Saving Dallas 2 Making the Cut (6 page)

The hospital was cold, as always, and I
immediately regretted not bringing a jacket. I asked the lady at
the front desk where I could find “Marty” and she looked at me like
I was an idiot when I informed her that I didn’t know his last
name.

“I’m sorry, he was admitted a couple of days
ago. The results of a motorcycle wreck,” I said, trying to redeem
myself.

“Eighth floor. Room eighty-eighty oh two,”
she informed me without batting an eyelash. Apparently the
motorcycle boys had drawn some attention. The closer I got to the
elevator, the more nervous I become. What if Luke was there? My
heart sped at the thought. I wonder what he’s wearing? Oh, for
fuck’s sake.

The elevator dinged, letting me know I had
arrived at the eighth floor. I was greeted with leather vests
waiting in the lobby as soon as the doors opened.

“Hey, pretty girl!” I heard someone say. My
eyes scanned the room, trying to find the source when they landed
on Kev. He was making his way to me through the crowd. I smiled at
him and gave him a small wave.

“Hey, Kev,” I said as he engulfed me in his
arms. The next five minutes of my life were spent giving out hugs
to the members of the Devil’s Renegades MC, on the eighth floor of
Forrest General Hospital. This not getting attached shit was gonna
be tough. Kev, Tiny, Worm, Coon, Buck, Crash and two PROSPECTS had
been to see Marty, and from what I could gather, they had no
intention of leaving.

“How is he?” I asked to no one in
particular.

“He is okay. Has a few broken bones and some
pretty bad road rash. They are weaning him off the morphine, so he
is pretty pissed. We are waiting for the doc to come in and give us
some good news,” Worm, the Vice President of the club, informed me.
“How are you doing?” he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m good. Just taking it day by day,” I said
smiling.

“Well, we are here for you, baby. If you need
anything just give us a call,” Tiny said from his place on my
right. We had formed a circle in the lobby and I was relieved and
disappointed at the same time that Luke was not here.

“Thanks for that. Can I go see him?”

“Yeah, he is probably tired of staring at all
us hard legs. It will do him some good to see a pretty face,” Kev
said with a wink.

“I’ll walk you down there,” Crash said,
stepping up and grabbing my hand. He smiled warmly at me, but I
could see the flirtatious twinkle in his eye. He would have been
super cute if I didn’t compare him to Luke. Which, in my eyes,
nobody held a candle to Luke when it came to looks. Or sex. Or
kissing.
Shit.
The last thing I needed to think about right
now was kissing Luke. I heard the guys chuckle behind me and I
turned to see they all wore a smile and an amused expression.

“What’s funny?” I asked, looking down at
Crash’s hand in mine.

“Ignore them. They are just jealous,” Crash
said with a wink.

“Ha!” I said to Crash, which made him smile
wider. Both our smiles died when we started to walk out of the
lobby and saw Luke standing at the entrance staring daggers into
Crash.

“Oh shit,” I heard Crash mutter under his
breath, but he didn’t let go of my hand. I froze completely at the
sight of Luke. I should have never let him out of my bedroom. From
now on, I would keep him on a leash. His six foot two, muscular
frame loomed big in the doorway. His arms were crossed over his
chest, and his huge biceps stretched the white t-shirt that he wore
to the point that I knew it had to be uncomfortable. A hoodie
dangled from his right hand that was locked in at his left elbow.
He wore faded, boot cut jeans and his t-shirt was tucked into the
front of them, yet was pulled out everywhere else. There was
nothing appealing about the brown leather belt he wore, but for
some reason I wanted to tear the place apart in hopes that he would
take it off and spank me with it. His scuffed, brown, squared-toe
cowboy boots completed his outfit and was quite possibly the
sexiest boots I had ever seen. His dirty blonde hair was cut short
and his perfectly shaped goatee was only a few shades darker. Even
with his jaw taunt, his face stone, and his eyes on fire with fury,
he was the sexiest thing I had ever laid my eyes on. I felt Crash
move beside me and I turned to face him. He looked like he wanted
to say something, and then shut his mouth quickly, patted my
shoulder, and turned to join the others a few feet behind us. All
the guys seemed to be trying to contain their laughter. Tiny nodded
his head toward the door and I turned to see that Luke wasn’t
totally pissed off anymore, he just looked aggravated. He held up
his hand and crooked his finger at me, signaling me to come to him.
Immediately, as if I had no control over my feet, I walked towards
him. I felt smaller than I ever had, once I was standing in front
of him. He leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead, but not
moving to touch me.

“Cold, babe?” he asked his face now amused.
How in the hell did he do that? One minute he looked like he could
kill me and the next his eyes were soft and he looked like he was
fighting a smile. I shook my head at him, wondering how in the hell
he knew I was cold. He uncrossed his arms, and ran a single finger
over my arm, tracing the goosebumps that had formed.

“Maybe a little,” I said weakly. I was such a
puss. Okay, yeah, there was definitely no way I was going to be
able to ignore him or pretend there wasn’t a connection between us.
Just looking at him had my panties soaking wet. He made me feel
protected, and confident, and pretty, and horny as hell. I figured
I must look like an idiot, standing there like a deer in the
headlights, scared to death that I had pissed him off in some way,
but hoping I had, all at the same time. My mind went back to the
time I told Luke, “Fuck You.” It was right after he made sweet love
to me for the first time. I was pissed about him making an ass out
of me in a bar full of people all because I talked to another man.
Well, fuck me he did. Hard. Punishment fucks from Luke made you
want to do bad shit. The thought made me shudder.

“Babe?”

“Huh?”

“You okay?”

“Uh-huh.”

Luke smirked at me, and I could see his ocean
blue eyes laughing. Ass. It was enough to snap me out of my
day-dream and remember why I was here.

“How is Marty?” I asked, my voice coming out
stronger, but full of worry.

“He is gonna be fine. Got a broken leg and
some broken ribs, but the lung that was punctured is healing good.
He is cranky as hell, but I think once he sees your beautiful face,
he will feel much better,” Luke said smiling down at me. So much
for the walls I had built back around my heart.

“Can we go see him now?” I asked, hoping that
Marty was awake. I really wanted to talk to him.

“Of course,” Luke said, grabbing my hand and
pulling me down the hallway. He acted as if the events from this
morning had not even taken place. When we walked by the nurses’
station, I noticed all the nurses eyeing Luke appreciatively. One
even winked at him in front of me. Bitch. I wanted to shout at the
top of my lungs, “he is off limits bitch” but of course, I didn’t.
No sense in pissing them off. They may take it out on Marty.

Marty’s room was located at the end of the
hall in a corner. It was much bigger than the other rooms and I
later found out that the club had requested a suite for him. I
figured with all his visitors, it was probably the best move,
considering half the club was still standing in the lobby. Luke
pushed open the door, without a knock of warning, and I thought it
was impossible to be any colder than it was in the hallway, but I
was wrong. It was freezing in Marty’s room, yet he lay on the bed
with only a thin sheet covering the bottom half of his body. His
chest was bare and gleaming with sweat. I crossed my arms, trying
to contain my body heat. Luke noticed my movement and handed me the
hoodie. It was black, about five sizes too big and had a reaper on
the front of it. It was warm and smelled of Luke and I found myself
sniffing it. Loser.

Marty was sitting up slightly in the bed. The
pillows behind him a tangled mess and the breathing machine beside
him was humming. He had a mask over his face and looked to be in a
lot of pain.

“Breathing exercise for his lungs,” Luke
informed me from across the room. He had taken a seat in one of the
chairs, and was flipping through a magazine. Marty turned his face
towards me and held his finger up, asking me to give him a minute.
I nodded and took a seat in the chair next to his bed.

Gatorade bottles littered the little table
next to him along with a bucket for a sponge bath, some Mamba
wrappers and a pack of sunflower seeds. His leg was held in the air
by a cable that was attached to a bar that ran the length of the
bed. A small weight dangled from his ankle and swung lightly with
each deep breath he took. I turned my attention to the T.V. that
was muted. I tried to pay attention, but all I could hear was the
machines steady beep and Marty’s deep breaths and I found myself
looking back over at him. His head was shaved almost bald and his
green eyes looked tired. His right hand was bandaged and his arm
was covered in scrapes. Even lying in a hospital bed, covered in
bandages, he was still very handsome. I wondered if he had an ol’
lady.

My thoughts were interrupted when a nurse
walked in.

“Ok hun, looking good. You will be out of
here in no time. He is a trooper,” she said looking at me. Her long
blonde hair was pulled to the front of her left shoulder, and her
big blue eyes were warm and made me feel better, even though I
wasn’t the patient. No wonder Marty was doing so good. “My name is
Ashton and I’ll be taking care of you tonight. If y’all need
anything just hit the call button,” she said this while removing
the mask from Marty’s face, then turned and left.

“I should have said I needed a sponge bath,”
Marty said hoarsely. He smiled at me and I got up and walked
towards him. I couldn’t help it, as soon as I saw his face, tears
welled up in my eyes.

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered, tears flowing
down my face and onto Luke’s hoodie. I felt like a train had hit
me. He was here, all because of me. This was my fault and if ever I
wanted revenge, it was now.

“Don’t,” Marty said, laying his injured hand
on top of mine.

“I’m gonna step outside a minute,” Luke said
from the door. I had not even noticed he got up. I could have
kissed him at that moment for giving me this time, but I couldn’t
take my eyes off of Marty.

“I want to tell you a story,” Marty said,
holding my hand. I nodded my head at him, wiping my face on my long
sleeves. “When I was twenty-three, I met this girl. She was
beautiful, smart, kind, sweet… Everything I would want in a woman.
I was nothing but a thug. I worked in a mechanic shop and hustled a
little on the side, but she loved me. She was my good. My better.
She deserved a life of happiness, one that I couldn’t give to her.
I knew I would never be more than what I am, a man with grease on
his best jeans and a Harley. I never thought to ask her what she
wanted. I just pushed her away, assuming what I was doing was best
for her. I broke her heart.” He seemed to be somewhere else and I
started to offer words of encouragement, thinking he was finished,
when he began speaking again. “What I done was selfish and un-fair.
I should have asked her what she wanted. See, material items didn’t
matter to her. She deserved a life of happiness and she had it,
with me. No one could love her like I loved her. She came looking
for me. She was hurt and scared and confused as to why I just
stopped answering her calls and hanging around. I use to hustle on
Friday nights in a bad area of town and out of desperation she went
there looking for me. She was shot, twice in the chest by a group
of gang bangers who mistook her for someone else. I have re-worked
the scene a million times in my head wondering what-if. I asked God
every day to give me an opportunity to make it up and he did when
he gave me you. He gave me a chance to save someone to make up for
the life that was lost on my behalf.”

I stopped breathing. Tears were pouring out
of my eyes, but even through the blurriness, I could see Marty’s
smile. He seemed to be at peace with something.

“Dallas, I should be thanking you. You saved
me. I know that things are not where they should be with you and
Luke, but don’t make the same mistake I did. When God gives you an
opportunity, embrace it. He loves you, Dallas. Let him.”

I didn’t know what to say to him. I didn’t
know if he knew all the details of me and Luke, but what I did know
was that Marty was right. I loved Luke and I knew he loved me. I
was tired of playing these stupid “he loves me, he loves me not”
games. I also knew that my life would not be complete without Luke
in it.

“Thank-you,” I said to Marty, once again. I
leaned over and planted a light kiss on his scruffy cheek.

“PROSPECT,” came a boom from the door. Both
our heads turned around to see Luke standing there with a smile on
his face. “I will be happy to add another year if you don’t get
your hands off my girl.” Marty smiled in response and shook his
head.

“I couldn’t help it, Pres. She’s
beautiful.”

“That, she is,” Luke said eyeing me with
admiration. It made me melt. I stood up, shaking the thoughts of
Luke and his blue eyes, and hard muscles and “my girl” comment from
my head.

“Okay, enough with all this sappy shit. What
are you, a pig? Look at this place.” I began tidying up the little
room, clearing off the table and folding blankets that were
scattered everywhere. Marty laughed, then held his side as a pained
look crossed his face.

“You okay?” I asked concerned, and
immediately at his side.

“Stop babying him. You’ll turn him into a
pussy,” I heard Tiny, the club’s Sergeant At Arms, say from the
door.