“Sure you are, pussy.”
I laugh as I nudge Chance. “Like you’re any better these days. As far as I can tell, I’m the only one of the three of us that still has his balls.”
“You sure about that?” Storm asks and Chance nods.
“Yeah, you looked like quite the smitten kitten back there.”
I shove both of them as I reach my bike. “Shut the fuck up.”
“Don’t forget your helmet, Sweetie,” Chance calls in a high-pitched voice as he swings his leg over his bike and fires it up. I flip him off as I start my bike.
“Assholes.”
Despite my objections, I can’t help but think that a world where Quinn and Brooklyn are my everything doesn’t sound so bad. I mean, look at Storm, Chance, and Kodiak. I’ve never seen them happier or more at peace than when they met their ladies. And there’s no doubt in my mind that Quinn does that for me. She’s the only place of refuge in the raging storm that is my life. Shit… Now I just need to convince her of that.
As we pull out of the parking lot, my mind drifts to last night and the look in her eyes when I pushed her up against the car. It was only supposed to be a cute, somewhat sexy moment but the fear in her gaze was so real for a second and that was all it took to really drive home the fact that she’s been through something terrible. I’m fucking dying to know what happened, who hurt her, and possibly fix it if I can - not that I have any idea how I would do that - but I want to. I want to give her the whole damn world and do anything it takes to keep her in mine.
We pull into the parking lot of the motel and park in front of room fifteen. I glance up just as someone peeks through the curtains in front of me. She locks eyes with me and the terrified look on her face reminds me why the club does what we do. What would happen to this woman if we weren’t here to help her? How long could she hide out in this motel until whoever she’s running from came looking for her? Where would she go?
“Come on,” Chance says, climbing off his bike. “Let’s go find out what we’re dealing with.”
Storm and I follow his lead and after climbing off our bikes, trail behind him as he approaches the door to room fifteen and knocks. Before he can even finish knocking, the door opens a crack, hindered by the chain as a woman peeks up at us.
“Morgan?” Chance asks and she nods.
“Chance?”
He nods and she closes the door in his face as the sound of the chain sliding pierces the door. When it opens again, she steps back to allow us into the room. Her gaze warily flicks to the parking lot until she closes the door behind us again and locks it.
“Have a seat,” she murmurs, indicating to the two chairs positioned on either side of a round table on one side of the room. A little boy and a girl with dark hair are cuddled together in one bed and Storm and I sit on the edge of the other bed as Chance and Morgan sit in the chairs.
“Why don’t you tell us what’s going on?” Chance urges quietly, trying not to wake the kids. Morgan sucks in a breath and nods. When she glances down at her hands in her lap, I notice the bruise circling her entire wrist.
“Um… it’s my husband. He’s on these meds but he stopped taking them last week and then last night, he just lost it…” Her voice breaks and images from my past come rushing back. Closing my eyes, I take a deep breath and force them back before opening my eyes again. Storm nudges me and flashes me a concerned look but I shake my head. The guys know all about my past but it’s not something I like to talk about.
“Did he hurt you?” Chance asks and Morgan nods, holding her wrist out.
“Yes, but you have to understand that he never would have done this if he hadn’t stop taking his meds.”
Storm sighs. “And you have to understand how often we hear things like that. There’s no excuse for him hurting you.”
“I know that,” she whispers, tears filling her eyes as she looks past us to where her kids are sleeping.
“Did he hurt the kids?” I ask and she shakes her head.
“No, thank God. They were sleeping through the whole thing.”
Chance reaches across the table and gently grabs her hand. She jumps. “What is it that you want us to do?”
“I need to get him to the hospital so they can get him back on his meds.”
Chance glances over at us. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Storm stands and pulls his phone out of his pocket. “Let me go make a phone call.”
As he steps outside, Chance pulls one of our business cards out of his wallet and slides it across the table.
“We’re gonna help you get him to the hospital but I want you to keep this. Just in case.”
“Once he’s back on his meds…”
“And I hope you’re right,” Chance interrupts her. “But in case you’re not, take the card.”
She scowls down at the card on the table. “He won’t hurt me once he’s back on his meds.”
“Then it won’t hurt to take the card and tuck it into your wallet for safe keeping.”
“Fine,” she mumbles with a sigh before scooping the card up. She may be fighting us but there’s relief in her eyes from knowing she has a back-up plan. Storm walks back into the room and nods at Morgan.
“Police are on their way to your house to get your husband and take him to the hospital for a seventy-two hour hold. You need to meet them there to sign some paperwork but we can go with you if want us to.”
She glances between the three of us before nodding. “Yeah, that’d be great, actually.”
“Let’s get you packed up, then.”
The three of us get to work, helping her pack and loading her things into her car as she wakes the kids up and once they are loaded in the car, we follow behind her on our bikes to the hospital. She’s shaking as she steps out of the car and her gaze follows a police cruiser that pulls to a stop in front of the hospital doors. Tears fill her eyes as the back door opens and the officer guides her husband out of the back seat. As soon as he sees her, his eyes widen before narrowing into a glare.
“You stupid slut!” he screams across the lot. “What did you do?”
“I’m so sorry,” she answers, her voice breaking.
He starts to struggle against the handcuffs and the officer guiding him toward the doors. “Fuck you, bitch. You’re not even close to sorry yet. I can’t believe you’d do this to me. I thought you loved me. Fuck you…”
His voice trails off as they lead him into the hospital and Morgan gasps as tears start pouring down her face. My heart explodes with pain as I remember fights just like that from my own past and I glance over at Chance and Storm before motioning for them to stay with the kids. They nod and I approach Morgan.
“Come walk with me for a minute? There’s something I’d like to tell you.”
She studies me for a minute before nodding. As we walk away from the car, I suck in a breath and try to work myself up to telling this story. Around the side of the hospital is a little garden area and I lead her to a bench in the corner. When we sit down, she turns to me.
“What is it that you wanted to tell me? If you’re thinking that you can talk me into leaving him, you won’t.”