“Patch?” I hear the voice closer this time.
“Over here,” he calls out. In seconds, we’re surrounded by the guys from the club. They look at him, then to me, and back to him. They’re confused as I try to stand on my feet. Patch wraps his arm around me to keep me on my feet next to him.
“What the hell happened?” Kal asks. I remember him.
“Not here,” Patch tells him. He nods his head and motions for us to follow him, but my legs refuse to work. Patch tries to lift me in his arms once more and almost goes down with me. I hear one of the guys curse before moving toward me. I’m too tired, too weak to protest, although I don’t want any of them touching me.
“He won’t hurt you,” Patch says. I nod my head as Bouncer lifts me in his arms and carries me like a baby.
He walks through the tree line and out the other side to a waiting truck. Patch climbs in and then motions for Bouncer to hand me over. He does, setting me in the seat next to him. I move to climb into his lap and wrap my arms around his neck. I need to know he’s real. I need to know that he’s here with me, just like he said he’d be.
“It’s okay now.”
“No, it’s not.”
“I promise, I’ll find them.”
“What if they come back?”
“They aren’t that stupid,” he says softly. I nod my head and rest it against his chest, listening to his heart beat. It thuds against my ear and lulls me into a sense of peace.
The ride takes a while, but I force my eyes to stay open until I know we’re safe. When we get back to the clubhouse, I see guys outside with guns standing ready.
“We locked down the clubhouse,” Kal says to Patch.
“Good.” That’s all he can manage to say.
The truck pulls up near the doors and comes to a stop. The guys jump out, and Bouncer comes around to my side. I shift out of Patch’s lap and let Bouncer lift me once more. I see Kal helping Patch out of the truck as tears burn the back of my eyes.
Bouncer carries me inside and straight down the hall toward the rooms. I don’t say anything. I just let him carry me.
He walks into one of the rooms and lays me on the bed when another man comes in behind him, followed by a woman.
“We didn’t know if you’d prefer a male or female doctor,” he says.
“Female,” I whisper. Bouncer nods his head, and the other man leaves the room.
“He’ll check out Patch. I’ll be right outside if you need me,” he tells me. I nod my head before looking to the doctor. She’s pulling things out of her bag and setting them up.
Before I know it, she’s checked me over. She’s cleaned me up and applied medicine to my wounds.
“You were raped,” she says as if I didn’t know that. I nod my head. “I’d suggest taking the morning-after pill just to be safe.” She pulls one from her bag and offers it to me along with a glass of water. I take it and pop it into my mouth before she offers me more pills.
“These are for pain and an antibiotic. You need them both,” she says. I nod and take them without any hesitation.
“Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. It’s my job. I’m here if you want to talk about any of this. I know a good counselor who will help you through the trauma.” I don’t want to talk about it, but I do nod my head anyway to make her feel better.
She stands from the chair she was sitting in, leaving me with pain meds and antibiotics. She tells me that she’ll be back in a few days to recheck me, and I agree. Then I watch her leave the room before Bouncer walks back in.
“You good? Need anything?”
“No.”
“You want to see Patch?” Shame of what happened claws at my insides as I shake my head. I can’t see him. Not after what they made him do to me. Not after what he watched them do to me. How can I look him in the eye?
“Can you call my friend, Ellie?”
