I chuckled grimly. My husband thought he could do everything. Then again, I believe Drake could do anything, including taking hell on to rescue Tati.
“Where do the guys need to head? The allies are riding in, Hawthorne’s are on their way, including those crazy bitches, Magic is coming down from the bar, and other friends are going to come,” Drake responded.
“Let me get a nurse,” I said, squeezing Drake for a few moments before heading to the reception desk. Surprised, the nurse there looked up as I informed her we had people here to donate blood. Her gaze widened even further as she witnessed over fifty bikers standing waiting. All of Hellfire had already donated.
“Oh, my word!” she exclaimed.
“Whatever one of ours needs, they get. We’ve more incoming, so maybe you should warn the blood bank?” I warned.
“More?” she asked, slightly dazed.
“We’ve got a lot of allies, and Tati is loved. Once the telephone tree activated, we knew our friends would answer,” I explained as a commotion erupted behind me.
A smile crossed my face as Satan’s Warriors arrived as an entire MC with Tiger, their president and Crunch, their VP leading the way. Tiger moved to Inglorious and Big Al and crouched down in front of the last founder of Hellfire. Tiger spoke gently, and Big Al reached out, drew Tiger’s head to his, and rested his forehead against Tigers.
“Okay, let me get onto the bank. Mrs Michaelson, you realise Mrs Gates won’t use all their blood?” the nurse whispered.
“The doc said they needed as much plasma as possible. We’ll provide everything Tati needs. And I’ve three hundred people who work for HQ who’ll donate. Plus, I’ve other sources we can tap should we need them,” I responded firmly. The nurse smiled and scurried away to get someone from the blood bank. Soon enough, big burly men in cuts were making a single file line weaving to the bank.
Lance arrived with half of the Fallen Warriors. He informed Chance that the rest of his club was on their way. Jailbait arrived with most of his MC, the Devil’s Damned Disciples, saying the last four members were 30 minutes out. The complete count of Devil’s Scythe appeared with Scythe, their president berating some who were looking pale. Scythe announced some of his men feared needles, and as far as he was concerned, he’d knock their asses out if it helped Tati. Faint smiles crossed Hellfire’s mouth as Scythe bullied his brothers into the line. The final MC to arrive was the Riders of Vengeance, led by Viper. The Riders often kept to themselves, but today they came in force.
Viper spoke to Drake and Chance before moving to Big Al. He reached down, drew Big Al to his feet, and muttered something in his ear. Big Al slapped Viper hard on the back as they exchanged a man hug, and Viper nodded to those around him before taking his place. Hawthorne’s and the Juno Group arrived, followed by the Hawthorne females. For once, they were muted, all worried and respectful of Big Al’s pain. The women each hugged and kissed Big Al before heading to donate blood.
The nurse at reception watched spellbound as bikers came and went. Each of the allied MCs departed after giving blood apart from Rage. While the members left, their president and VP remained as a show of support for Hellfire and Big Al. Rage wasn’t moving; their ties to Hellfire were as close as brother MCs. Magic arrived with his staff and whatever customers had been in the bar; once they’d donated, most took off, but Magic stayed put. Big Al had Axel on his right and Magic on his left. The three men shared a tight bond. Every other hour, a nurse appeared to inform us Tati was fighting and still in surgery. Twelve hours passed before I glanced up as Doctor Marilyn walked through the door. Fuck, the woman looked shattered.
“Mr Gates,” she said, and Big Al lumbered to his feet.
“Tati?” he asked.
“Mrs Gates remains in surgery. I’m here to bring you an update. I’d like to thank you and your friends for their donations. For the first few hours, no sooner had we got plasma into Mrs Gates than she bled out again. So, your friend’s donations were very welcome. Mrs Gates’s blood loss has slowed considerably now. Would you sit, please?” Doc Marilyn urged as she drew her own chair up.
Big Al hesitated and then sat.
The presidents, VPs and Hellfire with their old ladies surrounded him. Drake had his arm tightly around my waist.
“Mr Gates, were you aware Tatiana was pregnant?” Doc Marilyn inquired.
There it was, the bombshell. I despaired at guessing correctly.
What little colour Big Al had in his face drained swiftly away.
“What?” he whispered so quietly he could barely be heard.
“I’m sorry to say, Mr Gates, Tatiana was pregnant. About four months, but Tatiana also had a huge cyst in her stomach, which the baby was pressing upon. This may have shown a constant need to urinate or sharp pains. What we believe happened was the pressure of the foetus burst the sore suddenly, and this caused Tatiana to experience unbearable agony. Tatiana lost control of the car and crashed. This was not her fault. She would have experienced a terrible pain that could even have knocked her unconscious,” Doc Marilyn explained.
Big Al’s head dropped between his hands as he tried to absorb the woman’s words.
“And the baby?” I asked.
“I’m sorry, Tatiana miscarried in the accident. We’ve saved her womb, but she has some damage from the cyst bursting. Though on the whole, while some scarring, everything is intact,” Doc Marilyn said gently.
“All those years we fuckin’ tried. And now, when we didn’t expect it, Tati was carrying our child,” Big Al whispered.
My heart ached for him; Big Al would have been a wonderful father. Kind and loving with children. He had endless patience for them. This would rip Tati’s gentle soul to pieces.
“Mr Gates, we’re removing the pole from her shoulder next. The one in her stomach was removed, and the operation was successful. It had destroyed a section of her liver, and we’ve cut that away. She also lost her left kidney. Tatiana’s gallbladder was ruptured too badly to repair, and it has been taken out, and her intestine was also damaged. We’ve had to cut part of it out and shorten the large intestine, but she will recover. She also had a broken leg, which will be straightened and put into a cast.”
“Tati only has one kidney?” Big Al asked, his head lifting.