Dad approached, his fingers working as he did grabby hands. “I’ll take our boy,” he offered. “He doesn’t wanna be stuck in a hospital room when Grandpa could take him for a walk down the river to see the boats.”
I lowered my mouth to my son’s fuzzy head and kissed him, inhaling his sweet baby scent before handing him over to Dad.
Pop let out a littlewhoopand turned to mosey on up the corridor, following the other men as they all headed for reception.
“You think I’m ever gonna get to spend an hour with my boy before that ornery old bastard comes and kidnaps him?” I asked my woman.
“Probably not, but I love that JT has that, so I’m not complaining.” Anna’s hand slid across my chest, and she stepped in front of me, her hands snaking around my nape. She looked up at me with soft eyes and parted lips, and I knew I’d never seen anything more beautiful, and I never would.
“Love you, Freckles,” I murmured.
She went up on the balls of her feet and touched her mouth to mine. “Love you, Jamie.”
“Worried about my brother,” I rasped. “He’s got a gaping fucking hole in his chest and a heart that keeps giving up on him. I’ve lost men before; lost buddies, brothers, but this one’s hitting hard ‘cause it’s Iceman. He’s at the heart of what we do here, baby. He’s the one who stood by me through all my bullshit, through Ace’s betrayal, through the dark times, and then he helped pull me out of the storm. Where would I be without him? What would I do...?”
“Jamie,” she whispered, her nails scratching into the back of my skull. “Iceman’s been at death’s door for days.”
My heart jerked.
Anna smiled. “But he hasn’t walked through it. What does that tell you?”
“He’s fighting,” I rumbled.
“Yeah, he’s fighting,” she agreed. “But he’s also not giving up. There’s a difference.”
For the first time in days, I felt my shoulders relax slightly. “What if he never wakes up?”
“Really?” my woman drawled. “He’s all up in our business any other time. That nosy ass won’t want to miss out on much more. He’s probably bored out of his mind and itching to cause some trouble.”
I reared my head back and chuckled—something else I hadn’t done in days—then I pressed my forehead against my ol’ lady’s and told her, “I love you.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
SAINT
Bones had started to reduce Jacob’s medication the night before. He was still being given some strong pain relief, which I was glad of, seeing as they’d only recently sewn his chest back up, but the meds he was filled with shouldn’t have stopped him from opening his eyes.
So, now it was a waiting game.
Hendrix had cleared the waiting area, so the only people around were Kathy and Doug, Hendrix and Anna, Diablo, and, of course, Bones. Freya had a shift at the hospital, so she couldn’t be there, and the Wyoming chapter had gone home the day before.
The only time I’d left Jacob’s side was to shower, which was awkward because I couldn’t get my bandages wet. Plus, it was hard to wash my hair when I couldn’t lift one arm, so I needed help.
Cue Talia.
My friend had been amazing throughout the ordeal. She’d dealt with the record label, the press, and even the cops. Sam’s dad had threatened legal action against Diablo and was using his connections to put pressure on the local PD to prosecute. It was a joke how he was so concerned about his son now he was dead,but never gave a shit when Sam was alive. We’d talked before about how Sam was paraded as an accessory and then expected to keep his mouth shut and stay out of his dad’s way behind the scenes.
Boomer even told us about a conversation he had with Sam the year before.
They were drunk when Sam confessed that he’d been groomed by his dad’s second wife. The woman seduced him and took his virginity when he was fourteen years old, and they subsequently carried on an affair. Eventually, Sam’s dad found out, but instead of doing the right thing and prosecuting her and getting Sam some counseling, he used it as an excuse to divorce her and blackmail her into relinquishing her rights to alimony.
It worked out perfectly for him because he’d already met wife number three, so it paved the way for him to get rid of the woman he was with, and do it cheaply, too.
It was no wonder Sam lost his mind; he’d been sexually abused and neglected emotionally all his life. He obviously had major hang ups and abandonment issues and lost his shit. Don’t get me wrong, it was no excuse for shooting people, but I got how he ended up in that place mentally, even if I didn’t agree with his actions.
After an afternoon on the phone and a lot of shouting and foot stomping, Talia triumphantly told D he had nothing to worry about. She’d threatened Sam’s dad with going public with all his bullshit and the asshole backed down immediately.
God forbid his adoring fans saw him for who he was.
