Tattered on My Sleeve

  “Went down to meet her, like you suggested. Had to wait downstairs for her. When she came out of the elevator, she looked like death. Next thing I knew she fucking fainted.”

  I let out a breath and fall back against the unforgiving hospital chair. Not a Viper attack. With me out of fighting shape, trouble with them’s the last thing we need.

  “Uh, we thought she like got shot or something,” Z points out.

  Rock turns his hands over as if noticing the blood on them for the first time. “No.”

  Z and I share a look.

  “Aw fuck, man,” Z says.

  Rock sort of stumbles over to the sink in the back corner and scrubs his hands raw. I take out my phone and text Trin.

  Bring change of clothes to EM for prez.

  Okay.

  A nurse walks in and runs her grave gaze over each of us before landing on Rock.

  “Mr. North?”

  Rock turns so fast, he forgets to shut the water off. “Is she okay?” While he’s busy with the nurse, Z gets up and shuts the water off then drops into the chair next to me.

  “She’s pregnant?” Rock chokes out. Shit.

  Z glances at me and shakes his head. No words need to be said.

  Whatever else the nurse tells him is bad because he stumbles over. As he falls into the chair next to me, I realize he’s crying.

  I don’t think in the twenty or so years I’ve known Rock, I’ve ever seen him cry. Not when we lost brothers for no good reason. Not when we discovered we were betrayed by someone we trusted. Not when he was sent to prison for a crime he didn’t do. Not even when I went to visit him in prison to explain his ex-wife, Carla cleaned out his apartment out and skipped town.

  If Hope doesn’t make it through this, it’ll destroy him.

  He barely stirs when I put my hand on his shoulder. “She’s a little spitfire. She’ll be back to busting your balls in no time, brother.” I’m trying for upbeat, but I can barely choke out the words. Hope’s been a sweetheart from day one and I’ve been nothin’ but mean to her. She tolerated it because she loves him.

  I’m relieved when Trinity arrives and presses some clean clothes into Rock’s hands. He leaves to change and Z moves down a chair so Trinity can sit next to me.

  “What happened?” she whispers.

  “Don’t really know.” I don’t need details. Whatever it is has reduced my immune-to-anything best friend into a zombie.

  I ain’t gonna hold his hand or whisper feel-good shit in his ear. But I ain’t leavin’ his side either.

  It’s a relief when one of the nurses finally tells us we can see Hope hours later. We were here so long, Trin ended up running home The hospital chairs have done a number on my back. I send my girl a text and happily haul myself out of the little plastic torture device.

  Rock’s hovering over his girl and doesn’t bother to move, even though the space is tight and not easy for me to navigate. I suffer no guilt bumping him out of the way. I drop into the chair in the far corner, so I’ll be out of everyone’s way.

  “Sugar, you gave us all some scare,” I tell Hope.

  She bursts into tears. Shit. Rock glares at me, but I don’t even know what I did.

  “What the hell did you say to her, jerk?” Z snaps at me when he walks in and sees her cryin’.

  “Nothing.”

  “It’s not you,” she says through a bunch of sniffling.

  That’s a relief. Maybe Rock can stop making murder faces at me now.

  “Thanks for staying with Rock, you guys,” Hope whispers.

  Z glances at me and shrugs. Of course we’d stay.

  I shrug and wink at Hope, making her chuckle. That’s better. I close my eyes while they talk and obviously they think I’ve fallen asleep.

  “Has he been here all night?” Hope whispers.

  “Yeah,” Rock answers.

  “Why?”

  Aw shit. She really has to ask? “You’re family now, babe,” I mumble at her.

  Trin returns later with food and ends up driving me home. I’m still zapped. She must be too, because she’s silent most of the way.

  “I hurt everywhere,” I grumble as I jump down from the Jeep.

  “I don’t think tiny hospital chairs are meant for giant men to sleep in,” she says with a laugh. I love the way she pokes fun at me.

  Not much rattles me these days. But Rock almost losing his girl? Only reinforces my need to make things work with Trinity.

  Hope: Please come visit me! I’m so bored!

  I laugh at Hope’s plea for company and make my way upstairs. After she got out of the hospital, Rock took her to his house to recuperate without everyone in her business. Once they came here, I still didn’t get to see her. But now that the guys are all locked up in the war room we should be able to have a minute to catch up.

  Hope’s poking through her bookshelf when I knock and push the door open.

  “Trinity! I’m so happy to see you!”

  She gives me a hug, then winces. “You should probably be resting,” I tell her as she pulls away.

  “Don’t start. I’m getting enough of that from Rock.”

  I chuckle, imagining how he’s been hovering over her.

  “They’re in church at the moment, so you’re safe.”

  “Thank God. If I didn’t feel so shitty, I think I’d have run away by now.”

  “Uh, I’m pretty sure Rock would hunt you down and drag you back.”

  She laughs. “True.”

  “Hey, I know this is sort of an inappropriate time, but do you know how to form a corporation and stuff like that?”

  She tilts her head and studies me for a second before answering. “What kind of corporation?”

  “Just a small business. Like one person.”

  “Oh, yeah. You’d probably want to do an LLC then. It’s really just filling out paperwork, filing it, paying a fee and publishing it in the paper,” she says, ticking off each item on her right hand.

  The blank look I give her causes her to slow down.

  “Yes, that’s something I can do. What’s the business?”

  I’m not ready to share this yet. Because knowing Hope, she’ll want to see the book covers and I can’t handle having anyone else knowing about my side hobby. I’m saved from answering by Rock’s return.

  “Hey, Trin,” he greets while running his fingers through his hair until it’s standing up in all directions. Yup, time for me to go.

  I pat Hope’s hand. “We’ll talk later.”

  “Okay.”

  Wrath and Z are in the middle of a heated discussion when I reach the living room, but stop when they see me.

  “Everything okay?” I ask before approaching them.

  “Yup,” Z answers.

  “You free, babe?” Wrath asks.

  “Yeah.” Checking the time I ask, “Ready for the doc?”

  “Not unless this fuckin’ cast is coming off.”

  I don’t answer. We both know it’s not coming off this early.

  For once, I’m the one who can’t sleep. My restlessness finally wakes Trinity and she turns over to snuggle up against my side.

  “Good morning.”

  When I don’t answer her, she tries again. “You okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Something’s bothering you.”

  “I’m annoyed Rock’s gotta take this run out to Kodack. He shouldn’t have to leave Hope now.”

  She flinches when I mention the Demon’s territory, but after a minute she says, “I have a feeling she’ll be okay with a day or two of peace and quiet.”

  “Whaddya mean?”

  She laughs softly. “Rock’s drivin’ her nuts.”

  “Well, she did almost die.”

  “Yeah.”

  She’s quiet and I assume she’s fallen back asleep.

  “Wyatt, do you want kids?”

  I don’t have to think about the answer to that question. “No.”

  Even though it’s dark, she tips her h
ead up, settling her chin on my chest. “Really? You’re so good with the ones at the gym.”

  “Yeah, ‘cause they go home after an hour and are someone else’s problem.”

  She makes a hmm noise and I take a minute to frame what I want to say. “I always worried with all the fuckin’ beatings I took as a kid…all the fuckin’ rage inside of me…I didn’t want to have a kid and risk doin’ that to ‘em.”

  “Oh, Wyatt. You’re so…good to the people you care about. I don’t think you’d ever—”

  “It’s not the same.”

  “But you don’t drink like that.”

  “Are you trying to talk me into something, babe?”

  She snorts and shifts away from me. “No. I’m not mother material.”

  “What are you talkin’ about? Look at the way you take care of everyone here.”

  I’m not even finished speaking and she’s shaking her head to disagree. “What would I do? I couldn’t raise a kid here hearing how their mom was the club—”

  My hand closes over her mouth. “Don’t. Don’t fuckin’ call yourself that ever again. No one would ever say that about you.”

  She moves my hand away. “Thank you.”

  “Just the other night Rock and I were talkin’ ‘bout how Sparky and Stash would have starved to death if it wasn’t for you lookin’ after ‘em.”

  She snorts. “Someone has to.”

  After that she falls back to sleep. I get out of bed and make my way to the kitchen. The weight bearing as tolerated order the doctor gave me is some bullshit. Largely because, so far, I haven’t been able to tolerate it at all.

  I find Birch sleeping on top of the bar in the dining room and give him a nice shove. I’m rewarded with a solid thunk when he lands on the floor.

  “Go make some coffee, prospect,” I bark at him.

  Fifteen minutes later, I’m sipping my coffee when Rock trudges in. From the set of his shoulders he’s got something weighing him down. Don’t we all?

  “Can I talk to you for a sec?”

  I kick a chair out for him. He takes it and gives me a questioning look.

  “You all right?”

  “Yeah, just pissed I can’t go on the run. You shouldn’t have to do it. Shouldn’t be leavin’ your girl after everything you two just went through.”

  He sort of cracks a smile. “Something tells me she’d like some space.”

  “Yeah, you’ve been overdoing it a little, playin’ nurse.”

  Leaning forward, he gets this serious look about him and I just know whatever he’s about to say is gonna piss me off. “Listen, this is stupid, but if anything happens—”

  Is he nuts sayin’ that shit right before leaving? “No way. Shut that shit down right now, prez.”

  “Wyatt, I’m serious. Come on. You never know. She fell apart after her husband died. You gotta promise me if something happens—on the run, next year, ten years from now—promise me you’ll take care of her.”

  “Fuck, why you gotta do this to me? Of course I’ll take care of her. The club will take care of her. Now, knock it the fuck off. You’re drawing bad mojo your way.”

  He snorts and looks away, clearly debating whether he should say whatever else is on his mind. “One last thing—and I swear to fuck if you make a joke about this, I’m going to break your other leg.”

  “This should be good.”

  He stares me down so I know he’s serious. “She’s still hormonal and stuff, so could you please try not to give her shit. She’s liable to either rip your head off or cry. And if you make her cry, I’m going to kick your fuckin’ ass.”

  If I had feelings, they’d be hurt that he thinks I’m such a jackass. “I’m not completely stupid. Girl almost died. I’ll behave myself.”

  “Do your best.”

  I’m about to reassure him that Trinity and I will watch out for Hope while he’s gone, when I notice her sneaking up behind him.

  I lift my chin at Rock. “Fuck you.”

  As if I’m not even here, the two of them get each other worked up into a frenzy from a simple good morning.

  “You sure you want to get him all horned up, then send him on his way, Hope?” What? I promised Rock I’d play nice after he left.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” she snaps back.

  And there’s that rip your head off thing Rock mentioned.

  “Ignore him, baby doll.” Rock pulls her into his lap and they’re all over each other again.

  “Let’s get on the roaaad!” Z shouts as he enters the dining room. Thank God, I was starting think I should throw some cold water on these two.

  We engage in some predictable, filthy joking around after Hope goes into the kitchen. Well, Z and I do. Rock’s not in a joking mood.

  I get mine a few seconds later when Trinity walks by and they razz me. Secretly, I enjoy every second.

  “Did you make Trin kick me out?” Hope yells a few minutes later. Girl rarely raises her voice, so her tone’s damn funny.

  “Get over here,” Rock calls to her.

  She settles in his lap and then they proceed to do disgusting lovey-dovey shit that no one should have to sit through at the dining room table.

  Trin chuckles at them when she sits down and joins us. I take a risk and throw my arm around her. She actually leans into my side, and stays that way while she polishes off her breakfast. It feels really fucking good to touch her out in the open like this. Z glances at us and smiles, then focuses the rest of his heckling on Rock.

  Without Rock, Z, and Murphy around, the house is quiet. Hope retreats to Rock’s room. Trinity tries to check on her without being annoying.

  I’m wrapped up in watching Trin work on her book covers when I get a text from Teller a couple days into Rock’s trip.

  Hope just dropped Heidi off. Why she out alone?

  “Godfuckingdammit!”

  Trinity spins around. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. Teller says Hope just left his house? When the fuck did she sneak out?”

  “You know she’s a grown woman, right?”

  I glance up in time to catch her lip quiver with laughter. “You’ve been hanging around her too much, that sounds like something she would say.” I’m holding back my own laughter as I say it.

  She snickers and stands. “I’ll run up and check.”

  “You think Teller’s lying?”

  “No, I guess not.”

  “Should take her about an hour to get here. I’ll ream her out then.”

  She shakes her head goes back to what she was working on. “You better not.”

  After more than an hour goes by, I’m halfway between pissed-off and worried. She just got out of the hospital, what if she runs off the road or something? Stupid, fucking Teller should have driven her home.

  Where the fuck are you?

  Thankfully she answers right away.

  On my way back.

  Twenty-five minutes later, she strolls in.

  “Where the fuck did you go?”

  She drops her gaze to the floor, making me feel like shit for being so sharp. “I, uh, took Heidi out.”

  Great, now I feel even worse. “You didn’t think to tell me? Rock’s gonna have my ass.”

  “I didn’t want to bother you.” Her gaze bounces around the room.

  No, princess, Trinity’s not here to save your butt.

  “I figured I’d be back before you noticed I was gone,” she says with a smile.

  “Teller told me.”

  “That little fucker,” she mutters.

  I gotta laugh at that. “Agreed. But still, not cool, Hope. You took so long getting here from his house you had me worried.”

  Her eyes well up and I remember Rock’s warning too late. Christ, he really is gonna skin me alive.

  “I’m sorry. I stopped by my house to grab a few things.”

  I work my voice into a gentler tone. “Okay. You need to go anywhere else, though, just tell me.”

  “I thin
k I’m done. I’m exhausted.”

  Yeah, she looks pale and I can’t believe she risked driving bratty Heidi around in her condition. “Go get some rest, Cinderella.”

  “Did you properly scold Hope?” Trinity snickers at me when I return to her room.

  “Shut up.”

  I said it with a smile, so she laughs and comes over to hug me. “Poor Wyatt. Responsible for all these pain-in-the-ass females.”

  I love seeing Trinity in a lighter mood. Grinning down at her, I grab a handful of her ass and squeeze. “I’ll show you a pain in the ass.”

  Pink spreads over her cheeks. “I might like that,” she says with a raised eyebrow.

  Wrath’s still staring with an intensity that sends a throb of pleasure through me. What I said off the cuff, I realize is true. But I can’t figure out how to explain what I want.

  There are things in my past I need to talk to him about. He hasn’t pushed me to announce that we’re a couple, but it’s there simmering just below the surface. Every day I feel it getting closer and it’s only a matter of time before he either flips out or gives up on me all together.

  “How are you doing with your book covers? Are you caught up yet?”

  The question surprises me. Wrath has asked me about my work once or twice every day since I came clean with him. At first I thought he was just trying to be nice, but I’m starting to realize he really is interested.

  I don’t know how to handle that.

  “Okay. I’m almost caught up, but I got a few new requests that came in. One of them is super-picky, so I’ve been back and forth with her a bunch of times about what she wants.”

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  Oh. Wow, that’s— “You’re awfully sweet for a Wrecking Ball, you know.”

  His mouth curls up in a sensual smile that makes my panties scream Take me off now!

  “Only to you, baby.”

  “Well, you could let me take some photos of you?”

  A twitch of amusement flickers over his face. “Seriously?”

  “Well…”

  “Anything else?”

  “You can not give me a hard time when I run over to the art center tomorrow for a class.”

  “Trin—”

  “It’s a day class. I promise I’ll be careful.”

  “I’ll come with you.”