I shook my head at him. “I would love to, but I was busy when Drake called. I need to head back out to the barroom,” I told him.
Cole arched an eyebrow at me. “What were you doing?” he asked, sitting up and stretching.
I sighed and stood up, grabbing a ponytail holder and pulling my hair into a side ponytail. “I’m trying to get everyone to clean up their puke and trash. This place will be fucking spotless by the time I get done laying into all of them,” I muttered. When I had walked out into the barroom and seen the fucking mess that morning, I had practically flipped my shit.
Cole stood up and pulled me against him, kissing me again. “I’ll be out there as soon as possible.” He rubbed my belly which was starting to stick out a little more. He said he noticed it way before I did, but Cole knew my body ten times better than I did. Now, it was big enough to be noticed by everyone that looked at me.
“Don’t stress out too much,” he reminded me, a slight warning in his voice.
I nodded and walked back out to the barroom. Everyone was back to sitting around on their asses, playing on their phones. “Just because I left the fucking room doesn’t give you a goddamn reason to sit on your fucking asses again! Why aren’t you all fucking cleaning up your fucking messes?!” I screamed, making them jump up to their feet.
“Go fuck off. You shouldn’t even be the VP. The only woman we listen to around here is Katie,” one of the men sneered at me.
I glared at the person who had spoken up. Kale glared back at me, anger morphing his features. He rarely ever said anything. In fact, he was so fucking lazy and stupid, Cole and I rarely included him in club decisions. It was a miracle he had ever moved up in the club from just being a prospect.
“I don’t give a fuck about your opinion,” I spat at him. “Why don’t you just fucking do as your told instead of starting shit?”
He jumped up threateningly, and I pulled my gun out, pointing it at him as he came charging at me. He stopped immediately, eyeing the gun in my hand with cautious eyes. “Take another step, and I’ll splatter your blood around this room, do you understand?” I snapped, my tone cold and dangerous. I wasn’t playing any fucking games. I would be fucking damned if another man ever put their fucking hands on me.
Cole stepped into the room and immediately stepped up beside me. I could practically feel the anger radiating off of him in waves. “What the fuck is going on here?!” he roared.
“I’m seconds away from beating that bitch into the fucking floor,” Kale growled at Cole, nodding his head towards me.
“Lay a fucking hand on her, and I’ll shoot you myself,” Cole ground out through clenched teeth, his hand settling protectively on my back.
“You need to sit the fuck down,” I snapped, talking to Kale. “I’ll shoot you before you become the next man to ever lay his fucking hands on me.”
He pulled his gun out, and a shot fired. I didn’t know if it was me or him that shot. Everything was happening so fast. Cole knocked me out of the way, and I heard his roar of pain almost instantly. Kale dropped his gun, his jaw practically touching the floor in shock as he stared down at Cole on the floor. Dropping my gun, I yanked my shirt off, rushing over to Cole, not caring that I was in my bra in front of everyone in the room. I moved his hand from his stomach, feeling nausea roll in my own. Blood was practically pouring out of his wound.
I quickly pressed my shirt to his wound and pulled out my phone. I called 911 immediately, trying to keep down my nausea and panic. I could barely fucking think, much less breathe. When I got off the phone, I looked down at Cole, who had his eyes closed. Panic constricted my chest with a vice-like grip. “Cole, open your eyes!” I shouted down at him.
He opened them immediately, his eyes landing on me. I was terrified. I couldn’t lose Cole. We had a baby on the way. I couldn’t do this on my own. Christ, I fucking loved him.
What?
I love him.
Tears spilled down my cheeks as I kept pressure on his stomach, desperate to slow down his loss of blood. He closed his eyes again just as EMTs and cops ran into the clubhouse. They pushed me out of the way, and I fell against the wall, sobbing. I couldn’t focus on what they were doing to him and the commotion around me. All I could focus on was Cole. His face was pale, and he looked like death itself. They shoved an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, taking away my view of him.
I wrapped my arms around my belly and rocked back and forth. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t fucking breathe.
I barely felt the hands on my shoulders. I couldn’t make out the person in front of me. My ears were ringing loudly, and my vision was hazy. I couldn’t hear what they were shouting.
I was placed onto a stretcher, and an oxygen mask was placed over my face right as I blacked out.
* * *
I blinkedawake in a hospital room. I was alone. I didn’t have Cole by my side. I didn’t have my mom or my dad in my room. I was absolutely fucking alone in this tiny white room.
All of the blood flashed through my mind. The image of Cole’s pale face made panic grip my chest. The oxygen mask over his mouth and nose almost made me sick. Tears poured down my face.
I had to go see him. I fucking had to. I had to know that he was okay.
My room door burst open, and a nurse ran into my room and over to my bedside. “Miss, you need to calm down,” she told me gently with a tone of desperation in her voice. “You’re going to cause contractions again.”
I ignored her, still trying to get out of bed. What the fuck was wrapped around my stomach? What was with all of the fucking needles and shit? All I wanted to do was see Cole! I just wanted to make sure that he was okay!
A doctor rushed into the room with two other nurses. They held me down to the bed, and the doctor strapped me to it as if I were mental patient. Hell, I felt like one.