The beeping of the machine intensifies and I feel Doc place his hand on my shoulder, holding me back. Then Nitro is there, the warmth of his hand over mine giving me a little comfort. But it's short lived when I remember the last time I tried to run away. I ended up in hospital, they told the staff that I had been jumped on by a group of girls, told me if I didn't lie that Mason would follow me in there.
"Nova, I need you to calm down, sweetheart, you're going to make yourself sick," Doc tells me, but I can't. How can I when I know what’s coming? They'll have everyone looking for me. I shake my head and begin to sob when Ice walks into the room with Mason.
"Nova," he cries out and runs toward the bed. "What happened? Is she okay, why is she crying?" he begs as he tries to climb up the bed. Ice grabs him and tries to drag him out of the room, but Mason turns around and kicks him in the shin before landing a punch on his stomach. Ice lets go, holding his hands up and looking at me, then Mason. I don't know why, but within seconds he's picked Mason up and placed him on the bed next to me. I wrap my arms around him as he begins to sob. "Nova, what happened? Are they going to send us back?" he asks between sobs.
Chapter Fourteen
We walk back into the room and see her having a fucking meltdown. The kid rips his hand from mine and races toward her. "Nova, what happened? Is she okay, why is she crying?" He starts to panic as he sees her sob, and it fucking breaks my heart. I go to grab him, to get him out of here, she needs space and he doesn’t need to see this, but he kicks me right in the shin, then punches me in my stomach. I think about picking him up and dragging him out, but the look on her face tells me she wouldn’t be able to handle that, so I grab him and lift him onto the bed. They both wrap their arms around one another and he sobs into her chest. "Nova, what happened? Are they going to send us back?" he asks her.
My heart stops. We don't know what the fuck they've been through, but we know they are running form something, she wouldn’t have been on the road in her state if they weren't. Before I have a chance to say anything, Nitro snaps, "No. We're not sending you anywhere. Nobody knows you're here."
I look over to my Prez and raise an eyebrow in question. How the fuck can nobody know they are here when we called an ambulance for them and they were registered when they got here? Granted they were registered as Jane and John Doe, but when we found out their names, they must have been updated on their files.
"What?" she asks him, breathless from the sobbing.
"I told you that we can help you, but only if you are honest with us. You and the kid are no longer registered, we sealed your records last night. We thought it was best when we saw an alert about a young boy and his older sister who hadn't returned home from a day out."
"I don't understand," she tells Prez, she's clearly confused. She pulls her brother in closer to her and bites the inside of her cheek. "Please, just let us get out of here," she begs in a whisper.
"You have a serious concussion; Doc would prefer it if you stayed in here for another day or two where you can be monitored." I watch her shake her head as Nitro continues to talk. "When he's comfortable with you leaving, we'll get you out of here."
"I feel okay," she tells us. We don't believe her, Prez gives her an eyebrow raise, letting her know that we know she's full of shit. "I am. I'm a little sore, sure, but I'm okay to leave. You have to let us leave." Silent tears fall down her face as she pleads with us.
Doc sighs then looks over to Prez. "She needs to be monitored, I can do it," he tells him, and my head flips between them both. They can't be serious?
"I don't think that's a good idea," I state. "You said yourself she needs to be monitored for the next twenty-four hours, how can you do that without all of the equipment? Not to mention we have no idea what is going on with them, or what they are running from." I see her blanch at my tone, and I know I sound like an arse, but it's nothing personal, my job is to protect the cluband I can't do that if people keep things from me. I'm not a heartless bastard, I do care that she's injured, and the best place for her is here where we can still watch over her without bringing her into our home.
"Doc, the call is yours," Nitro tells him, but his eyes are fixed on mine. He's pissed that I'm challenging him in front of her. He's going to rip me a new one later.
"She isn't comfortable in here, and honestly, the state she's in I'm more worried about what the stress is doing to her body, not to mention being here she's a flight risk." He gives me an apologetic look, and it pisses me off. I fold my arms over my chest and stare at her, wondering how she's going to play it.
I watch her throat bob as she swallows. Mason pulls back and looks up at her, it's like they are having a silent conversation, and it unnerves me. She gives him a small smile before turning to Nitro. "Thank you, but we'll stay here for now." Her voice is so quiet I barely heard her. Prez did though, and he's not happy.
"Actually, sweetheart, the more I think about it, the more I think it would be a better idea if we did get you out of here." He pulls out his phone and walks toward the door, then he stops and turns to look at her. "You wanted out of here, so we're gonna get you out of here. Doc will take care of your discharge, I'm gonna arrange transport." He gives me a chin lift, indicating for me to follow, then walks out the door.
"I'm sorry," she whispers. I feel shit as I look down at her and see the unshed tears in her eyes.
"It's all good, babe. Don't worry," I tell her before I follow my Prez out into the hall.
Closing the door behind me, I see him leaning against the wall, one hand in his jean pocket, the other just ending the call to whoever he made it to. "You wanna tell me what that was in there?" he asks, a little calmer than I was expecting.
I let out a sigh, checking that the door is closed behind me before I start talking. "We don't know her or the kid, we don't know what kind of trouble she's in. I'm sorry, Prez, I just want to make sure we know what we're getting into before we let a stranger in our home."
He unlocks his phone and searches for something. He stares at it for a few seconds before looking back at me. "I don't know her story, none of us do, but for whatever reason, she felt the need to run, she felt the need to get into a car that isn't hers and drive while concussed, risking her life and her brother’s."
"Fuck." He's right, whatever she's running from she needs help. I don't have to like it, but if it was my sister I'd want someone to help her.
"Wolf was here the other day because I asked him to come. He seems to know them and I wanted to know what he knew. I won't tell you what he told me about her, but I will show you what Data found out when we gave him the info we had." He passes me the phone. "Just remember, I invited her to the clubhouse and she needs help."
I nod, taking the phone from him before scrolling through the brief email from Data.
Prez,
Info as requested.
Nova Cooper - Twenty years old.
Mason Cooper - Nine years old.
