Page 20 of Ruin (Hell’s Mayhem MC: Maine Chapter #2)

Chapter Nineteen

Lucian

I’ve just put the last floorboard down when my cell rings. I consider ignoring it, but something tells me not to, so I wipe my sweaty forehead with the back of my hand and grab my phone from the edge of the bathtub. My brows shoot to my hairline when I see who is calling me.

“Kolton?” I answer.

“I need your help.”

“What is it?” I ask, my heart racing a little faster. What could he possibly need help with? Does he need more money? I’ll give it to him if it’s what he needs. I’ll give him anything. Though whatever it is, it must be important if he’s calling me. I’m the last person he wants to talk to.

“I’ll text you an address. I need you immediately.” I need you… “Bring whatever medical shit you have.”

“I don’t understand,” I say, but the call has already ended.

I stare down at my phone. Is he hurt? He didn’t sound hurt.

Maybe it’s one of the other guys in the MC?

His brother maybe? Doesn’t matter. If he’s asking me for help, it’s serious.

So when the text with his location comes in, I don’t hesitate to jump into my car and race to the address he provided.

It takes me over a half hour to get there, which feels like forever. When I pull up, I know exactly what’s going on and my stomach drops. Maybe he was hurt and didn’t want to say anything. He always was good at hiding his pain.

I get out of the car, go around to the trunk to pull my medical bag out, then hurry to the door where Kaison is standing. He’s a giant, much like his father. He raises a brow, sizing me up, but I know it’s just an intimidation tactic.

I don’t think he knows anything about me and his brother.

They were never close and Kolton isn’t the kind of person to talk about things like that with anyone.

What happened between us was private and he is a private person.

But something about the look in Kaison’s eye tells me that he knows something .

Maybe I’m wrong about them. Perhaps they’ve grown closer over the years. Maybe Kaison knows more than he lets on.

“Are you going to let me in?” I ask.

He doesn’t answer, just keeps staring, long enough that if I didn’t know him, I would be worried. Finally he steps aside, and I feel his gaze on me all the way inside.

The smell of blood hits my nose the moment I’m inside the bar.

As a surgeon and an ED doctor, that is not something you forget so easily.

Bodies litter the floor, most of which I can tell are alive by their rising chests.

But there are a couple that are in more questionable conditions.

Being here could get me into a ton of trouble, not only because of my license but because some of these people are dead, but…

Kolton needs me. And if I’m being honest, I expected to walk into a worse situation.

“Where is he?” I ask, turning to see Kaison standing just inside the door now, as if his job is to watch me.

“Here,” the familiar voice calls out, and I bring my attention forward again. Kolton stands behind the bar. He doesn’t look hurt, which is a relief.

I step over the bodies and try to avoid the puddles of blood.

I don’t recognize any of these guys, but the cuts and patches tell me they belong to another MC. Obviously one that Hell’s Mayhem doesn't care for, judging by the state of things.

“What’s going on?” I ask Kolton when I reach him.

He turns and walks down the hall and into a room without saying a word. I follow him without question, even though he doesn’t answer me.

There is a young woman, maybe mid-twenties, lying on the floor, curled over in pain and very pregnant. Most people would panic, but after a lifetime in the ER, there’s not much that phases me anymore.

“Is she in labor?” I ask. This isn’t what I was expecting to walk into. Maybe I would stitch someone up, but deliver a baby? Either way, my training has me going into doctor mode immediately.

“You’re the fucking doctor,” Kolton snaps.

“If she’s having a baby, she needs a hospital. ”

“No hospital,” he says firmly, moving to lean against the wall and giving a lazy shake of his head.

“Kolton—”

“I said no fucking hospital,” he growls, his fiery gaze shooting to mine.

With a deep breath, I go to the young girl, drop my bag to the floor and get to my knees.

“What’s going on, sweetheart? Does something hurt?”

“My chest feels tight. My stomach hurts.”

I nod, digging through my bag. “What’s your name?”

“Anastacia.”

I pull out my stethoscope and place it on her chest to listen to her breathing and her heart as I ask her questions to help pinpoint the issue.

“How far along are you?”

“Thirty-six weeks… I think.”

Okay, good news. If she delivers, at least she’s close to full term.

“Were you hit in your stomach?”

She blinks, cringing as her gaze flicks to Kolton. My brows raise and I turn to him.

“You hit—”

“No!” he shouts, face going from his usual indifference to enraged. “I fell into the desk she was hiding under, and she fell onto her stomach. It was an accident.”

I nod, thanking God he isn’t an awful person. Yes, he does bad things, but that doesn’t make him a bad person. Had he hit a woman though, a pregnant one no less, my opinion of him would have changed in an instant.

“Is that when the pain started?” I ask her as I move to listen to her back with my stethoscope.

So far, her chest is clear, but her heart rate is high.

“No, it was hurting before that.”

“Does it come and go, or is it constant?”

“Constant.”

She cringes, sucking in a sharp breath.

“And what about your face, sweetheart?”

She blinks at me, tears dripping down her cheek.

“The Iron Runners were using her as a sex toy. And when she put up a fight, they’d hit her.” Kolton’s words are heavy in the air. A thick, still silence falls over us like an itchy wool blanket.

My eyes fall closed, and I take a slow breath. How does he deal with shit like this all the time? It has to take a toll on him, right? I can deal with the physical shit, the blood and guts and severed limbs, but this shit? This always got to me.

I’m sure people say the same thing about me. I’ve lost plenty of people on the table. They never truly leave you.

“They liked the fact they couldn’t get her pregnant—again,” Kolton adds, and it makes my stomach sick. The vile people in this world…

I push away my disgust with humankind and focus on this girl who needs my help. She will be safe now that she’s with Kolton, that I am sure of .

When I finish listening to her back, I move to her stomach and listen for the baby’s heartbeat. It’s solid and steady. I smile down at her.

“Your baby sounds great.”

“Really?” she asks.

For the first time since I’ve arrived, her face lights up with hope.

“Yes. They have a very strong heart beat. Do you know if it’s a boy or a girl?”

She shakes her head, her eyes going sad again.

“Have you been to the doctor at all?” I ask.

“Just theirs.”

I remove the stethoscope and put it back in my bag. “I’m going to feel around a few places. I need you to tell me if anything causes you pain, okay?”

She nods, taking a breath.

I start with her stomach, feeling around for the baby. I’m not a gynecologist, but I’ve dealt with enough pregnant women through my years of working in the ED at Boston Med.

“Your baby feels just fine. In position, but I don’t think they’ll be gracing us with their presence today.”

“Oh, thank God.” She lets out a choked sob and tears pool in the corner of her eyes.

I move to her ribs, pressing around them, careful not to apply too much pressure. Then, I move to her collarbone, under her chin, down her arms and legs. She doesn’t complain once, and when I ask her if anything hurts, she tells me no .

“Help me,” I tell Kolton as I stand.

He comes right over, and together we help this young girl to her feet.

“I think you are just having a panic attack over everything that’s happened. You look healthy, nothing seems to be broken. Your baby sounds and feels good. I don’t think you’re having contractions.” I turn to Kolton. “Do you have a safe place to take her?”

He nods. “But no way to get her there.”

“We’ll take my car.”

“You can take her,” Kolton says, giving me a dead stare.

I stare right back at him in challenge. It’s been a long time since I’ve put my foot down with him. He used to like it. Said it was the only thing that made him feel safe. I’m not sure if he needs to feel safe anymore, but that won’t stop me from pulling out every trick I have to make sure he is.

“And you will come with me,” I say firmly. “You called me for help, I came. I won’t be your bitch boy.”

I see the twitch in his eye that tells me I got to him. But is he going to argue or is he going to play along? Sometimes, it’s impossible to tell which way he’s going to lean.

“Fine,” he finally grits out.

Ah, so play along it is. I have to fight the victorious smile because that is no small feat where Kolton is concerned.

I pick up my bag, putting my hand on the young lady’s shoulder. “You’re going to be safe now. Kolton will not let anyone hurt you ever again. ”

I sneak a look at him from the corner of my eye, and for a split second, all the sharpness is gone, and in its place is the soft boy I fell in love with. The boy I’m certain is still buried underneath the rough exterior of a hardened man.

We help her into the backseat of my car without issue. She leans her head back against the headrest, her hand resting on her stomach protectively. I close the door, but don’t get into the driver’s seat just yet.

“Where are we going?” I ask.

“I’ll be right back.” He moves toward the building.

“You’re not putting this on me,” I say sternly, taking a step after him.

He whirls toward me, his eyes ablaze with anger and something else I can’t quite place.

“I said I’ll be right back,” he snaps.

So I stop and wait.

I realize as he walks off, that my issue isn’t being stuck with this girl. It’s him walking away from me, knowing it very well could be for the last time.