Page 18

LOU

After six hours of surgery Dr. Patel spoke with me, Mick, and Diezel. Ajax had lost a lot of blood due to the stab wound. If Diezel and Jagger hadn't driven him to the hospital and made it on time, he wouldn't have survived. They removed his spleen, and Dr. Patel was able to stop the bleeding.

"He'll pull through, and once recovered, Mr. Remar can live a normal life, but needs to be very careful not to catch any bad infections, which could cause serious illness or death."

Mick and I held each other tight and sobbed while Diezel wrapped his arms around both of us. "Ajax is a Berzerker, and he ain't ready to die yet."

I sat in a chair with a blanket beside Mick as Ajax slept in the hospital bed. My eyes were puffy and dry from crying all day. The sound of the beeping machines and tubes hooked to Ajax made him look so vulnerable.

I fell asleep and dreamed of riding with Ajax on his motorcycle again. The warm summer wind pushed against us while I wrapped my arms around him. The sunshine was blotted by the trees along both sides of the road, and Ajax wrapped his left hand underneath my thigh, turned his head toward me, and said, "I love you."

When I opened my eyes, Ajax was looking at me and smiling.