Page 31 of Hap (Black Hearts MC #9)
CHAPTER THIRTY
HAP
It’s been eight hours. Eight fucking hours I’ve waited until those doors opened and a doctor I recognised stepped out. His eyes landed on me, looking at my bloody shirt before landing on my face. His face was set in a grim line, and as he stopped in front of me, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
“Are you her partner?” he asks. I nod, my throat too dry to talk. “The stab wound was deep,” he continues, “and it hit a vital artery, which is why there was a lot of blood. She lost nearly twenty percent of her blood. We managed to stop and repair the artery. There is tissue damage there that I’m not sure if it will fully heal. She may suffer long-term problems with muscle movement.” He pauses.
“She’s alive,” I breathe.
The doctor nods. “She is, and she is still under heavy sedation. She will continue to have a blood transfusion. She still has a long road to recovery, but at the moment, she is stable.”
I rub my face and release a breath, feeling tears prickle at my eyes. “And my son?” I choke out.
The doctor smiles. “Strong heartbeat, and it appears he is a fighter.”
I launch myself at the doctor, wrapping my arms around him. He tenses, holding his arms out wide. “Thank you.” I sniff, and after stepping back, I wipe my eyes. “So, can I go see her?” I ask.
His eyes trail over my body. “Here. Go and get washed up,” Star says, handing me a bag of clothes as she appears at my side.
The doctor nods. “Once you’re washed up, come through, and one of the nurses will take you to her bed.”
I nod and grab Star, giving her a big kiss on the top of her head. “She’s alive!” I cheer, feeling relief and hope once again filling my body.
Star laughs as Ghost grabs her arm and pulls her away from me. I couldn’t give a shit. I walk to the toilets where I wash up and change, and after I dump my bloodstained clothes in the bin, I head out to the doors. I walk through, and a nurse immediately stops me in my tracks.
“The doctor told me I could see Miss Alina Bennet,” I explain. She nods and leads the way down a hall. She opens a small side room and gestures for me to enter. My heart lurches in my chest when I see tubes coming out of her mouth and the sound of machines beeping. Her eyes are taped shut. I look at the nurse. “I thought she was okay?” I ask, terrified to touch her or go near her in case I knock something.
“She is. Her body just needs all the help and support to rest while it heals right now. Especially with the little one.” The nurse smiles kindly. “Both mom and baby are incredibly lucky,” she adds. “Sit, hold her hand, and talk to her. She can hear you.” The nurse gestures to the chair, and I move, taking a seat.
Being careful, I take her hand in mine and lift it to my lips. As I hold her palm to my face, I watch her.
“I will leave you be,” the nurse states softly before leaving the room.
“He’s fine, and he’s strong, just like his mom,” I tell her. I swallow, pushing my emotions deep down inside me. “I need you, baby. Fuck, I need you,” I breathe, placing another kiss on her hand. I pause, just watching her chest rise and fall in time with the machines. “You didn’t realise it then, but when I told you to call me by my name, it wasn’t just me declaring my love for you.” I pause. “The only people that call me or know me by that name are the people that I love. My parents and you. You won’t ever meet them, because they are toxic assholes, but I spent my entire childhood doing anything and everything to please them. I loved them so much. Don’t think they really loved me, though.” I cough out a laugh. “The only time my name left their lips was to tear me down, or to criticise, to tell me what an utter failure I was.” My lips twitch. “My parents only had me for the sake of having an heir. My parents are rich, filthy fucking rich. My father wanted me to be like him, to take over the business, but it was the last thing I wanted to do. As soon as I was old enough, I left and joined the army. It’s there that I was given the name Hap, or Happy, because I took everything so seriously, never really smiling. The name stuck when I joined the Black Hearts.” I sigh at the memories. “None of the brothers know my history. I lied. Being a rich kid with asshole parents doesn’t really cut it as a biker. The brothers have had it a lot worse than me, so I never complained,” I add. “Anyway, what I’m trying to say is you were scared of giving me your love, your heart, but by me giving you my real name, it was me giving you a part of me that no one else has. It was me giving you a vulnerable part of me. I mean, I probably should have explained it to you, then you might have told me you loved me sooner,” I scoff before placing another kiss on her palm.
I sit with her for the next two days. Doctors and nurses ask me to leave, but I refuse. Ghost and Star came by to give me food and update me on Cash, Beast, Rage, and Spider.
Cash was awake but had zero memory of that day, like it had been completely erased. Beast had to have surgery to remove the piece of wood from his leg. He was supposed to stay in the hospital for two more days but had discharged himself this morning. Rage just had to be stitched up as the bullet went clean through, and Spider had bolts and pins put through his leg; it was that badly fucked up. He was still in the hospital and would be for another week. The doctor said it would be weeks until he could ride again, and he did not take that news well.
I was pacing outside of Alina’s room, as they were removing the breathing tubes today. They were happy with her progress, and they said that she would wake anytime from thirty minutes to many hours later. As soon as the door opens and the doctors and nurse give me a nod, I smile and run back in to be at her side. She looks better without the tubes.
I lean forward and place a kiss on her cheek, stroking the hair back from her face. I sit, holding her hand in mine, and decide to repeat the updates on the brothers. “To be honest, I forget about Rage even being shot. That crazy mother fucker didn’t even act like he had a splinter, let alone a bullet wound,” I scoff. Her hand twitches in mine, and my gaze flies to hers, shocked to see her eyes open and looking down on me. “Fuck, you’re awake.” I leap up from the chair and cup her face in my hands, my eyes searching hers.
“Baby,” she whispers, her voice hoarse and dry.
“He’s good, and he’s strong,” I assure her, resting my temple on hers, closing my eyes. She places her palm on my cheeks, her fingers tracing over my growing stubble.
“Is he…?” she rasps. I open my eyes and look into her shimmering eyes with unshed tears.
“He’s gone. You’re safe,” I assure her. She closes her eyes, and I watch as the tears glide down her cheek. I swipe them away with my thumb.
“When can we go home?” she asks.
Home. My heart fucking swells to the point of bursting. I smile. “As soon as the doctors say you can.”