The men are furious by the time I’m done. Understandably so. I’d put their families at risk.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper to Deck.
“Nothing to be sorry for Em,” he growls, pressing his forehead to mine. “You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Maestro’s phone rings. He stands but keeps a hand on my shoulder as he takes the call. He listens to whoever is on the other end, and the tenseness eases from his shoulders. “Thanks, Kyle.”
“Girls are okay and are on the way back to the clubhouse,” he tells me. Relief fills me. I’d not have been able to live with myself if something had happened to them.
“Good.” I nod as Maestro sinks back down on his haunches next to me.
“Do you know what he meant, my greatest treasure?”
Shaking my head, I tell them, “The only thing I can think of is his car. He called it his greatest treasure. It was a classic but it was seized along with everything else when they went to prison. I don’t even know where it went.”
Red draws my attention back to him when he asks, “Do you know the details of the vehicle? We can have Hard-Drive do some checking.”
“I’ve got all the details at home, as soon as we’re home, I’ll get them for you.”
“Not until that face is seen to,” Stacey orders. Until then, they’d all been quiet. My eyes flit over to them. My girls. Worry is stark on their faces as they listen to what’s happened to me.
“I agree,” Deck says, standing up and pulling me up with him. Wrapping an arm around my shoulder, “let's get you seen, then we’ll get the paperwork and Maestro can call church while Hard-Drive looks for information.”
“Let me move my groceries to Stacey’s vehicle and you take mine, Dad,” Lizzie says, handing Deck her keys. “I’ll go home with Cash. We’ll get someone to collect your sled.”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he says, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Come on darlin', let's get you to the hospital.”
One thing I can say about the Wraiths when they decide to do something, they don’t waste any time and aren’t shy about calling in favours either. Before I know it, I’m at the hospital being seen, and my cheek is cleaned, bandaged, and I’m sent on my way with firm instructions on what to do if I feel sick or if I think it’s infected. I’ll be back in about twenty-four hours to get the dressing changed anyway. I’m not sure what they think is going to happen in that time. But I don’t argue; I just take the information they’ve given me. I’m exhausted, and all I want to do is curl up in our bed and sleep. I can’t though. I’ve still got to find the paperwork for Maestro, although that won’t be hard. I remember precisely where I put the box with all the paperwork in it.
“You doing okay, Em?” Deck asks, sounding worried as we drive out of town towards the clubhouse, his hand squeezing my thigh gently. Turning my head towards him, my neck muscles protesting, I smile when I see the concerned look in his eyes.
“I’m okay, honey. Pissed-off and sore, but okay. I’m still trying to get my head around what’s happened. Why after all these years? Jared died over ten years ago. That guy’s been waiting all this time just to come and find me? And then he dares to threaten my family?” I growl. I’m annoyed all over again. I may have had a little wobble earlier, but now that I’ve had time to calm down and think about the whole situation, I’m pissed. And ready to draw some blood. How dare he! He threatened my grandchildren.
“I’m glad you’re mad Em. I’d rather you like this than pale and shaky. You scared the life out of me. Just found you, don’t want to lose you.”
My heart, this man! I’m not sure what good fortune put us in each other’s paths, but I’m forever grateful for being given this chance.
“Don’t want to lose you either, Deck.” Curling my fingers around the hand on my thigh, I lift it to my lips and press a kiss to the scarred knuckles before continuing, “I’m a tough old bird. Not much gets me down. I was just taken by surprise, that's all. Get me home and I’ll give you those papers. Let’s see if we can find that car and this idiot. We have enough going on in our lives without the added stress caused by him.”
“Sounds like we have a plan, darlin’,” Deck agrees as we drive through the club gates towards our home. He waves at the prospect on the gate. I’ve never been so happy to see our home. It’s hard to believe that a few hours ago I’d woken up happy after a night with my Old Man, only for the whole day to be derailed. Fucking dickhead!
“I’ll come help you down Em. Don’t move,” Deck orders as he gets out and rounds the front of Lizzie’s vehicle. His brow is furrowed, and I know he’s still angry. That angry gaze softens as soon as he’s at my door helping me down. “Let’s get you inside, you can give me the information, take a pain pill and relax in our bed.”
“Sounds like bliss,” I agree, stepping into the house. I go straight to our bedroom and the built-in wardrobe. Finding the box I need, I riffle through until I find the folder with Jared’s stuff and hand it to Deck. “There you go, honey. That’s all his stuff. Hopefully it will help.”
Deck takes the folder from me and puts it on our dresser. “Thank you, darlin’. Let’s get you out of those clothes and into bed.”
Gripping the hem of my T-shirt, he eases it over my head, making sure not to bump my cheek. He removes my bra and slips one of his flannels over my shoulders, buttoning it closed before he moves onto my jeans and shoes.
Pulling back the covers, he helps me in and covers me up. “I’m going to get your pain pill and some water,” he tells me.
“Okay,” I agree with a yawn as the morning catches up with me. I’m dozing when he comes back in but take the tablets and drink some water. It doesn’t take me long to fall asleep knowing I’m safe within the clubhouse grounds. I know when I wake up they’ll have made a plan. I have no doubt about that at all.
CHAPTER 8
RED
I’m fucking angry. So angry I’m shaking.
