Chelsea (The Club Girl Diaries Book 2) (29 page)

I ignored the pounding footsteps I could hear over my head. Men were yelling, informing us that the police had indeed arrived.

I scooped Chelsea into my arms, actually feeling relief when a painful whimper left her lips.

“She’s alive,” I told my brothers as I took off running up the staircase.

The scene that met me at the top didn’t surprise me. There was SWAT filling the hallway, loaded guns pointed directly at me.

“You bring an ambulance with you?” I questioned loudly. They looked at each other, I couldn’t see their faces, but I knew they were confused.

“Put Chelsea down, Optimus, and step away.” Deacon pushed his way through the crowd of men. He was decked out in full vest, clothing and crap that read DEA.

“Get me a fucking ambulance or she’s going to fucking die, and you know what,” I sneered. “I will hold you personally responsible.”

He stepped closer, lifting his dark glasses and gazing down at Chelsea who hung limp in my arms. “Who did this to her?”

“The same fucker who killed her parents, now get the fuck out of my way.”

I watched as he searched my face, maybe looking for some indication that I was lying. I was about to tear him a new asshole before he spun around and yelled at the men who filled the small hall.
“Move.”
They all stepped aside and he gestured with his head for me to follow as he ran for the door. I didn’t hesitate, readjusting my grip on her small body and dashing out after him. I looked around for an ambulance or medic, but the street was just filled with SWAT vehicles and cop cars.

“She needs a fucking hospital,” I yelled after him.

He pulled open the door of a large black car with tinted windows. “Get in! It will be faster if I just drive.”

I growled deep in my throat, not happy with leaving my men here to fend for themselves. But I had to have faith in them and I knew they wouldn’t want me to waste time and risk Chelsea not making it. I threw myself into the back of the car, pulling the door closed just in time as he sped away from the curb, lights, sirens and all.

The hospital wasn’t far, maybe five minutes if we had a good run. I just hoped she could hold on for that long.

I brushed my knuckles along the side of her face. “Come on, Blackbird. Fight it. Stay with me.” I felt myself choking up but forced it back down. I wouldn’t be weak. I would be strong for her. “What’s going to happen to my boys?” I asked, trying to keep my focus.

His eyes caught mine in the rear-view mirror. “Depends what was going on in that basement.”

“Marco DePalma, he’s been behind all of this shit.”

“The brother?” he asked, apparently surprised.

I nodded, not even sure if he was still looking at me. We were thrown side to side as he swerved through traffic and ran red lights.

“We didn’t kill Chelsea’s parents.” I didn’t care if he didn’t believe me. If he had any proof, someone would have been arrested fucking years ago. “What’s going to happen to my boys?” I repeated, sterner this time.

“If everyone who comes out of that place is alive—nothing.”

I nodded, hoping in my mind that Blizzard hadn’t lost the plot and killed Marco. I could see the pain in his eyes. He felt betrayed. He’d finally let himself feel something for a woman and she’d turned out to be the enemy.

It wasn’t going to be easy to pull him back from this one.

Not this time.

We finally pulled up to the front doors of the emergency room. There were doctors there waiting with a stretcher.

“My boys would have called ahead.” I threw myself out and Chelsea was quickly pulled from my grasp. I wanted to hold her, be with her. I had to fight with myself not to yell and scream at them.

This was their job.

Let them do it.

I chased after them as they flew through the doors, rushing Chelsea down a long corridor.

“I don’t have a pulse!” One of the doctors yelled.

“No!” I screamed, about to launch myself at them but two arms wrapped around my chest and held me back. I fought to get to her as they rushed her away.

“Let them do their job,” Deacon yelled in my ear. “You can’t do anything now, just let them do their job.”

I pushed his arms off me, breathing hard as I spun around to face him. He stared me down, not many men would have the balls to do that, but he did. My respect for him raised a little. I pushed past him, slamming my fist into the wall as I passed back through the doors into the waiting room. Parents ushered their kids away from me and men and women made space as I paced. Deacon followed me, dropping into a chair and ripping his cap off his head.

“This is fucked up,” he muttered.

I ignored him, I didn’t have time to think about what the hell he was feeling. It didn’t matter to me. Chelsea was mine, I was meant to protect her and I had let her fucking down.

Deacon pulled his phone from his pocket, dialing a number and holding it to his ear.

“Yeah,” he said, scrubbing his head. “No pulse, they’re working on her now.” His head bobbed as he listened to the person on the other line.

“Alive? Yeah...” He looked up at me. “Wasn’t them. Get them in for questioning and let them go.” He talked for a little bit longer before hanging up. His body was tense and he held his head in his hands.

“What going to happen to Rose?” I asked, curious. I knew even though she had shit on the club and on Chelsea, that my girl would still defend her. She’d been manipulated and lied to by her own father. She had some serious shit going on in her head, shit that would need a long time in therapy to sort out. But she’d get there. I wanted to strangle her, yell and fucking scream for putting Chelsea in this position, but she was just a pawn in a bigger game of chess.

“She’ll be questioned. Find out what her involvement was.” He shrugged. “There something I need to know?”

“Her daddy was a fucking asshole.”

He nodded. “Noted.”

Time seemed to slow. I finally got tired of walking the length of the small room and dropped myself into a chair. My leg bounced nervously and I couldn’t keep my hands still. It was hard for me to tell myself that she could make it out of this alive. Even I knew the prognosis was dim at best. My chest ached and I wanted to be sick.

She deserved more than this. She wanted to be something. She had dreams and aspirations, and she was determined to make something of herself despite the constant disappointments and heartache that her life had handed her. Me included.

How would I live when she was the air that I breathed? The thought of being without her made me feel like I was suffocating.

The doors that led to the corridor where they’d taken her opened and I was on my feet instantly. The doctors eyes found mine and I could see in his eyes that it wasn’t good. I felt like I was floating as my body moved forward.

This wasn’t it.

I would know, I would know if she was gone.

He tucked his clipboard under his arm and took a deep breath. “She had a broken rib and a collapsed lung. She flat lined more than once and we managed to bring her back, but she’s been rushed into surgery. We can hope for the best, there’s a chance she’ll make it out. But the reality is, she’s been without oxygen for a while. How that’s affected her brain we aren’t sure.”

Everything started spinning. “She…she might be brain dead?”

His lips pursed. “There is a possibility, yes. Best case, her brain is affected and she may have some memory loss or need physical therapy if it has affected her ability to move her body.”

I tried to nod but everything was turning and my body felt off kilter. My legs gave way, but I didn’t hit the ground, someone caught and dragged me to a seat. I was struggling to breathe and I heard the doctor ask if they needed to step in.

“He’s okay. It’s fine.” I heard Harmony’s voice and she appeared kneeling on the floor in front of me. “Big bad bikers don’t pass out, Op. I’m sure that’s written in the bylaws somewhere.” She tried to smile, but I could see the sadness in her eyes. She’d heard it all.

“Yeah, man. You’ll ruin our rep,” I heard Kit joke. His hand gripped my shoulder and he squeezed.

“She could be brain dead,” I choked.

“Doctor said she’ll be in surgery for at least a couple hours,” Harmony said, her hand on my leg.

“Optimus.” I looked up. Deacon stood behind Harmony, his cap back on his head and a hard expression on his face. “I’m going to need you to come down and make a statement and also pick up your boys.”

“Yeah,” I growled. I eyed Harmony and Kit.

She reached out to touch her Old Man’s arm. “Go with him. I’ll wait for news on Chelsea.”

He drew her close and pressed his lips to hers. I had to look away, the pain in my chest beginning to elevate.

I stood up and my eyes met with Deacon. We may be on different sides, but we had one thing in common that brought us together—we wanted revenge for Chelsea.

“I’ll find a way to give you your shot at Marco. But you can’t kill him,” he said as we walked out the doors.

There were a few bikes lined up outside—Kit’s men. They dipped their heads and I acknowledged their show of support. I cleared my throat, these may not have been my boys, but they were my brothers and having them at my back filled me with strength.

“No, but I’m gonna make him wish he was dead.”

Beep.

Argh, that noise.

Beep.

Stop it, God damn. Somebody turn it off!

Beep.

My eyes were heavy and my mouth felt like it was filled with cotton balls. I stuck my tongue out, trying to get rid of the foul taste on my tongue.

I gagged.

Why wouldn’t it go away? I needed a drink. Suddenly craving water.

“Chelsea?” The voice sounded familiar. They were important. My mind was alert. I wanted to open my eyes, I wanted to see them. “Chelsea it’s okay. I’m going to call the doctor.”

Harmony, it was Harmony.

I tried to say her name, but my mouth wouldn’t form the sound.

I fought against the weight that hung on my eyelids, keeping them closed.

Light slowly shone in and I blinked furiously, trying to adjust to the glare. Everything was so white but it was all blurry, I could only make out shapes.

“Ha…” I tried for Harmony’s name again, but it just wouldn’t come.

Why couldn’t I say it?
What was wrong with my mouth?

I felt a soft hand on my forehead and I could make out a face above me. “Shh. It’s okay, the doctor’s coming.”

Doc was here? Why was Doc here? Did I get hurt?

The blur began to clear and I could finally make out Harmony’s features as she stood above me. Mascara streaked her cheeks from fresh tears. I wanted to ask why she was crying, but no matter how hard I tried I just couldn’t.

A man appeared next to Harmony, he was wearing a white coat and had a stethoscope hanging loosely around his neck.

That wasn’t Doc.

“Hi Chelsea, welcome back.” He smiled down at me.

Where had I been?

“Don’t worry, don’t try to talk. I’m just going to check a few things. I want you to follow the light with your eyes.” He held a small light up. I cringed away from it at first but slowly was able to watch it as he moved it back and forth. “That’s great, really great.”

I turned my head, Harmony stood just behind him, her face lit up as she held a phone to her ear.

“I…” I attempted again to speak, but it was just noise. I could hear it and it didn’t make sense. “Ha…”

The doctor cleared his throat and drew my attention back to him. “Just give it time, I know it’s hard right now, but it should come back to you eventually.”

“What do you mean?” Harmony asked, pushing in beside me and placing her hand back on my head. It felt good.

“Her brain has been severely affected. It seems she’s struggling a little with her speech which could mean there’s some damage there,” he explained, making notes on his clipboard. “I’m going to do a few more tests if that’s okay? I just want you to nod or shake your head when I ask you a question.”

I nodded and he smiled.

He went through the motions, testing the feeling in my arms, legs and feet. I struggled to move some things, but he said the little movement I had was promising. He asked me about people’s names and whether I remembered how I had got there.

I didn’t. As much as I racked my brain I just couldn’t remember.

After a few minutes, he told me he’d come back later and see if things had improved.

Harmony pulled a chair up next to my bed and took my hand in hers, I squeezed it and she smiled. “Op will be here soon. He had to be at church this morning. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have left.”

Optimus.

Yes, Optimus. I needed him.

I sniffled, feeling tears well in my eyes.

“We were so worried, Chel.” Her expression reflected that of my own. “They said you might not come out, that you’d been deprived of oxygen for too long.”

I didn’t know what had happened, but apparently I was lucky to be alive.

“Ha-happ-ened.” It took me a moment, but I finally managed to force the word out. It was hard and both my body and mind were becoming quickly exhausted.

She looked at me with sad eyes. “Rose. She was one of them. She took you to her dad, Marco DePalma. He hurt you.”

I shook my head. No. Rose was my friend. I remember taking her to the hospital because her dad had hurt her.

Blizzard was there. I could see them standing outside.

“I’m sorry, honey. I know you tried to help her, but she was behind it all. Your car, the gym.”

It hurt to breathe, but the pain was nothing compared to the stabbing in my heart. She had been my friend.

“Shh,” Harmony soothed, sensing my distress. “It doesn’t matter right now.”

The door to the room flew open and I jumped. A sharp pain shot through my torso and I cried out, squeezing my eyes shut tightly and trying to breathe.

I felt his hands on my face, one on each side. He tickled my nose as he touched it with his and the smell of leather hit my senses.

This was something I remembered.

I remembered him, his touch, his smell, his aura. It all filled my body, making me feel warm.

“Thought I’d fucking lost you.” The pain in his voice sent shivers through me, and I pushed my head up. My stomach ached, but I needed him, I needed to make the both of us feel relief.

I touched my lips to his. They were soft against mine which were course and chapped. He used his hands to support my head as we kissed. It was light, almost just a brush, but it was everything, everything we both needed right then and there.

I wasn’t sure what had happened to put me here, but I knew that Optimus had been through hell because of it and I hated that. I wanted to reassure him and right now, without my speech, this was the only way I was able to do that.

I could feel the tension leave his body. He pulled back. “Thought I had lost you,” he whispered again, agony and emotion thick in his words. He lowered me back on the pillow.

I opened my eyes again. I didn’t have to see him to make me feel better, just feeling him there was enough. But I was greedy. When my eyes finally focused, I realized he was just how I remembered. A gentle smile on his face. He used his thumbs to brush away the wetness on my cheeks. We stared at each other even as Harmony explained what the doctor had just told us. His face looked pained as she explained about my speech and limited movement.

“I…I…m ok...ay.”

He softened. “Yeah, Blackbird. You are.”

The doctor came in a few hours later, his eyes a little wider this time as he took in the room filled with Brothers by Blood members. He carried out the tests again, all as Optimus stood at my side and held my hand. He also checked the wound in my side where a chest tube had been placed to repair my lung.

“Things are looking better. You’re going to have to put in some work to get your movement and speech back to where it was, and your memory will probably be hazy for a while, but I can see you have a large amount of support behind you.” He looked around the room and smiled. “So I have complete faith.”

Optimus shook his hand as he left the room and I felt a collective sigh of relief from everyone. I had a long road ahead, but I was going to make it.

I smiled up at Optimus. “Lo-love y-you.”

He looked taken aback for a moment and my heart skipped a beat. Maybe I was wrong. I could remember Op and I making up after the attack on the gym, but the details were still fuzzy in my mind.

His hand reached up and gripped at his chest, over his heart. “Fuck baby. Never thought I’d ever hear you say those words again.” He crouched at the side of my bed and placed my palm against his cheek. “Fucking love you. So fucking much.”

My heart swelled and in that moment I knew everything would be okay. I looked around the room, the boys all grinned and Harmony let out a sigh despite her smile. Kit wrapped his arms around her and tucked his face in her neck.

Shit was about to get hard. There would be therapy and doctor’s visits and no doubt tears and a whole lot of
fuck this.

But I had Optimus. And I had the Brothers.

This was my home. I knew this was what fate had in store for me. I may have lost my parents, but I’d gained a whole damn family.

“Well,” Slider announced loudly. “Optimus and Kit have handed their balls over. Who’s next?”

I curled my hand into a fist and pushed up my middle finger.

Laughter filled the small space.

Harmony’s eyes met mine. “And…she’s back.”