“She goes with her,” he tells the man who has just loaded her into the back and he looks down at me. “Stay with her, Charley. There will be men following and they’ll meet you there. Only men in Disciples cuts get near her. Keep her…” he chokes up then sucks in a breath. “Don’t leave her alone.”
He doesn’t mean he wants me there to protect her. He means she needs someone there that she knows, someone that can give her comfort. I haven’t been around here long and am sure one of the other girls would be better to go along but Beast doesn’t hesitate to guide me nearer. I glance down at my outfit, the paramedic is staring too, wide-eyed.
“Get her a coat,” Beast snarls at him.
The man opens a cupboard in the ambulance and hands over a padded red jacket that says BCFD on the back and sleeves. I’m grateful for it, it’s cold out here. Not that it does much to cover my legs, but it helps with my top half which is only covered by the apron, I haven’t bothered with the nipple covers since I did the dance with the other girls.
Beast helps me into the ambulance and glares at the paramedic.
“Do not let her die,” he threatens.
Fair play to the guy, he doesn’t make any promises that he can’t keep which only worries me more. Beast steps back and slams the door, shutting us inside.
I stay out of the way as the man gets back to doing what he can to stabilize Ellie. I notice her eyes are open and she blinks at me. An oxygen mask covers the lower half of her face.
“You’re going to be okay Ellie,” I reach over and touch her shoulder.
It takes a little over five minutes to get to the hospital and I hang back when they pull her out and wheel her through the ER doors.
The rumble of bikes alerts me to the Disciples arriving. No one can stop them going inside, ushering me along with them. They form a barrier around the bay where Ellie is taken, not getting in the way of the doctors, but not allowing anyone else to get near her either.
Almost immediately they come out saying she needs to be taken to surgery. One of the men talks to a nurse and after Ellie has been wheeled out, we follow along, one man going with them after some low and persistent conversation.
Another nurse takes us to a waiting area where we’re left. The third man who went with Ellie arrives a few minutes later and says she has gone into theater, where he can’t follow.
And now we wait. They don’t introduce themselves to me but one of them gets me a coffee, while another produces a blanket to wrap around my legs. My phone is still in my bag in the dressing room at Elegance so I have no way of getting in touch with anyone.
My mind is on Callum. I’m sure he knows what has happened by now, I just don’t know if the man in charge of his club is going to let him come here, or they’re going to be looking for the man who hurt Ellie.
Chapter Twenty Four
Nashville
When we first arrive at Elegance, everyone is in panic mode. Nero is climbing off his bike as Fury and I get to the door and we stop to wait for him.
“What happened?” Fury asks.
“Ellie’s hurt. Not sure how bad, she’s on her way to the hospital.”
He walks into the club and we follow. There are a few people still here but they’re all related to the MC. Over in the corner the dancers are huddled together but the one person I want to see isn’t among them.
Nero walks through the room without looking at anyone and heads for the security room. I don’t see Charley when we get inside.
Beast is in there with Walker and a couple of other brothers, all of them staring at one particular screen. All I want is to go find her, but until I know what we’re dealing with, I have to stay here. Nero would have told me if Charley was hurt.
Beast points at the screen as we come to a stop beside him.
“Freeze it there,” he snaps. Blaze does as he’s told and looks up at the screen.
My jaw tenses as I figure out what I’m looking at. A man is standing with Ellie, her mouth is hanging open, her back bent forward, the man looks like he’s hugging her. His face is clear in the shot and as we stare, Blaze gets out a laptop and starts transferring the images.
“Is she alright?” I ask.
“Don’t know,” Beast snaps.
“How bad is it?”
“I said I don’t fucking know,” Beast snaps at Nero. He closes his eyes for a second when he realizes who he just yelled at, but Nero doesn’t say anything. “She’s alive. For now.”
