Page 18 of The Riders’ Reign

My gaze focuses on three of the final four words. I love you.

She loves me. I want to punch the air in celebration, but I’m far too weak and I have to think about my goddamned stitches. That doesn’t stop the wide smile from breaking across my face, though. I’m in fucking agony, but this is also the happiest I’ve been for a long time.

Fuck everything else. If she’s brave enough to leave me a note telling me she loves me, when all I do is reject her, I must man up and be brave enough to face my feelings for her.

How will Ghost, Rook, and Ace react if I claim her? Do I want to stop her being with them? There’s a part of me that wants her all to myself, but a bigger part that wants her safe and taken care of. Camile will always have a target on her back, and having more than one man looking after her makes her a lot safer than if she was only with one.

I know those three will lay down their lives for her, so, really, the best way forward is for us to figure out a way to make this work between us all. I realize I should have asked Vani what was happening with the club, who got hurt, or worse. I wish I could remember more about the hit, but my thoughts are foggy. I remember riding my bike, and hitting oil, and the next thing there were gunshots and I was lying on the road with Rook leaning over me. After that, there’s nothing. How much will Vani even know? Yes, she’s my daughter, but she’s not a member of the club. She grew up inside my old club, but she doesn’t know many of the new chapter in the same way. They might not have thought to bring her up to speed.

I need one of my guys here. Smokie Saul, or Big Mike, or Ghost…

Something about Ghost tickles at my mind, a dark thing.

The memory suddenly hits me. Ghost, being shoved into the back of a large, black car. Fuck. What the hell happened? It clearly has to do with the reason I’m in a hospital bed.

I need to speak to someone at the club urgently.

Struggling, I reach for the buzzer beside my bed and press it.

The patronizing nurse appears again. “Everything okay, Jack?”

“Cell phone,” I manage. “I need my cell phone.”

“I believe your daughter was given all your personal belongings.”

“Then get my goddamned daughter,” I growl.

I immediately feel bad, because the nurse shrinks away. Even after almost dying, stuck in a hospital bed and attached to machines, and in a gown that probably flashes my ass if I managed to stand, I’m still a scary looking guy.

“I’m sorry,” I tell her. “I just really need to see her. It’s important.”

“You should be resting. You can’t allow yourself to get worked up like this.”

“I appreciate you’re doing your job, but it can’t wait. I promise I’ll rest after I’ve spoken to her.”

I’m not sure I can really make such a promise. If Ghost has been taken by God-only-knows who, then I can’t just lie here on my back and do nothing. I remind myself that I’ve surrounded myself with a good group of men in the club, and they can handle almost anything, but it’s still incredibly frustrating. I have to be involved, if only to know what’s going on.

At least I know Camile is safe, for the moment. The fact that she had a fight with Vani means she’s at least physically well. How long will that last, though? The only reason I can think of for us being hit like we were is because of fucking Ledger and the cartel. Maybe we were wrong to let Camile shoot him, but how could we have let him go after what he did?

The nurse huffs out a breath of frustration, but she leaves my room. I’ve got no idea if she’s gone to find Vani, or if she’s just ignoring my request. Exhaustion sweeps over me again, and I can’t help my eyes slipping shut. My body draws me under again, no matter how much I fight it. I imagine I’m also on a whole cocktail of pain meds.

But when I open my eyes, it’s to my daughter’s face again.

She’s holding a takeout cup of coffee in one hand, and she smiles at me. “The nurse said you were asking for your cell phone.”

I try to sit up. “I want to call the club.”

“No, you don’t. You need to rest. They’ve got everything handled.”

“How do you know that?”

“Because the rest of the world can function without you being there, Dad. I know important shit is going down, but the most important thing is that you rest and recover. You’re not going to be any good to anyone if you end up in surgery again.”

“That nurse spoke to you, didn’t she?”

“Yes, and she said you can’t be overexerting yourself like this.”

I blow out a breath. “If I can’t get my phone, then call the club yourself, and get one of the guys to come in and speak to me. Fuck their family only rules. It’s important. And tell them to bring Camile with them, too.”