though she should have never been in the position in the first place. Apparently, my woman had enough of Malachi’s shit. I was so fucking proud of her.
“Best be careful with this one, Ghost,” Savage grinned. “It’s always the sweet innocent ones that pack the worst punch.”
I smirked. “Yeah, she can wallop me anytime she wants.” I meant every word too. If she wanted to rail against me, I would let her. If she wanted to curse me to the moon and back, I wouldn’t say a word. She survived hell and lived.
“She’s got a nasty cut on her head man. We better get her to Roxy and Healer,” Smoke said, taking a better look at her. “I don’t see any other wounds. I think all this blood is assholes.”
“Thank God,” I whispered, hugging her closer.
“Chains, Savage burn the fucking body. Ghost, let’s get her to the clinic. I need to check on the others and my woman. I am fucking exhausted.”
Nodding, I didn’t say another word as I carried my wife back to the clubhouse.
The sun was setting as I watched her sleep in our bed. She received seven stitches thanks to my fucking crazy-ass brother. If he wasn’t dead already, I would have killed him with my bare hands. When Roxy deemed her good enough to sleep upstairs, I took her to our room. With Kitty’s help, we cleaned and washed her hair while she was still unconscious, even though Roxy said it would be a while before she woke up. After washing her, Kitty helped me get her into one of my t-shirts and get her into bed.
I’ve been sitting in a chair next to her ever since too afraid to leave. Becca had come in and seen Ari sleeping on the bed. Still upset from earlier, I said nothing as my daughter climbed onto our bed and snuggled close to Ari, refusing to leave her. I was so proud of Becca for protecting Hailey and doing precisely as Ari instructed. I knew my daughter was smart, but she went above and beyond today. Kitty’s daughter was unharmed and home where she belonged because my daughter had the courage of a fucking Golden Skull. She was golden to her core.
As I watched them both sleeping, I wondered when she would wake up. I needed to see her smile, her eyes, hear her voice. I needed to make sure she was going to be okay for me.
The waiting was the worst, but the not knowing was unbearable.
I still couldn’t get the sight of her under Malachi out of my head. He was fucking naked, and so was she. I knew she fought him and then killed him but was that before or after. Not that I cared. I loved her no matter what. She was mine, would always be. But I couldn’t stop my head from thinking the worst.
A soft knock at the door had me looking up as Gadget hobbled in on his crutches. I still felt bad that the kid was injured, but he looked to be healing nicely. Crap that reminded me I needed to find Phantom another mouse she could use until Gadget was healed. Not that I had a fucking clue where to find one. “How is she?”
“Still sleeping.”
“I’m sorry to do this to ya, but Reaper needs you in church. I volunteered to watch Ari. I figured since we started together, we could both heal together.”
Nodding, I got to my feet. Leaning over them, I kissed them both and headed for the door as Gadget whispered. “Don’t worry, Ghost. Nothing is going to happen to them. I promise you. Both of them will be here when you get back.”
“Thank you, Gadget,” I said, then asked. “Just out of curiosity, how old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
“Huh,” I muttered. “You look like a kid.”
“Yeah, I get that a lot.”
Looking over my shoulder one more time, I nodded and went downstairs to see what was going on.
I entered church to find several of my brothers looking like dog shit. I couldn’t blame them. We’d all been through the fucking ringer lately. What we needed was to catch a break, a breather, just five fucking minutes of peace before someone lowered the next boom.
“How’s Ari?” Reaper asked, sitting at the head of the table.
“Still sleeping.”
He nodded. What else was there to say? It was what it was. I wouldn’t get any answers until she woke up. Until then, I was in the dark.
“Okay,” Reaper began. “This is going to be quick. As of right now, we are down five brothers. Chisel will be out of commission for weeks until his leg heals, and even then, he’s looking at months of physical therapy. Chaos should be back to normal in a few weeks. His shoulder wound wasn’t as bad as Roxy thought. Ink is still under the knife, and it doesn’t look good. So, if any of you can donate blood, see Healer. Shadow is in recovery. Judge was able to remove the knife, and according to him, there was minimal damage. The knife missed his heart, but he still won’t be on his feet for a few weeks. As for Bullseye, he, too, is in recovery. Healer had to remove half his liver and his spleen. He’s looking at a few months of recovery time.
“As you all know, this club is on total lockdown. Nobody leaves this compound alone. I mean it. I hear of any of you disobeying that order, I will fucking gut you. You hear me?”
The room nodded.
“This compound is going to be packed full of women and children until further noticed, so keep your sexual appetites contained to your bedrooms, also until further notice the bar is closed. I don’t want anyone drunk if shit goes sideways. Everyone of you needs to be packing. I don’t care what your poison is; just have it handy.
“Also, the Tennessee chapter is heading this way. The Vultures burned down their clubhouse. So, we need to make sure there are plenty of rooms available for them. Ravage is bringing his sister, so if one of you single brothers wouldn’t mind hosting her, I would appreciate that.”