“You okay, baby?” Nightmare asks, rushing over to me, pulling me into his arms.
“I'm okay,” I assure him as his eyes scan my body, checking for injuries. “Other than some cuts, bruises, and a hard hit to the temple, I’m holding up.”
“You probably have a concussion,” he says, glaring daggers at Fury. He quickly unties me, and I waste no time freeing Ember. Blood seeps into her jeans from the gash where the glass hit, and now every second counts. Her hands shake as they move to her belly, and she winces, trying to shift positions. There’s nothing I can do to ease her pain and I realize with my confession, I’ve only added to it. Tears spill down my cheeks as I watch the confusion in her eyes, the uncertainty of who to trust, or where to go from here. I can see the questions swirling in her gaze, and it breaks my heart.
“Malcolm? What are you doing here?” Ember asks, her eyes full of questions as she stares at my fiancé.
With guilt flickering in his eyes, he cautiously replies, “hey, Emberlynne.”
THIRTEEN
EMBERLYNNE
The fogin my brain clouds everything, making me question what’s real and what isn’t. Exhaustion seeps into my bones, draining what little strength I have left. A strange, unsettling feeling churns in my stomach as I stare at my husband’s best man from our wedding, wearing an MC kutte and calling Londyn, baby. I need answers, but before I can press for an explanation, an intense pain rips through my stomach, causing me to cry out.
“Ember, please, we have to get you to the hospital!” Londyn pleads, her voice shaking with fear as she rushes to my side, reaching to help me off the bed.
“Don’t touch me!” I snap, my voice strained, yet sharp. Gritting my teeth, I edge closer to the side of the bed, refusing to look at her. I know I’ll see anguish, regret, and maybe even love in her eyes, but right now, I need my anger. It’s the only thing that keeps me from completely falling apart as she tries to help me. I catch a glimpse of Fury standing in the corner, his usual cockiness gone, reduced to cowering like a scared little bitch. After all this chaos, he’s the one shrinking back into a corner.The tension in the room is suffocating, and I need to get out of here.
Beads of sweat break out across my skin as my breathing grows shallow, but I’m still desperate for the answers I more than likely won’t get. With the last ounce of strength I have, I plant my feet on the floor and grip the nightstand, slowly pulling myself up. My legs shake, barely able to support me and I double over, gasping for air.
The room spins, walls closing in, as darkness creeps at the edges of my vision. My knees buckle beneath me, but when Londyn steps forward again, I jerk away, swaying on my feet. Call it pride, call me insane, or call it something else, but in this moment, the sting of betrayal is stronger than the physical pain I’m feeling. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful for the rescue but with this pain colliding with my confusion, I don’t know who I can trust.
The effort of trying to do this on my own sends a wave of nausea through me. Malcolm rushes over and the small bit of strength I had left vanishes. My legs finally give out, but he’s there, catching me before I hit the floor. Scooping me into his arms, he rushes outside, yelling commands at someone, though I can’t make out who. I’m placed inside a vehicle, Londyn scrambling in beside me. She clings to me, pleading for me to stay with her. But I don’t want to. It’s all too much; the lies, the pain, the betrayal, and the unbearable thought of losing my baby. I try to picture Silas, devastated if I don’t make it, but even that isn’t enough for me to hold on.
I surrender to the exhaustion, letting the darkness pull me under as everything fades to black.
FOURTEEN
MAVERICK
We’re so close,yet so far. Traffic slowed us down and there’s cops everywhere. We’ve just made it past the SWATS when my earpiece indicates I have an incoming call. There’s a rest area coming up in two miles, so I answer and immediately tell the person on the other end to hold on. My heart’s been racing, trying my best to get to Ember, but when I hear Nightmare’s panicked voice, dread sinks in.
“Change of plans,” he says, his voice tense and urgent. “There’s a hospital called Ascension St. Vincent’s right off of Interstate 20. Meet us there. Ember’s been hurt and it doesn’t look good.”
For a split second, everything around me blurs, and I can barely hear the rest of what he’s saying. Hurt? Ember’s hurt. A cold, twisting fear grips my gut as the thought of losing her slams into me, sending a sharp pain straight through my heart.
“On my way!” I relay, as I pull up the hospital on my phone. It’s about forty-five minutes from where we are. We’re back on the road in record time. Twisting the throttle, I gun it down the highway, every second ticking by like a knife in my chest. Hellhound, Demolition, and Avalanche easily keep up as I pushmy bike to the brink, cops be damned! The only thing on my mind is getting to my wife, but I’m going to rip Fury’s ass to shreds for daring to lay a hand on what’s mine and thinking he could get away with it. Steel is taking him back to the compound and locking him in the basement.
He’ll be wishing for death before I’m done with him. The only thing that matters now is getting to Ember. Time drags painfully slow, but we finally pull up to the hospital, quickly parking and heading toward the building. Nightmare is waiting by the emergency entrance, his posture tense.
“She’s in surgery,” he says, voice grim, his face betraying nothing. My chest tightens, the reality hitting me harder than I expected. No matter how strong or ruthless I am, Ember being hurt, or maybe worse, has brought me to my knees in a way I’ve never known. The love I have for this woman goes beyond my heart and if I lose her… the mere thought causes a mixture of emotions that cripple me.
“How bad is it?” I ask, barely able to get the words out.
“We don’t know yet. The doctors are doing everything they can,” Nightmare replies.
“Everything they can.” Those words echo in my head like a fucking death sentence. I could lose her.
“Come on, let’s get you upstairs so we can get an update. They wouldn’t tell us much since we’re not family, but I told them I’d bring you as soon as you arrived,” Nightmare says, leading me inside.
Following quickly behind him, I silently pray that Ember pulls through so I can see her beautiful face again. The elevator ride feels suffocating, and the smell of antiseptic and disinfectant hits me hard as we step out, that cold, impersonal scent of hospitals I’ve always hated. It’s the stench of sickness, injury, and death. Lone Wolf, Turbo, and Vandal are seated inthe waiting room across from the nurses station, their faces lined with worry.
Londyn stands near the double doors leading to the surgical unit. She has a small bandage at her temple and a few on her arms, but she appears to be okay. Her clothes smeared with blood. My stomach drops at the sight. As she approaches, I freeze. Nightmare grips my shoulders, steadying me.
“I’m so sorry I let you down, Mav,” she sobs, burrowing into my chest, her tears wetting my shirt. Returning her embrace, I know in my heart that she did everything she could to protect Ember. This is in no way her fault and I need to make sure she knows that.
“You didn’t let me down, Mystique,” I assure her, using her road name to show that everything’s solid with us. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the screen above the surgical doors flash with Ember’s name: Bouvier – Procedure Near Completion. A small flicker of hope rises in me. Does that mean she’s going to be okay? If there were complications, would it say something else? So many questions and no one to answer them puts me on edge, but I need to keep my shit together. Then the display changes:Procedure Complete.
