Forty-One
Skye
We hadn’t stopped, not for a minute. I’d hyperventilated multiple times on the nine-hour flight, pacing up and down first class, feeling dazed and anxious. Leo was on edge, watching me closely as I fell into a cloudy state. Lost—I felt so damn lost and helpless, and all I wanted was to be next to Hunter, in his arms, cradled against his side.
By the time we touched down at the airport, it was early morning, and we were ragged and quiet. Leo gathered our bags, holding them in each hand as we walked out into the early morning sun. Shane was waiting in the car at the pick-up zone when we caught sight of him and stepped out to help. He opened the trunk and took the bags from Leo. They barely exchanged words before slipping into the car. Leo sat in the backseat with me, holding my hand delicately. It was the first soft gesture since I’d muttered Hunter’s name in the throes of passion. I turned to look at him, but he was staring despondently out the window, lips turned down.
The drive was painfully long, and my phone was nearly dead. I tried making a few phone calls to the clubhouse—I needed to know if there was any news, but the line kept ringing out. I tried Jesse next and reached a similar dead end.
Was this a bad sign? My breath was stuck in my throat most of the way as my leg bobbed up and down impatiently. Feeling helpless, I squeezed Leo’s hand, turning to him again to plead, “Please, Leo…”
He looked at me, his expression breaking at the plea in my expression. He immediately gathered me in his arms, tugging me into his chest. I breathed raggedly, sinking my face into his wrinkled suit, my hand fisting his shirt as he ran his fingers up and down my spine. He didn’t speak, didn’t try to make me feel better—which was a first.
There were motorcycles lined up everywhere at the hospital when we finally turned into the parking lot. I sat up anxiously, staring out the window, catching a crowd of familiar faces out front of the entrance doors of the hospital. Patched members were out smoking, backs against the walls. My heart skipped a beat, and I was ready to jump out the car door, but Leo’s hand squeezed around mine, reminding me to be patient. When Shane parked the car, I immediately stepped out and Leo followed. Shane said something about paying the parking, but neither of us responded as we paced to the doors.
“Jesse!” I shouted suddenly, energy zipping through my body now as I caught his familiar face chatting to one of the members. He turned around at my voice, his eyes widening at the sight of me as I launched my body into his arms, forcing Leo to let go for a moment. Jesse caught me, hugging me tightly. “Please tell me he’s okay, please,” I pleaded.
His voice was choked up. “They’re not letting us in yet, but he was in surgery, and they’re saying he lost a lot of blood—”
“When can we see him?”
“We’ve been waiting hours, Skye, I don’t know.”
I pulled back to look up at him. He looked equally exhausted, that usual bright spark in his blue eyes absent as he stared back at me. My lips trembled as I weakly asked, “Do you think he’ll make it?”
Jesse gave me a confident look. “He’s a strong motherfucker.”
Now my eyes blurred. “His mom…”
Jesse’s face fell as he swallowed hard. “Gone, Skye.”
Feeling weak, I dropped down, aware of Leo’s arms catching me. I crouched on the ground for some time, trying to catch my breath as I thought of Kayla, knowing I would never see her again. That poor woman. My heart ached so badly. “What the hell happened?” I whispered, peering up at Jesse as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
“We don’t know who did it,” he answered weakly, glancing briefly at Leo. “Roy—he showed up at the place and…it was a fucking bloodbath. He’s—he’s been in the waiting room this entire time, pacing all over the place, screaming at everyone. They’ve tried threatening to kick him out, but no one’s done a fucking thing. The guys are still trying to calm him down.”
I looked at Leo who was silent and straight-faced. “I need to see Roy.”
“I won’t be denied,” Leo suddenly said, staring at Jesse now with a firm look. That eerie look on his face returned, making me tense. “You will tell your guys to back the fuck down and let me through without incident.”
Jesse wavered for a moment, but reluctantly nodded. “Now’s not the time for that anyway.”
Leo stood up, pulling me up with him and then he was leading me past Jesse who was already whispering to the guys around him as they watched Leo warily.
Once we entered the hospital, it didn’t take long to find Roy. All we had to do was follow the screaming. He was losing his shit, angrily lashing out at the nurses, at his patched brothers, demanding they fix Hunter, to get out of his way, to see him.
By the time I found him, I felt the brittle walls of strength I’d erected drop in an instant. Tears clouded my eyes as I caught the devastation buried beneath his angry face. He spat saliva, pointing fingers at everyone in front of him until soon that finger was in my face, and then he went still at the sight of me, staring into me for a silent moment before the pain surfaced in him and he broke down in sobs. I hurried to him, wrapping my arms around his giant, muscled frame. He squeezed me back, telling me over and over again, “They took her, Skye! They took my woman! She’s gone, Skye! My angel’s gone, and my boy’s fighting! AND THEY WON’T LET ME IN!”
I shut my eyes, breathing in the smell of leather, a comforting scent that reminded me of Hunter. I didn’t tell Roy it was going to be okay because it wasn’t. Everything changed in an instant, and while I knew in my heart that my man was in that room fighting for his life, and that he would make it, I was certain he would wake up a different man.