Missed her with a deepness in my bones that I didn’t know was possible.
I’m not letting anything touch her. Not ever again. Dante thought he could come for her, but he didn’t know who he was dealing with. I’m not sure who attacked me, but I have a deep suspicion it has to do with Garcia, and that fuck is not so much as going to breathe the same air as my Millie.
MILLIE
I’m breathless by the time Axton breaks the kiss. Then I hear someone clear their throat, and I look over to see that Lainey is smiling as she watches us. She opens her mouth to say something. At the same time, I start apologizing for mauling her brother right in front of her.
Neither of us gets the chance to say anything because the door opens, and I watch as Bullet, Lightning, Ivy, Goose, and Maverick waltz through the door. I stare at them. Their presence takes up the entire space.
Bullet’s gaze flicks from me to Axton and then back to me. He wants me to leave them alone. They’re going to have a club-style man talk. The last thing I want to do is walk out of this room, but when I feel Lainey’s hand on my elbow, I know I need to.
“I’m going to go talk to Heidi. She’s in the waiting room,” I murmur, my eyes flicking to Axton’s. He gives me a wink and a smile, his approval of my leaving.
I stand from the bed and walk out of the room with Lainey at my side, hating every step I take away from him. Lainey’s fingers flex at my elbow, and only when the door closes behind us does she release her grip.
She stops walking and turns to face me. “Are you mad at me?” she asks softly.
My head jerks back slightly, and my brows snap together. “Mad at you?” I ask, sounding just as confused as I feel.
“I should have called you earlier. I feel so bad. I just didn’t think about it. I’m so sorry.”
I almost laugh, but I think if I did, Lainey might cry, so I don’t. Instead, I move closer to her, closing the distance between us, and wrap my arms around her in a hug. Her whole body jolts before I hear her hiccup.
“Girl,” I whisper. She shifts backward slightly, her eyes on me. “You literally found out I was back yesterday. There is no way I would ever expect you to remember to call me in this situation.”
“I was so scared,” she murmurs. “It would have been nice not to be alone during everything.”
My lips curve up into a smile. There is no way I’m saying she can call me next time, because there won’t be a next time. Not ever. Axton is never getting hurt again. I won’t allow it… as if I have a say in it.
“It won’t happen again, so it doesn’t matter,” I say, my lips holding on to their smile.
She wipes her tears away and shakes her head as her own smile twitches on her lips.
“Okay, that’s fair. I can’t deal with this again. It’s like something you worry and stress about for so long that you become almost desensitized to it, and then it happens, and you panic.”
Oh boy, do I totally understand that. I can’t even describe how many times I waited for Dante to attack, and then he did. I was literally and figuratively paralyzed with fear. If I hadn’t had those moments to go through my own thoughts as I pretended to be unconscious, I’m not sure how I would have reacted to everything.
No amount of mental preparation could ever truly prepare you for something like a kidnapping or someone you love being attacked. And you don’t know how you’re going to react, so I will never blame her or be angry at her for not calling me.
“Let’s go talk to Heidi, maybe see if we can waste some time getting something decent to eat. I’m not sure I can handle anything that’s available here,” I suggest.
Lainey needs a decent meal and to get away from the hospital for a while. Together, we walk toward the waiting room, where there isn’t just Heidi waiting for us but an entire room full of bikers, police officers, and old ladies.
It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before in my life.
Dakota and a uniformed officer make a beeline for us, only stopping when they’re a few feet away. It’s Dakota who speaks first.
“Is he okay?” she demands.
I let Lainey take the reins on this because Axton is literally her brother. Me being his old lady or his girlfriend does not trump being his sister. She smiles softly, but I can see the total exhaustion in her eyes.
“He’s okay. All tests came back fine. They’re going to monitor him overnight, and then he’s on light duty for a while. But he’s okay.”
Dakota doesn’t even wait for her to finish before she throws her arms around Lainey in a tight embrace. I smile at the sight, then flick my gaze up to the officer. I watch as he frowns, then clears his throat, taking a step backward.
I don’t catch his name tag, and he turns around too quickly for me to even read one letter. I watch as he walks over to the other officers, relaying the information. One by one, they come up to Lainey and give her their support, along with either a hug or taking her hands and squeezing them gently.
Every single one of them looks devastated, and rightly so. They’re probably all thinking it could have been them. I wait for the first guy to come back up so I can get his name, because there is something off about him, but he never does.
