“The guy smashed it,” she told me, her voice becoming a little stronger now that she was away from the barroom.
I handed her mine. “Call your mom and tell her what happened. I’m sure she’s worried.”
She gave me a small, thankful smile. I walked toward my bed where Cole was already sprawled on his back with his eyes closed. “Cole?”
“Hm?” he murmured, turning his face to me but not opening his eyes.
“You okay?” I asked gently.
He chuckled, opening his eyes this time. “Babe, that’s a crazy question. How many times have I been shot or hit by a vehicle? I’m fine.” He paused for a minute. “I think Dad said he’s going to take Joseph to the hospital, though.”
I laughed. That bastard deserved the beating he got for what he did to Holly. Holly ran out of the bathroom with frantic eyes. I tensed up instantly at the same time Cole sat up. “Holly?” I asked her cautiously.
“Lilly answered the phone. She was crying, and I could barely understand her, but she said there were EMTs at my mom’s house—”
I cut her off. “Do you have a car?” I asked her.
She shook her head. Cole was already off of the bed, grabbing clothes and going into the bathroom. “Cole, grab my makeup bag when you come out!” I called after him.
When he came out, he tossed me my makeup bag. He slid his boots on, and I slipped on my flip-flops. Cole shrugged his cut on and grabbed my hand. “Come on,” he told Holly in his gruff, deep voice. “Amelia and I will take you to wherever you need to go.”
“You don’t have to—”
“Don’t protest,” Cole told her, his patience obviously wearing thin. “Your daughter—who is Lilly, I’m guessing—is probably freaking the fuck out right now. Going with us will get you there a lot faster than walking will.”
We followed Cole over to his truck. I slid into the passenger seat, and Holly got into the back. She told us the directions to her mom’s where her neighbor had Lilly. Holly was running to the front door before the truck even came to a complete stop. The door flew open, and a little blonde girl with pigtails ran into Holly’s arms, crying loudly. “Mommy, Granny is in the hospital!” she sobbed.
“I know, baby; I know,” she whispered, holding Lilly tight, trying to comfort her.
“Get in the truck,” I told her. “We’ll take you to the hospital so you can see your mom.”
Cole and I swung around when we heard motorcycle riding down the street. Their cuts read London’s Tears. Cole cursed and let his head drop to the steering wheel. “If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Because Joseph can’t keep his dick in his pants, we’ve dragged an innocent woman and her child into our shit. Just fucking lovely,” he ground out.
I didn’t know why London’s Tears were in town, especially since Drake helped me a lot when I was in jail. It didn’t make sense.
I got out and ran over to Lilly and Holly. I couldn’t let an innocent mother and her child get hurt because of our problems.
I shoved them into the bushes just as shots went off. When it quieted down, Cole yanked me off of the ground, glaring at me harshly. I yanked away from him and helped Holly and Lilly up. If Lilly and Holly weren’t in bad shape before, they were absolutely possibly ready to piss their pants right then.
“Amelia!” Cole roared, panic in his voice.
I felt the pain in my leg as soon as my adrenaline began wearing off, and I almost crumpled to the ground. Cole caught me before I fell and held me against him. “For fuck’s sake, woman, you’re going to get yourself killed one day,” he ground out. “Get in the truck,” he ordered Holly and Lilly. He looked down at me, anger and worry in his eyes. “You better fucking stay awake, Amelia. Damn it, I won’t fucking lose you.”
16
“When the fuck are you actually going to start listening to me?!” Cole roared when the doctor finally finished stitching my leg up. “For fuck’s sake, that bullet almost hit a fucking artery in your thigh!”
“I couldn’t exactly let Holly or her daughter get hurt, now could I?” I spat at him. “You weren’t smart enough to think that those bikers would do something. I wasn’t taking a fucking chance. I’d rather die than some innocent woman and her child.”
“Well, how about this?!” he hollered at me. “You’remywoman carryingmyfucking child!”
I sat up, glaring at him. “Go fuck yourself, Cole. This kid may be half yours, but it’s still mine, too.” I slid off of the bed, wincing as I put some pressure on my leg. “Also, I’ll never fucking be yours until you start changing your fucking ways, do you fucking understand?” I knew it was a sack of shit, but I was angry.
He grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him. Pure rage masked his face, but I didn’t give a fuck. Cole didn’t scare me, nor did he intimidate me.
“Amelia, I’m not playing any fucking games. You want to get hurt? Fine. I know how you are. You don’t give a shit about yourself. All I’ve ever done is try to fucking protect you. But you’re carrying a baby that is mine, and I won’t allow anything to happen to it. If that means that I have to drag you home right now and chain you to my bed until you’re about to deliver this baby, by all fucking means, I will,” he snarled down at me, fed up with arguing with me.
I snatched my arm out of his grip and took a step forward, wincing as I did so. “Why don’t you ask someone for help?” Cole ground out through clenched teeth.