Shade stepped back, moving away from both Viper and Razer who stood watching, like her, as Shade fought for control. Running a shaking hand over his short-cropped hair, he finally managed to regain control over himself before turning back to his brothers, catching sight of Sex Piston.
The sudden blaring over the intercom calling a code had his eyes going wild again. Sex Piston took a step forward before he could lose it again, grabbing him by the front of his shirt.
“You need to get your shit under control,” she said between gritted teeth. “Beth will come in that door any minute.” Her eyes swept to the side, seeing Razer’s confirming nod. “Lily will not be happy to have her sister upset any more than she already is. So calm your ass down.” Sex Piston saw that her words were getting through to the hardass biker.
“I see what you see in her. She comes across as this frail as shit wimp until you look in her eyes. She’s strong, Shade. Strong enough to survive whatever hell that’s been given to her. She will pull out of this. She will never forgive you if you hurt anyone she cares about.”
“You can’t be sure she’ll be all right!” he said harshly as several hospital staff ran into the room Lily was in.
“Yes, I do.” She lifted her shirt from the hem, baring her tattoos to his gaze. Her finger touched the two butterfly tats, drawing his gaze to her side. “I was stabbed twice when I was in the seventh grade, Shade. I coded twice. I’m standing before you now, telling you that beautiful girl is not going to die.” No doubt was in her gaze.
Shade calmed as he leaned back against the wall for support. Sex Piston gave him a sharp nod. “You cool now?”
“Yeah, I’m cool,” Shade said, his eyes on the doorway, but he made no more attempts to go inside.
Sex Piston went to Stud, feeling his strength when his arm slid around her shoulders. He pulled her to his side, and Sex Piston shuddered against him, having relived the traumatic experience of her youth. He buried his face in the curve of her neck, letting his warmth sink in to her flesh, warming her.
The sliding doors opened again, and Killyama, Crazy Bitch and T.A. came in, worried about Fat Louise and Lily.
“We don’t know anything yet,” Sex Piston explained before they could ask. “Did you call her mother?”
“Yes, she said to call her when we know something.” Disgust for Fat Louise’s mother was not new to them. They all looked at the doorway as Beth and The Last Rider’s women and brothers came into the waiting room. Diamond and Knox, wearing a deputy outfit, surprised her.
Beth went directly to Razer. “How is she?”
Sex Piston couldn’t hear his answer, but she saw the effect of it on her friend. Beth crumpled, almost falling to the floor before she was caught against her husband and held tight against his body. Sex Piston heard the cries of the women and wanted to join them, only her iron control held it back. She couldn’t bear the thought of crying in front of other women.
It was two hours later before a tired doctor came out to talk to them.
“Lily is going to be okay, but it was close. She had an epidural hematoma. We relieved the pressure and she’s stable for now. If she had been a minute further away from the hospital, she wouldn’t have made it.” The doctor ran a hand over his face, exhaustion apparent. “Her hand is broken in two places. We’ve stabilized the hand for now and we’ll put a cast on it in the morning.” His words let everyone know she was still in critical condition.
“How about Fa—” Crazy Bitch cleared her throat. “What about Louise?”
“She’s in surgery to remove the bullet, but it did little damage.” The doctor turned to go back into the room. “Only two family members can go into see Miss Cornett before she’s moved to the ICU. Make it quick. She isn’t conscious, but I’m sure you’re anxious to see her.” The Doctor went back into the emergency room.
Beth went to the door the doctor had already gone through, opening it before turning back. Tears rolling down her cheeks, she held out her hand toward Shade. Sex Piston sucked in a startled breath as he took a step forward, taking her hand. They went into the E.R. together, the door closing behind them, leaving a stunned silence behind them.
“I guess she figured it out,” Winter said, smiling at her husband.
“I don’t know whether to be relieved or worried,” Viper replied, smiling back at Winter before looking at Razer who gave a shrug in answer.
“They’re both going to be okay,” Sex Piston said in relief. She glanced around the room. “How did you get rid of the security guards?”
It didn’t take Stud a second to answer—without any conscience—that he had bribed them with cash and women. “Five hundred apiece, and I told them they could come by the clubhouse this weekend.”
“What’s going on at the clubhouse this weekend?” she asked, trying to remember if anything special was going on.
“Not a damn thing,” he replied.
Chapter Fifteen
“They’re going to let you out of here tomorrow,” Crazy Bitch said, swiping a chicken leg from the boxed dinner sitting in front of Fat Louise.
“I talked to the doctor; he said I might need to stay a day or two longer,” Fat Louise replied, digging into her Popeye’s chicken dinner for another piece of chicken.
“Why’s that?” Sex Piston asked from the bottom of her bed. She was sitting casually on the bed, watching her friend eat the dinner that Killyama had sneaked in for the third day in a row.
“I told him that I was feeling a sharp pain and he wants to make sure there are no compilations so he’s going to keep me hospitalized.” Fat Louise wiped her greasy fingers on her napkin.
Sex Piston’s lips twitched, her friend was milking her stay for everything she was worth. T.A. had even been sneaking in her favorite birthday cake milkshakes. She also had Killyama bring her favorite meal of year, and Crazy Bitch keeping her constant company. The girl had no intention of getting better soon. If the hot as hell doctor kept visiting her between rounds, Sex Piston was afraid the woman would fake a coma to stay.
“Did you stop in to see Lily before she left?” Fat Louise asked.
“Yes. Unlike you, she was anxious to go home,” Sex Piston said softly. Because Beth and Evie were both skilled nurses, the doctor had been convinced to release her that afternoon, but she would be under the care of a physician for several weeks.
Fat Louise lowered her eyes. “I’d want to leave, too, if I had Beth, Razer and Shade waiting on me to leave.”
“We’re waiting for you to leave,” Sex Piston consoled, her hand going to her friend’s foot, giving it a playful squeeze.
Another shrug was her response. “My mom’s not.”
“I already talked to your mom. I packed your shit up and moved it to my house. You’re going to live with me for a while, if you don’t mind. Now that Joker doesn’t live with me anymore, I get lonely. You can keep me company,” Crazy Bitch said, sitting down on the bed beside her.
“For real?” Fat Louise perked up immediately.
“For real,” Crazy Bitch confirmed with a smile. “Besides, now that you have a job you can pay half the rent which is more than Joker ever did.”
“I can do that,” Fat Louise said in agreement.
Sex Piston stood up and smoothed down the bed sheets. “I’ve got to go. I’m meeting Stud for dinner at his house.”
“Say hi to the girls for me.” Fat Louise waved her off with a drumstick.
Saying goodbye to her friends, Sex Piston walked out of the small hospital. She still felt moments of relief that Lily and Fat Louise had survived when the outcome could have been one or all of them dead. If she had taken the cape off Lily… If Lily hadn’t had her cell phone in her pocket… She was just thankful this time the circumstances were in their favor. Unfortunately, that also meant several more months of Popeye’s.
Sex Piston drove to Stud’s house. Her nerves—she would have sworn she didn’t have—began kicking in, making her nervous about the coming meeting. She was meeting h
is aunt tonight, who was very important to him.
Sex Piston pulled into Stud’s driveway, sucking in a deep breath before she walked to his door.
Before she could knock, the door was opened and Meri stood there, staring up at her with a big smile.
“Hi, Sex Piston.”
“Meri!” an admonishing voice came from the kitchen.
Sex Piston winked at the girl, coming in and shutting the door behind her. She saw Stud’s aunt enter the living room, coming to a stop when she saw Sex Piston.
Her shocked eyes went over her tight leather leggings and oversized sweater that dipped low enough to show the globes of her breasts. Her black leather, studded jacket, and skull rings only added to the image of the classic biker bitch. Stud’s aunt didn’t try to hide her disappointment, her lips tightening in disappointment.
“You must be Stud’s friend, Sex Piston.” Sex Piston could tell the woman was having difficulty getting her name to come out of her mouth.
“You must be Stud’s Aunt Katy,” Sex Piston returned the introduction, holding out her hand with the bright red fingernails and skull ring on.
She could tell the woman was afraid she would catch something if she touched her. Briefly she shook her hand then took a step away, wiping her hand on the side of her apron.
“Stud called and said he was running late. Have a seat while I finish dinner.”
“Can I help? I’m—”
“No. Um, I have it under control. You keep Meri and Keri company. Meri, go get your sister,” she said hurriedly. “I better get back in the kitchen. I don’t want anything to burn.” The woman skedaddled as if she had a porcupine up her ass. Sex Piston sat down on the couch while Meri went in search of her sister.
Movement from Star’s playpen drew Sex Piston’s gaze as Star toddled to the end of the playpen and stood, grasping it while she stared at her as she sucked her thumb.
“Sexy!” she squealed. A revealing smile broke free as Sex Piston stood up to pick up the toddler. Her baby powder smell enveloped her as she held her. Those chubby little arms circled her neck, grasping handfuls of her hair and tugging.
“Whatcha doing, Star? You being a good girl for your aunt?” Sex Piston cooed, going back to take her seat on the couch.
Sitting the girl on her lap, the little girl’s hands went over her leather jacket, playing with the zipper. Sex Piston baby talked with her for several minutes until she saw a movement from the kitchen doorway.
“Dinner’s ready,” Katy said with a smile. “Why don’t you put Star in her highchair and I’ll give you her bowl to feed her?”
“Sounds good,” Sex Piston said, rising with the little girl in her arms.
Going into the kitchen, she put Star in the highchair that was already placed at the table. Sex Piston sat down in the chair next to it, taking the bowl of vegetable soup that Stud’s aunt handed her.
“I already let it cool,” she said in amusement when she saw Sex Piston testing the warmth of the soup.
“Okay.”
Sex Piston was feeding Star her third spoonful when Stud walked in with Meri and Keri by his side.
“I see you’ve met,” Stud said while he and his daughters took their place at the table.
“Yes,” Katy answered, placing bowls of soup in front of each of them. A big plate of cornbread followed with a big plate of club sandwiches.
Katy took her own seat, while Sex Piston continued to feed Star as she ate her own food. When the little girl became restless, Sex Piston handed her a cracker to play with.
“Do you have any children, Sex Piston?” Stud’s aunt asked casually.
“No,” She answered.
“You’re very good with children,” Katy remarked.
“I babysat while I was in high school. I have a lot of cousins who are younger than me.” She shrugged.
“How was school today, girls?” Stud asked, taking another piece of cornbread.
“Good,” Meri said, looking at Sex Piston from underneath her lashes.
“It’s nice of your friend to pick the girls up from school. Now that I’m here with Stud, they can ride the bus. I could pick them up, but I don’t like driving with Star in the car. I get distracted when she gets fussy.”
“It’s no problem. Killyama doesn’t mind,” Sex Piston said, getting up from the table to get paper towels to clean the mess that Star was making with her cracker.
“Kill-ya-ma?” Katy asked with a concerned look.
“She’s great, Aunt Katy. She’s kind of scary, but she’s really nice. She lets us stop on the way home to get an ice cream cone,” Keri said.
“You’re not supposed to tell. She said Aunt Katy might not like us eating ice cream every day,” Meri scolded her sister, concerned she would lose the special treat.
Katy smothered her laughter, her concerned look gone. “Yes, well, it’s not very good for dinner, but I don’t suppose it will hurt if you play for thirty minutes when you both get home instead of watching television.”
Meri and Keri looked glumly at each other while their aunt began to gather the dirty bowls, placing them in the sink.
“I’ll do the dishes,” Sex Piston volunteered.
“That will be a help. I’ll give Star her bath.” Katy carried a fussy Star out of the room.
“We have homework,” Meri said as her and her sister left the kitchen.
“You came earlier than we planned,” Stud stated as he began doing the dishes.
“I finished early at work.”
“You go by the hospital first?”
“Yeah.” Sex Piston wiped down the table then tossed the cloth onto the counter.
“How was Lily?”
“One fucked up mess.” She could still picture Lily’s frozen expression in her mind as she left the hospital surrounded by The Last Riders. Her hand was in a cast that seemed to weigh a ton on the delicate woman.
“Fat Louise?”
“Working it for everything she can. She’s so spoilt she doesn’t want to leave the hospital.” Sex Piston’s expression lightened.
Stud laughed. “You sleeping in her room all night is a little excessive.”
“Fat Louise gets lonely.”
“When would she get lonely with one of you always around.” He placed the dishtowel down on the counter. Sex Piston wiped down the counters while Stud moved the highchair back into the corner.
“You need to find a bigger place now that your aunt has moved in.” Sex Piston watched his reaction from the corner of her eye.
“No need to. My place in West Virginia is big enough for us all,” Stud said, putting the leftover soup into the fridge.
Sex Piston paused after putting the cloth on the counter.
“What are we doing here, Stud?”
Stud looked at her quizzically. “We’re cleaning the kitchen?”
“No.” Beginning to get angry, she pointed first at him then at herself. “Me and you. Where are we going? You said we’re not fuck buddies, yet you intend to go back to West Virginia?”
Stud stared back at her intently until Sex Piston had enough when he remained silent.
“Fuck this.” Spinning around, she was about to leave, but his voice stopped her.
“Sex Piston, I own my home in West Virginia. It’s big enough for all of us. My family and the Blue Horsemen are there, not here.”
“I have my family here, my sisters are here, my business is here. Knox gave up being the biggest horndog in The Last Riders for Diamond and he bought her a fucking island.”
“Why did he buy her an island?” Stud asked in amazement.
“Because she’s afraid of zombies.”
“Zombies?”
“Zombies can’t swim, so he bought her an island,” Sex Piston explained her sister’s logic.
“They can’t?” Stud looked like he was actually debating the issue in his mind.
“How the hell would I know!” Sex Piston yelled. “The point is, he made a change in his life for Diamond.”
Her arms crossed over her chest as she glared at him.
“I’m not buying you a fucking island!” Stud looked at her as if she had lost her mind. The jerk didn’t have a romantic bone in his body.
“I don’t want you to buy me a fucking island!” Sex Piston yelled, angry at herself for trying to find out how Stud felt about her while she couldn’t make up her own mind if she was going to keep him or not.
Katy came rushing into the kitchen. “What in the world is going on in here? The children can hear your language in the other room.”
“I need to go home. See you later, Stud.” Sex Piston rushed from the kitchen, going to the front door. She managed to get into her car before Stud got to the door with Katy by his side. She bit down hard on her lip as she reversed out of the driveway.
Driving in the direction of the hospital, she steeled herself against the turmoil of emotions trying to break free inside of her, determined to hold the hurt and anger at bay. She had learned long ago how to smother any emotions that threatened to break through the guards she had built around her heart.
She had wanted to find out how Stud felt about her and where they were heading before loosening her grip on her heart. It was a good thing she found out now before she had fallen for the asshole. She unconsciously wiped a tear away that had slid down her cheek. The bastard could find another fuck buddy to keep him busy until he went home to West Virginia for all she cared. She told herself this all the way back to the hospital, entering Fat Louise’s room to find her entire crew still there.
They didn’t ask why she was back so soon. Instead, they handed her one of the beers Crazy Bitch had snuck in and then they spent the night watching a zombie movie on Fat Louise’s laptop. When it was over, she was still mad as hell at Stud, but she began to wonder if Diamond had been smoking any of the green Shade was always buying for The Last Riders.
Chapter Sixteen
Stud leaned against the bar at the Destructors’ clubhouse, barely managing to restrain himself from walking across the room and dragging Sex Piston into his room. She had been ignoring him for the past few days, since their argument at his house.