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CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

HAP

I had been there from the beginning, witnessing Ghost fight for Star, Cash with Maggie, against all odds, Dixie and Rage, Hawk overcoming loss to find love in Josie and being a father, Beast battling a fucking mob family for Belle, Spider after fucking everything falling for Nova, Acid falling for his best friend, and Scar surviving hell only to find the one. I had grown with the club, and I may still be the youngest, but I’ve watched, and I’ve fucking learnt. I have found her, and I wasn’t about to lose her now.

As we speed through the winding roads, the pain in my chest, the gut-wrenching fucking nausea claws its way up my throat at what she could be going through right now. The panic consumes my every thought about whether I will make it to her in time. Our baby is growing inside her, and I am finally feeling what I had witnessed from the sidelines all this time. Now I got it.

Now I understood.

Ghost signals that it’s up ahead and for us to turn off here. We pull in, and Ghost immediately gets off his bike, turning to face us. We all kill our engines, and my palms are itching to ride on. It’s taking everything in me not to ride off on my own. Staying still and sitting here isn’t doing anything to help Alina.

“We’ve got two options,” Ghost states. “And we need to make them now, as I’m sure Hap is feeling the same thing as me. I don’t want to waste a second.” He pauses. “Option one, we leave our bikes here and go in stealth on foot. Option two, we ride hell for fucking leather, and we shoot down anyone that gets in our way. The only danger is that we don’t know what awaits us on the other side of those gates,” he sighs.

“I speak for all of us when I say you are our President, and whatever yours and Hap’s guts are telling you right now, as it’s your women in there, we will follow. No questions asked,” Scar states firmly.

Ghost looks at me. “Option two.” I nod. He nods in agreement.

“There is just one issue. How are we knocking down the gates?” Hawk asks.

“Good point,” I state.

A honking horn catches our attention, and we turn around to see a car approach. Their lights flash as it screeches to a stop next to us. “What’s the plan?” Jared asks.

“We are using your car as the ram for the gate, then we will follow you in, and it’s shoot to kill,” Ghost orders. Jared nods and jumps out of the car. He goes around, and after he opens the trunk, he pulls out a few machine guns. He then opens the back seat, and Rage shuffles out, groaning. He hands them to Rage, and his eyes go wide with delight.

“Don’t say I don’t give you nothing. I’m going to need you to ride up front and kill anyone that gets in our way,” Jared tells Rage.

“Fuck that,” Rage snorts. He places his foot on the hood of the car and begins to climb up until he’s sitting on the roof of the car, holding both guns, one in each hand.

“I thought you said he had been shot,” Ghost states, raising his brow at Rage.

“He has,” Jared mutters back.

“Come the fuck on! I need me some target practice,” Rage hollers excitedly. It’s really one of the only times I’ve seen him so full of emotion.

We start up our bikes and follow Jared. “HOLD ON!” Jared yells while he leans out the window to Rage as he floors it through the gates.

“YEEEHAAAA!!” Rage cheers excitedly, aiming one gun at a time, hitting anyone that dares to approach.

“Barn up ahead!” Ghost points. I yank down on my throttle, and Ghost does the same as we cut across the open field while Rage takes care of killing everyone.

As we get closer, I hear it. The scream, the agony in her voice breaks me in fucking two. I lean forward, pushing my bike to its limit before I slam my brakes on, skidding to a stop. My back wheel flicks out behind me as I struggle to control it. Once I’ve come to a stop, I leap from my bike and throw it down on the ground. I run through the door, drawing my gun, and that’s when my eyes land on the guy looming over Alina with his blade raised high above his head.

I don’t hesitate. I raise my arm and shoot, hitting him straight between the eyes. I hear Ghost beside me firing his gun, but I don’t pay him any attention. I keep moving towards the guy with the blade, and even though I know he will be dead from that one shot, I keep on firing over and over, his chest pulsing with every bullet. I don’t stop until my barrel is empty.

It’s then that my gaze lands on Alina lying in a pool of her own blood. Star is now at her side, her voice breaking with desperation. I drop to my knees by her side, shaking my head back and forth.

“No!” I rasp, leaning over her. Her breathing is shallow, and her eyes are wide with fear. I cup her face in my hands, resting my temple to hers. “I’ve got you, baby. It will be okay. I fucking promise,” I croak, my voice breaking along with my fucking heart.

“Why is there so much blood?” Star sniffs.

Alina’s hand moves to her stomach, placing her hand delicately over her bump before she lifts her hand to my cheek. I hold her palm to my face. “I need to tell you,” she breathes, her face paling. “I love you.” Her lips tip into a faint smile before her eyes roll into the back of her head and her hand goes limp.

“Baby,” I whisper, kissing her hand. “Baby, wake up. Give me those eyes,” I plead. She doesn’t move. Ignoring the world around me, I scoop her up in my arms and get to my feet. I run, and that’s when I spot Jared. “Hospital, now!” I roar. Jared doesn’t protest. He opens the back passenger door, allowing me to climb in while cradling Alina in my arms.

Jared jumps in, and we speed off. “Bandage, next to you. Stem the blood!” Jared yells.

I spot the open first aid kit and grab the bandage, feeling for the stab wound on her back. “I’m sorry, baby,” I whisper in her ear as I pack it, burying the cloth deep into the wound. Keeping my hand firmly pressed against it, I cradle her close, stroking my blood-covered fingers through her hair and down to her face. “Hold on in there. Don’t you fucking dare give up on me. You’ve got to keep fighting for me, for our son,” I rasp in her ear. Her body feels so damn fucking cold next to mine. “You need to hurry the fuck up!” I roar at Jared.

“Almost there!” he yells back.

He comes to a screeching halt and jumps out of the car. “Help! We need fucking help over here!” Jared yells, getting the attention of the staff at the hospital.

I get out, keeping her cradled to me as doctors and nurses come running out with a gurney. I lay her down, hating the way my hands are shaking. “She’s pregnant and has been stabbed in the back. I packed it,” I tell them.

The doctor nods, and they run her inside. I go to follow, but I stop when a nurse places her hand on my chest. “I’m sorry, you can’t go any further,” she says softly. She eyes my hands and my shirt. “Do you need to see a doctor?” she asks.

“It’s not mine,” I state, looking past her to the door where they took Alina. My voice is flat, empty.

“If you want to get cleaned up, we can give you some scrubs to change into,” she offers.

“No,” I answer. “I’m not leaving this spot.” I swallow, my eyes still trained on those doors.

She nods and walks away, leaving me alone. I feel Jared come up beside me. “Ghost and the others are on their way. They’ve got Eugene,” he states quietly.

“Don’t fucking say his name around me,” I growl through gritted teeth.

Jared clears his throat. “I showed the staff my badge so they won’t call the cops.”

I don’t respond. I stand unmoving, watching those doors, waiting for them to tell me she’s okay and that my son is okay. That I can be with her.

“I’m going to get you a coffee,” Jared says. He gives my shoulder a pat before he walks away.

People walk by me, some looking up at me with fear, probably because of the blood. I don’t flinch. Jared tried to offer me a coffee, but I refused. My body ached, feeling the pain from the blast earlier creeping its way to the surface with the adrenaline easing off. I hear booted feet approach across the white tiled floor, and I know without looking that it’s Ghost.

“He’s chained up for when you are ready,” Ghost states firmly. My jaw clenches, but I don’t respond. “She stopped him from raping Star,” he says, his voice rough, as if it’s taking him everything to say those words. Only then do I turn my head to look at him. His usually ice-blue eyes are full of pain and torment. Ghost swallows. “The guy you shot was going to rape Star. Alina grappled Eugene’s cane from him and attempted to beat the shit out of the guy.” Ghost’s jaw tenses.

“Is Star okay?” I ask, watching him fight to control his emotions.

He inhales a deep breath, then swallows, nodding. “She says she’s okay, but you know Star.”

I nod, knowing that Star is one of the strongest women there is, but at some point, even she must have her limit of shit she’s been dealt.

“She’s with Enzo. Said to tell you she will be down soon. She just needs a moment.” Ghost gives me a tight smile. I nod before my eyes stray back to the doors. “You going to clean up?” he asks.

“I will when I know she will be okay,” I answer. “I’m not moving from this spot.”

Ghost surprises the shit out of me by rounding me and pulling me into a strong embrace. His hand grips the back of my neck before his hand slaps my back a few times.

“She’s a strong woman. Just remember we’ve got you, brother,” he rasps, giving my back one more pat before stepping away.