That was until he went and said something so fucking disgusting and I hauled off and slapped him across the face. I would have thought that would have been the end of it but it wasn’t. Even after they all left, on occasion I would receive flowers, candy and even a pet rock was delivered to the hospital. The nurses I worked with all swooned whenever I received a gift from him but not me.
It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. I did. I just didn’t like what he represented. There was absolutely no way in hell I would ever attach myself to a Golden Skull.
I kept my promise too, until a year later when I watched in horror as he came rushing through my E.R. with a woman on the gurney next to him.
When I saw who it was, I thought I was dreaming at first. I was fourteen years old when I last saw her. I hadn’t talked to her in years. Last I heard she was living in California and married a Marine. My childhood friend. She was the only one who knew the truth about me, who I truly was. Now she was laying on a gurney, dying before my eyes. I snapped out of it when he yelled for her. I knew then who he really was. Who he was to her. I also knew nothing would be able to stop me from staying away from him.
I had seen his pain. His despair and when the doctors told him his sister was dead, I knew it was going to take something stronger, someone he knew to make him understand. So, I told him and I fucking wished I could have taken it back, because as soon as the words left my mouth, he screamed a deep, guttural painful yell that seared itself so deep, I actually felt it in my bones.
There was no consoling him after that. I tried. I stayed with him while he sat holding her hand, whispering how sorry he was, how he wished he could take it back. He was breaking my heart and didn’t even know it. I wanted to comfort him, hold him, tell him that everything would be okay. But I just stood back and watched. And when the doctors came and took her away, I watched him walk out of the hospital, never saying another word.
That night was fucked up beyond anyone’s comprehension.
I still had nightmares of that night.
I always would.
Yet, it still didn’t stop Reaper from asking me a favor.
What could I say…no?
I wanted to but I didn’t. I did it for him, for my best friend’s brother. Only he would never know because I refused to tell him. None of them needed to know I knew Kitty. They didn’t need to know that she was my only childhood friend. That she knew my deepest, darkest secret and said nothing. She asked a favor from me years ago and I planned on keeping my promise to her. I would take it to the grave. This club had so many demons, even hell feared them but I knew them all. But none of that mattered.
I was only here to make sure her brother survived.
When I was sure he was no longer a danger to himself or those around him, I would disappear again. This time, I would run so far away that I would never see another Golden Skull again…right after I killed the bastard who killed my mother.
A knock at the door, had me turning to see Healer standing there with worry on his face. “Jess, I need your help.”
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s Ink. I need to open him back up.”
“Infection?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be right there,” I said, then looked at Savage, who was still rocking his niece. She really was a cute baby. “You gonna be okay here by yourself?”
“Go help Healer. Princess and I are just gonna sit here for a while.”
I met Healer in the infirmary, where he was already prepping Ink for surgery. Quickly donning a surgical gown and mask, I scrubbed my hands before grabbing a set of latex gloves. When I was sterile, I walked over to the table and finished setting up, while Healer went to get dressed. When he returned, he wasn’t alone.
“Massacre, can you take care of the anesthesia.”
“Yep,” the big hulking man said, taking a seat at the head of the surgical table. Healer was just about to make the incision when his brother Judge walked in fully gowned and ready to help.
“What do we have?” he asked.
“Scans show the large intestine is necrotic. I’m going to have to remove the dead section.”
“Take too much and he will live with a colostomy bag for the rest of his life.”
“I know,” Healer sighed. “Let’s just see how much is infected. We will worry about the rest later. Ten blade.”
For the next several hours, I stood next to Healer as he opened and dissected Ink’s insides and when all was said and done, Healer was able to remove the infected section and keep Ink from having to live with a colostomy bag. I knew the next couple of days were going to be rough for Ink, with all the antibiotics Healer was going to have to pump into him to keep him from getting another infection. Healing from a stomach wound wasn’t easy. The slightest germ could cause tremendous pain, damage, even death.
Checking his vitals, I was in the process of writing everything down when Judge walked in the room.