He reaches up, using his thumb to brush a tear away. “He’s taking care of something, but he’ll be here as soon as he’s done.”
I close my eyes and take in a deep breath. Expecting pain, I’m relieved when I only a feel a pinch. Opening my eyes again, I start asking questions. “Is Tag alive?”
I hold my breath, waiting for him to answer. “Yeah.”
“Is he going to be okay?” The thought of losing him is tearing me apart inside.
“It was touch and go there for a while, but he’s stable now,” Tin replies, taking my hand in his. “He woke up for a few minutes, after he came out of surgery. The stubborn fucker wouldn’t go back to sleep until the nurses brought Rollo in. Soon as he told him you were okay, he was out like a light.”
A smile plays on my lips when I think of Tag screaming at the nurses. The thought of him brings his mother to mind. “How’s Domino?”
By the look on Tin’s face, I know my answer. Moving my head closer to him, I whisper out my confession. “I shot her. I didn’t mean to kill her, but I shot her and now she’s dead.”
“Don’t worry about that now, Shay. Bowie will take care of it, don’t worry. Just forget that it ever happened.”
How can I not worry about killing someone? Is there any way to forget something like that? Not wanting to think of it anymore, I ask another question. “Did he kill Marcus?”
I know the answer before I even ask. Still, I need to hear him say it. Part of me wants him to say yes, but another doesn’t want Bowie taking a life for me. Still, I know as long as Marcus walks this earth, I will be in danger.
Tin’s eyes flash, letting me know he doesn’t want to tell me. “That’s something you need to talk to Bowie about, sister.”
“But,” I start but shut my mouth when the door opens and an older man in a white coat walks in.
“Glad to see you’re awake.” He smiles at me but his face grows cold when he looks at Tin.
Tin lowers his mouth to my ear and whispers, “You fell down the stairs.”
I nod letting him know I understand. “I just woke up.”
The doctor looks at me, taking in my face that I can only assume is covered in bruises. “Can you tell me exactly what happened to you?”
“I don’t remember much, just falling down the stairs. I’m not really sure what happened; I must have lost my footing,” I lie, hoping he won’t ask many questions.
His eyes jerk to Tin then back to me. “Would you like to talk to me alone?”
I can feel Tin’s body tighten in anger, obviously angry this man thinks he would hurt me. Trying to pretend I didn’t understand his meaning I say, “No, that’s okay.”
“Are you sure? We need to discuss your injuries; you may want your privacy.”
“You can talk in front of Justin,” I reply, purposefully using Tin-Man’s full name.
The doctor takes a second to look between Tin and I, before nodding his head. “You suffered a mild concussion during the fall. You also have three broken ribs. Luckily, the breaks are clean and should fuse together with time.”
Remembering the blood that filled my mouth time and time again, I know that the doctor needs to know in case there is something they didn’t find. Not sure of what all Tin told him, I have to be careful not to say too much. “Is there a reason I’m tasting blood?”
The doctor shakes his head. “You have some bruising on your lungs. It’s not severe, but it can cause a little bleeding.”
“Are you sure that’s it?” I ask wondering how a bruise could cause so much blood.
The doctors merely nods and goes on. “Yes, we had X-rays and MRI’s done and no further damage was done. Still the broken ribs and bruising will cause you a lot of pain; I am going to keep you for the night.”
After a few more questions, the doctor finally leaves the room.
“Well, he’s a prick,” Tin says as soon as the door shuts.
I let out a laugh, causing pain to shoot through me. “Don’t make me laugh.”
As the pain works its way through my body, I remember what caused it and suddenly remember about Red. I instantly turn to look at Tin. “I need to talk to Bowie.”
Crazy As Hell
Bowie
My phone rings, just as Locks sends his fist into Marcus’ face again. Pulling it from my pocket, I see Tin’s name flash across the screen. Instead of saying hello, I ask about my woman. “How is she?”
“She wants to talk to you herself, so I guess she’s doing pretty damn good.”
“Give her the phone,” I order as I head for the stairs, not wanting her to hear Lock question Marcus.
I hear the phone move then she’s there, calling out to me. “Bowie.”
Just hearing her voice sends a wave a relief through my body. I stop at the top of the stairs and lean my forehead against the wall. “Fuck, baby. Are you okay?”
“I’m fine, just a little beat up.”
Visions of her battered body float through my mind. “You were damn near beat to death. Why the hell didn’t you call for help?”
“I did,” She whispers. “I called my dad.”
“You should’ve called the fuckin’ cops,” I growl out, knowing I shouldn’t be bitchin’ at her but just can’t stop myself.
“I couldn’t do that; I didn’t know what was in the crates.”
My mind goes to all the guns I have stored in the safe room. If the cops went in there, I would’ve spent the rest of my life in prison. “You still should’ve called.”
Her voice is weak, when she responds. “I didn’t want you to be in trouble.”
“Fuck, baby,” I say as I step back and send my fist flying into the wall. “You shouldn’t have worried about me.”
“Of course I should. I love you.”
Her words wash over me, knowing that she is every bit as determined to protect me as I am her. “I know you do, Shay.”
I hear Lock’s voice raise and know it’s time to get this shit over. “I gotta go, but I’ll be at the hospital in a little while.”
“I have to tell you something,” She says before I can hang up.
“I really gotta go.” I hate to rush her, but I need to get Marcus in the ground so I can get my ass to the hospital.
“It was Red. He was the one who took me,” She says in a voice so full of pain it tears into me.
“I know, baby,” I reply, anger at Red’s betrayal churning in my stomach. “He’ll pay for it; I promise you.”
Before she can say anything else, I hear a woman’s voice in the background. “The nurse just came in.”
“Get off here and let her do her job. I’ll be there in a little while, okay.”
“Okay, Bowie.” She says before whispering. “I love you.”
“Love you too.”
I wait until the phone goes dead before putting it back in my pocket and heading back downstairs. Lock’s still asking questions, and Marcus still isn’t giving him the answers he wants. Nothing’s changed, and I know nothing will.
“I told you, I don’t know where she is at,” Marcus says between sobs.
“And I told you that I didn’t believe your lying ass,” Lock growls out as he sends his fist into the man’s kidney.
Curling into a ball, he finally starts to talk. “Heather couldn’t be my wife. She knew she could never be as perfect as Gwendolyn, so she ran away.”
“You’re fuckin’ crazy as hell.” I can’t believe my woman spent ten years with this man.
“No, I’m not.” He screams, shaking his head manically.
Lock leans down and shouts, “Where the fuck did she go?”
“I don’t know; I don’t know,” He chants, shaking his head back and forth. “I never looked.”
“Bull shit,” Lock says, sending an elbow into the man chest. “You looked for Laura, so I know you looked for Heather too.”
“She was never good enough to be Gwendolyn, so I didn’t care if she was gone,” He says, pleading with Lock to believe him. “I swear I have no idea where she is.”
Hearing the tone of his voice, I know this is over. Marcus is not gonna tell Lock anything, even if he knew something and I doubt he does. “He’s done, and you know it.”
He nods then looks down to the man on the floor one last time. “I’m gonna find Heather, even if it takes the rest of my damn life.”
Lock turns to me, looking defeated. “Do what you gotta do.”
Stepping between him and Marcus, I start asking my questions. “Is anyone else looking for Shay?”
His eyes narrow and he nearly spits out his words. “Her name is Laura.”
I nearly laugh, wanting to ask him why he called her Gwendolyn for years. Knowing it’s not worth my time to dig into his fucked up brain, I ignore his words. Placing my boot on his bloodied knee, the same one I shot when I first walked in, I ask my question again. “Did you hire anyone else to look for Shay?”
“Yes, but they didn’t find anything,” He whimpers out, trying to move his leg.
“How did you find out she was here?”
Still trying to pull away, he answers. “I received a call from a man named Alexander. He knew where she was and for the right amount of money, he was willing to tell me.”
“How did you know Cash?”
Confusion clouds his eyes as he asks, “Cash?”
The fact that this man doesn’t know my father is obvious. “Alexander, how the fuck did you get involved with Alexander?” I growl out, wanting this shit to be over.
“I’ve never met him. I asked him how he knew to contact me, and he refused to answer.”
My eyes move to Lock. “There had to be someone else involved. No fuckin’ way Cash just stumbled across this shit.”
Before Lock can give his opinion, Marcus answers. “When I first arrived in town, I met with that red head and the woman that’s upstairs. They were working with him.”
Red and Domino have been in this since the beginning, but I already figured that out on my own. Still, he may know something I don’t. “What did they say to you? Did they tell you how they knew you were Shay’s husband?”
”The man said that his wife told him all about me and threatened to kill me if I double-crossed him.”
The thought of Lila being in on this shit sends a fresh wave of anger through me. Having Lila betray her is gonna kill Shay. “Did he say anything else?”
“The woman, she started telling me about you and my wife, but the man shut her up. Then, he told me when and where to meet him, that’s all.”
Shaking off thoughts of what I would do when I found Red, I focus on Marcus again. “Was Cash working with anyone else?”
“I don’t know,” He says as he gasps for air. “We only talked twice, and he never mentioned anyone to me. I thought I would be meeting him. I didn’t even know about the others until I got here.”
“That’s it? No one else was involved? You don’t have someone watching your back?” Surely, the fucker wasn’t stupid enough to come here on his own.
He shakes his head as his hands do their best to push my foot away. “No one else knows anything; everyone thinks she is dead.”
Knowing I’ve got all the information I’m ever gonna get from him, I pull out my knife and bend down. A second later, his blood is pooling at my feet.
As Fast As I Could
Shay
The bed dips, bringing me out of my slumber. My eyes open to see Bowie sitting by my feet. A slow smile spreads across his face as he says, “Hey baby.”
Ignoring the pain in my side, I push myself up. “You’re here.”
“I told you that I’d be here as soon as I could,” He says as leans forward to kiss me. As soon as his lips touch mine, all my worries melt away
“I know, but I was worried about you.” Worried isn’t quite the right word. I knew Bowie could handle Marcus, but I hated the fact that he had to.
He jerks away and looks over his shoulder. “She’s lying in a fuckin’ hospital bed, and she’s worried about me.”
“You don’t have to tell me, brother. I’ve been listening to her whine all damn night,” Tin says as he stands up from the hard chair he has been sleeping in for the last few hours.
“I didn’t whine.” Shooting him a glare, I lift my middle finger and give him the one-fingered salute.
Tin throws his head back, his entire body shaking with laughter. “We’ve corrupted her, Hermano.”
Bowie chuckles, but doesn’t respond to him. “I got here as fast as I could.”
“What were you doing?” I ask, even though I’m not going to get an answer. I’ve learned that he never discusses club business with me, even when that business concerns me. In a way it makes me mad, but it also lets me know that he’ll protect me from anything, even himself.
“I had to take care of some shit,” He replies without telling me anything.
“Uh huh,” I mumble, knowing that I’ll never get a straight answer from him.
He scoots closer, bringing his body inches from mine. “Are you okay, Shay?”
Nodding, I go on to tell him everything the doctor said. His hand moves to my ribs, running his callused fingers over the gown covered wrappings. “Are you hurting?”
I am, but there’s no way I’m going to tell him that. “Not anymore.”
“Are you sure?” His eyes rise to mine, and I nearly gasp when I see the guilt in them.
“I’m fine; I promise.” Leaning forward to run my thumb over his lower lip, I do my best to take away his guilt. “This wasn’t your fault, Bowie.”
His voice is full of anger, when he responds. “I should have protected you.”
“You did. You saved me from him.”
“He’ll never hurt you again.” His words are still filled with anger but also a sense of certainty. Something that lets me know Marcus will never hurt anyone again.
“I’m not scared of him anymore.” As the words leave my mouth, I realize how true they are. I’m not afraid of Marcus; I’m not afraid of anyone. “As long as I’ve got you, I don’t have a reason to be scared of anyone or anything.”
“Damn straight, you never have to be afraid again,” He says as a half-smile plays on his lips.
The door opens, and I barely catch a glimpse of Tin-Man as he steps into the hall. “He didn’t have to leave.”
“Yeah, he did,” Bowie says as his lips hover over mine. “I want to be alone with you.”
As quick as the kiss comes, it’s over. A second later, he has my hand in his and a ring is being slid on my finger. “It was my Grandma’s. Grandpa gave it to me before he died. He said one day I would find a woman worthy enough to wear it.”