I hate that he’s fucking right. If I had just let Bash take her to the hospital…
King says, “You said we have two options.”
“Yes. You now know who our informants are. I assume they won’t be welcomed back to your club after this, but there’s still the question of who the mole in your club was.” He pulls out a third file. “Ira ‘Mama Bear’ Masters. She’s the one who’s had your club fooled for years.”
This file is different than Jas’s and Olivia’s. This one has lists of who all Mama Bear made contact with, trying to take down my club. And it’s a fucking long list. There’s phone records and photos of her meeting with Maniac.
“She’s also the one who killed Ernest ‘Big E’ Johnson in the hospital. We suspect he figured out what she was up to after the botched run.”
God damn it.
“So, your two choices are to leave, pretending this conversation never happened, and taking vengeance against Paul ‘Maniac’ Ashton on your own. Or, turn him over to us.”
“What do we get if we do that?”
“A clear conscience.”
I snort. “We need more than that. Who’s to say once we hand him over you don’t try to come after us?”
He pulls out another file. “We have information on Paul Ashton. His name comes up on several big occurrences and the agency would like to see justice served. We are willing to wipe the slate clean, so to speak. You hand him over and the file we have on your club goes away.”
Jasper says, “It’s a good deal, Saint.”
“What about Olivia and Jas?”
“They will continue to receive medical care, at no cost to them. When they’re released from the hospital, we’re offering them a chance to start over. New names and identities, if that is what they want.”
My chest feels tight at the thought of never seeing Olivia again.
“And you won’t call either of them for any more favors?”
“No, we won’t.”
I look at King, who nods. “We accept. I have to warn you, Maniac isn’t in the best shape.”
Agent Hill holds up his hand. “No need to divulge any more. I’ll text you an address. Be there tonight with him and we’ll handle the rest.”
“Deal.”
He stands. “Gentlemen, thank you.”
I call after him, “What about Olivia?”
“What about her?”
“Will we be able to see her?”
“I believe that will be up to Ms. Mayhem.”
He walks away with Jasper, not looking back. When he’s gone I turn to King.
“How did I not know this was all happening right under my nose?”
“Don’t beat yourself up. Mama Bear had us all fooled.” He rubs the bridge of his nose. “Think he means it when he says we’re getting a clean slate?”
“I don’t know, man, but if we are, we need to make the most of it.”
He nods. “Things change today.”
“Things change today,” I agree.
30
Olivia
My side hurts and I moan.
“There, there, honey. The worst is over.”
Opening my eyes, I find a nurse standing next to my bed.
“Wha-” My throat is dry and I can’t seem to speak.
“Don’t force it, honey. You’ve been out of it for few days.” She points to a whiteboard on the wall. “My name is Jenna and I’m your nurse. You’ve been here for twelve days, in the ICU.”
I nod my understanding.
“Are you in any pain?”
I nod again.
“Can you point to this chart to show me how much pain you’re in?”
She pulls a laminated chart from her pocket. There’s a smiling face under number one all the way to a frowning face under number ten. I point to six.
“Okay, honey. We can handle that. I’ll be right back.”
She leaves and I close my eyes.
The next time I wake up, it’s dark outside. A man is at my bedside, checking the fluid attached to my IV.
“Water,” I croak out.
He smiles. “Of course.”
He pours some water into a little pink cup, handing it to me.
“Just take it slow,” he warns.
I take a sip and sputter as it slides down my dry throat. My stomach aches as I move, but I have to stay awake. I need to know what happened.
After another sip I ask, “How did I get here?”
“You don’t remember?”
I shake my head.
“Someone dropped you off. You were an innocent bystander during a motorcycle gang shooting outside of a store.”
My pulse spikes as bits of that night come back to me. He’s wrong. I was involved in something with two members of a motorcycle club, but not in front of a store.
My nurse goes on, “It was a drug deal gone bad. One of the guys died and the other got away.”
Does this mean Maniac escaped?
“You were lucky those strangers brought you in. I heard one of them was shaken over it. He didn’t want to leave your side.”
A flash of Bash holding my hand as white lights flash overhead crosses my mind. Bash is the one who didn’t want to leave my side.
“In fact, they keep coming around, asking if they can see you. Unfortunately, that is against hospital rules, since they’re not immediate family.” He peers down at me. “Unless you would like to see them?”
When he moves, I catch a small glimpse of a tattoo on his neck. A skull with wings stares back at me.
I nod. “I want to see them.”
“I’ll see what I can do.” He smiles. “Rest now.”
And, so I do.
They don’t come to see me for the next few days. My nurse, Dennis, assures me they will, but I’m starting to wonder.
Late one evening, there’s a knock on the door. When I look up, I gasp.
“Bash!”
Bash crosses the room, taking my hand into his. “I’ve been so worried. They wouldn’t let us see you until tonight.”
“Let me guess, club favor?”
“Something like that. Saint pulled some strings.”
My heart flutters a little. “How is everyone? How’s Jas?”
“Everyone is good.” He pauses. “Jas still isn’t responding, but we’ve been told that she’ll come out of it.”
“I tried to stop him,” I say, shaking my head. “Oh my god. What about Maniac? The last thing I remember is him crawling toward the door.”
“We got your text message and we heading to the RV when the gun went off the first time. By the time we went in, you’d been shot twice and Maniac was almost to the door. We got him, though.”
“Good. Where is he now?”
Before he can answer, Razor and King walk in, both carrying flowers.
King kisses my forehead. “How are you feeling?”
“I’ve been better.”
Razor pulls me into a hug, holding me close, not saying a word.
“I’m okay,” I murmur. “Promise.”