This was something that started over twenty years ago for him, he’d waited this long to get his revenge on the woman who took his wife from him. How could I begrudge him getting that any way he had to, even if it meant people had to die? Even if he did have to face me and Warren and fully explain why he lied.
Now I really knew the girl I’d been back in North Carolina was gone. The thought of all this would have horrified me before. The woman I was always meant to be was lying here with the man she’d never stopped loving.
Hudson rolled me onto my back and stared into my eyes. He didn’t say anything, but I knew he could see I finally accepted who I really was. The daughter of a Devil.
Chapter Eighteen
Leaving Wave sleeping, I scribbled out a note and left it on the pillow, then dressed quietly and went back to the hospital. The nurses told me Connor had a bad night, he had started a fever which they were concerned about. After talking to Dr Parker again, he assured me it was under control but there were to be no visitors until they got his temperature down.
They had allowed me to stand outside of his room and look at him, sleeping in the bed. Part of me was pissed I didn’t get a chance to confront him about what he did to War, but another, bigger part was sad I still hadn’t managed to actually talk to my friend.
I hated hospitals with a passion. Other than the first time Connor was hurt, I hadn’t been in one since my dad killed someone while driving drunk, but I would have liked reassurance, in person, that he was okay.
I asked Dr Parker to call me as soon as he knew anything and checked in with the others who remained at the hospital. Rosa had gone home in a car with Goldie, but Widow was still here with the girls and Shady had appeared at some point.
When I got back to the hotel, Waverley was dressed and ready to go and I told her what happened with Connor. She wanted to stay butthere was nothing either of us could do, so we headed out to the car and set off for Sussex.
When we got back to the compound, I took her up to my room and left her to sort her stuff out and change. She was going to be here for a while. I wasn’t overly happy about her staying in the clubhouse, but I wouldn’t let her be anywhere other than by my side.
Downstairs, I checked in with one of the brothers about the progress at the construction site where he had been working. My place was decorated, floors laid and all the doors and windows in place, it just needed furnishing. I didn’t let myself think about moving her in there. It scared me shitless, but fuck knew how she’d take it, I didn’t want to shake anything else up right now.
I headed over to where Hammer sat near the pool table, reading the newspaper. He was old school like that. Everyone was fully aware there was a Kingsmen on the compound. I wasn’t sure how most of the guys reacted once War made his declaration and we left for the hospital.
“How have things been around here?” I asked.
“If you’re asking me whether that asshole got what he deserved, then no. He’s holed up at King’s place,” he said, his jaw tight. King had a small cabin a little way from The Shed.
“You wanna go against your President and VP?”
Hammer scowled but heaved out a sigh of resignation. King no doubt hadn’t explained the story to everyone, so they had no way of knowing why he was being lenient. “Who’s with him?” I’d not expected that would be where they stashed Mace, but if Hammer’s reaction was anything to go by, it was best he was out of the way.
“Handlebar and Raptor are watching over him. King warned us all to stay away, can’t say a lot of us are happy about that.”
“What he says goes,” I repeated, my eyes narrowing.
I didn’t like Mace, or the fact he was here, but there was no doubting what he did for Wave, and, the club. I wasn’t sure what we would have done to retaliate if anything happened to her, but it wouldn’t have been pretty. In fact, the Sheriff and his deputies would have found themselves in the middle of a complete shit storm.
“He may not be an ally but right now, he’s not an enemy either,” I pointed out.
Hammer just glared at me, but he went back to his paper without arguing.
“What is happening with the guys up at the warehouse?” I got his attention again. That was really where my job lay, dealing with those guys along with Ballistic, but our Enforcer had left me alone for the most part, knowing I needed to be with War and Wave.
“We’re still holding them. Dirt held us off doing any real damage.”
This time he got up and walked away. I caught Casper’s eye. For once, he wasn’t behind the bar, he was talking with a club girl, I didn’t recognize her but life went on and nothing at the club changed, women still wanted to come up here and be a part of this world. I thought about telling her to get as far away from us as possible, but Casper had his arm hooked around her neck as he eyed me. I just nodded to him and headed towards the back of the clubhouse.
It made sense, holding off on harming the guys at the warehouse had to do with what Mace said about some Kingsmen not wanting to follow Nytro’s rule. How they figured out who was who I wasn’t sure. I didn’t know what King discussed with Mace while we were gone. Him being closeted away at King’s place did tell me something though, Mace must be cooperating.
I couldn’t be disgusted in that. If he turned on his club, it was to our benefit. His loyalty wasn’t in question as far as I was concerned. His club was full of bastards, none more than their piece of shit President. Most of whom were now trying to kill him for doing the right thing. If he was using us for protection from them, or just cooperating didn’t make any difference to me anymore.
King and Dirt were alone in the office talking but waved me inside.
“How’s Stitch?”
“Still some complications,” I went on to explain about the fever. “But he seems to be doing okay.”
“And Waverley?”
