One
Hudson
Walking into the hospital, my feet move quickly toward the surgical floor. The smell of sterile cleaning solution assaults my nose. I fucking hate this place, we’ve spent too much time in hospitals or makeshift ones lately. Every time we come to this damn place, we lose someone. The last one was David’s wife, she didn’t survive the night, the burns she had were so severe.
Dad’s waiting for me as I get there. He looks like shit, he hasn’t told me who’s been shot, I just needed to get my ass to the hospital. So here I am, and seeing his pale face has me on edge.
“Son…” he begins, his voice shaky.
“Who?” I demand, hating the small talk.
He glances to the floor and then back at me, his eyes glassy as though he’s trying not to cry. “There’s been two shootings.”
“Dad, just fucking spit it out,” I tell him. He’s pissing me off, I know that whoever it is that’s been shot is someone close. I just pray to God that it’s not Jagger, Sarah, or Allie.
“Son…” His voice breaks, “Your Ma and Tina were shot.”
I blink, my hands balling into fists, “How?”
Dad shakes his head. “Tina was shot first by what I’ve gathered, she has lost a lot of blood, she wasn’t found for a while, your ma, she was shot outside her house. Her neighbors called the cops and an ambulance. She was seen to immediately. They’re both in surgery right now.”
I shake my head. “Dad, what aren’t you telling me?”
He glances away again. “Martin took the two of them out. I’ve had David search through the security cameras trying to see if he could find out who did this or if there was anything that could lead us to finding out who did it.” He’s still not telling me something, and I don’t have the time to fucking play with this shit.
Pain hits me, he shot my mom. This man is coming after everyone I love. “Fucking hell. How did he know where Mom was? Hell, how did he know where Tina was? Even I didn’t know where she was staying.”
“I don’t know son, I don’t even know where your mom’s staying. Has he been following you?”
I give my dad a look, and he holds his hands up in surrender. “Look, Son, I wasn’t saying that to piss you off, but it’s a possibility.”
“I know, but he hasn’t Dad, I would have known if he were and would have lost him. I can spot a tail a mile off. Every time the cops trail me, I lose them.” I laugh. “Fucking hell.”
Dad frowns, “What, Son?”
“Before this shit began, I had a tail, a fed, his name was Johnson. A real fucking douche. Anyway, he’d been on my case for months until this shit began, and I’ve not seen him since.”
His eyes narrow. “You think this Johnson’s in on this?”
I shrug. “I don’t know, but I think the timing is suspect, and I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“It’s time to call the men, have Johnson found,” Dad tells me and I sigh. Fucking A, just what we need, kidnapping and threatening a federal agent but it needs to be done.
Pulling out my cell, I call Jagger, he’s meant to be with Sarah today but that’s about to change. “What?” He grunts and I smile, I’ve just interrupted something.
“Wrap it up and get your ass over to the club, I’ll meet you there in twenty minutes. Gather the men,” I tell him. “I’m at the hospital, I’ll be leaving soon.”
I hear movement and know that he’s doing as I ask. “Hospital, what’s happened now?”
“I’ll tell you when I see you. Call Frankie and get his ass over to your house. Put him on Sarah and Allie.”
“Fuck. On it, I’ll see you soon.” He ends the call, knowing that shits about to go down.
Turning back to Dad I say, “Call me once they’re out of surgery, let me know what the doctors say.”
He nods. “Son, prepare yourself though. Tina was in bad shape when she was brought in.”
“Fuck, just what Mia needs.”
“Why don’t you call her and bring her here?”
“Dad, until I know for certain, Mia stays at home, she’s safe there with Aaron.”
“Okay son. I’ll call you if I find out anything.”
I turn on my heel and walk out of that damn fucking hospital. As soon as I’m outside, fresh air filling my lungs, I dial Aaron to check in on Mia.
“Hey, boss, everything okay?”
“Yeah, how’s Mia?”
“I spoke to her once you left, letting her know that I was here and she told me that she was going to have a shower.”
I walk toward my car, my eyes glancing around the parking lot, making sure that I’m aware of who’s around me. “Okay, there’s a meeting behind held in twenty minutes, you’ll not be attending for obvious reasons. What I’m about to say to you does not get repeated.”
“Of course, Boss,” he replies instantly.
“My mom and Mia’s mom were shot, they’re both in surgery. Until I know what’s happening, I’m not saying anything to Mia, in case Martin’s waiting for her to arrive there.”
“Makes sense, Boss. Let me know when you want me to bring her to you.”
“Thanks, Aaron there’s another bit of business but we’re on the phone,” I tell him, so he knows why I’m not saying anything about it. “I’ll talk to you later.” I end the call and slide into my car, my mind’s focused on how the fuck Martin found out where both Mom and Tina lived, and he’s got a thing about going after women. Mia, Lacey, David’s wife, Mom, and Tina. It’s why I’m glad I had the women and children moved to a safe house. They’re out of Martin’s reach, they’re heavily guarded and as Martin doesn’t have an army any more, he’s fucked if he ever tried to get to them.
I stride into the club, Jagger has gathered every man available. The others are at the safe house, and Aaron is with Mia. As soon as I walk in they descend into silence.
“Boss, what’s happened?” Alex asks, he’s one of the new recruits, I have fifteen of them now. It’s great when we’re at war and everyone knows it. They want to be with the badass who’s offing everyone.
“I had a visit from Aaron this morning at seven o’clock.” A murmur goes around my men as they realize he’s not here. “He’s with Mia right now.” That seems to satisfy them. “He informed me that Martin had shot two people this morning or rather late last night. The details are sketchy, but those two people are in surgery right now.”
“Who Boss?” Liam asks.
I ignore him for now. “David was tasked with the job of finding out who shot them, searching all cameras in the area and finding clues but once again, Martin fucked up. We know that he personally shot both of them.” I nod my head to David in thanks, the man is a fucking monster these days, he’s on the hunt, primed for killing and he doesn’t give a shit who he kills. He’s after blood.
“Tina was shot first, she has lost a lot of blood and we’re not sure about her condition.” My men straighten their backs as they stand taller. As much of a bitch Tina is, she’s my father’s wife and that means she’s family. “The other person to be shot, was my ma. She was found instantly and the ambulance was called. She, too, is in surgery, again, we’re waiting to find out her condition.”