Page 36 of Saige (Renegade Vipers MC #1)

Thirty-Three

Saige

The family is all together at the restaurant and we have all placed our orders.

I have Cotton on my left and Loki on my right.

Dad and Leilani are across from us, with Tires, Bexley, Stella, and Cruz there as well.

We have an empty chair at the table, and I can’t figure out why.

Cotton stands up, and pulls the chair out, for Tonya to sit down.

“What are you doing here? Don’t you know that you could’ve brought Rancor right to Saige and Bexley? !” my dad asks with venom in his voice.

Tonya looks at him, not backing down. “I was invited to be here. Like it or not, Stone, Saige is my daughter, and she and I are trying to get to know one another. She told me that she explained everything to you about why I did what I did. I had to keep you all safe. As for Rancor, he’s gone.

Crashed his bike head on into a truck while in a shootout with the cops up in Johnson County, killing him instantly.

I just want to be here for Saige and Cotton. ”

He goes to say something else to her, but I interrupt him.

“Daddy, please not tonight, not here. This is a happy occasion, I have you and Mom, my brother, best friends, aunt and uncle, and Tonya all here. This is what I wanted. Cotton and I agreed. Tonya is my biological mother, and she put herself in harm’s way to get to you, to help Bex and me.

I believe her and would like the chance to get to know her. I’m not trying to replace anyone.”

He looks at me, and sighs. “Okay, baby girl. Tonya, I’m sorry. Saige did explain everything to us. I know it couldn’t have been easy for you.”

“Thank you, Stone.” I introduce Tonya to Leilani, and it’s then that the food is brought out. Tonya even has a plate. Cotton looks at me.

“I ordered for her, she told me what she liked. I love you, baby.”

I smile really big at him, “I love you too.” The table gets quiet for a minute.

Cruz says grace, then we all start to eat, talking and just enjoying being together.

Leilani and Tonya are talking, and I watch as Dad listens and smiles here and there.

I’m glad that they are at least trying to get along, though it seems the women have hit it off pretty well.

Once everyone is done eating, Cotton hands out envelopes to everyone.

We fixed the photos of the babies so that each was personalized to how the person was related to them.

I watch as Dad and Leilani open their envelope. Their picture says ‘Hello Papaw and Tutu. 3’ Dad is just smiling like crazy, and Leilani has a couple of tears running down her face.

I look around at everyone and when I look up at Cotton, he nods his head and smiles.

“Okay y’all. I think we have kept y’all in the dark long enough.

Baby A is a boy, and baby B is a girl. We have names already also.

Joseph Donovan and Nellie Marie Rose. Joseph is Cotton’s grandfather and you know Donovan was his brother.

Nellie Marie was his grandma, and Rose, well Leilani, I had to name her after you as well. ”

Leilani gets up from her chair and comes around the table to hug me, crying. “Thank you, my baby girl. It is an honor.” Everyone is congratulating us, and we are so caught up in the moment, that we don’t see Dayna come in and up to the table for a minute.

“Well isn’t this all nice and cozy? Are you kidding me?

I don’t believe it, Cotton! You’re supposed to be mine!

I know for a fact that those aren’t your babies, I know she was screwing Pyro and Bacon!

She’s just trying to pass them off as yours, just to keep you away from me!

I won’t let you do this, Saige! You’re nothing but a bitch!

You’ll do anything to cut me out of his life, but no more!

I’m taking what is mine!” She pulls a gun and aims it at me.

She has it aimed at my head, her hands are shaking like crazy, as she fires at me.

I move just in time for it to hit me in the shoulder.

Bacon runs in and calls out her name. “Dayna!” As soon as she hears him, she turns and fires at him.

Bacon fires at her. She misses him, her shot hitting the wall, he gets her in the chest. The police are coming in at the same time, people are screaming and running trying to get out of harm’s way.

Bacon shows them his badge and hands his gun over.

Lt. Grady comes over to us. I’m sitting on the ground, Cotton holding me to him, with a napkin pressed hard to my shoulder, trying to stop the bleeding.

Dad and Leilani are huddled around me too, with Tonya behind Cotton, getting another napkin for him.

I’m watching all the chaos going on around us.

Police officers are everywhere, trying to get people to clear out, taking statements and pictures of everything, gathering evidence.

EMS is finally allowed to come in, and they check Dayna’s pulse, but we all know she is gone.

Wolfe is one of the EMTs tonight and he rushes over to me.

Taking the napkins from my shoulder, he looks at it.

“Damn, Saige, we are going to have to get you to the hospital. The bullet is lodged in your shoulder somewhere. They’ll have to surgically remove it.

Come on, sweetie. Let’s get you in the ambulance.

” I start to stand up with help from Cotton, but I get dizzy and the last thing I remember is Cotton and Wolfe yelling my name as I go down.

I wake up and realize I’m in the hospital recovery room. I’m groggy and hurting like hell. I can’t move my left arm at all. “Oh good, you’re awake. I’m Britt, and I’ll be your nurse until you get up to your room. How are you feeling?”

“I’m hurting like hell. I can’t move my arm.”

She smiles at me. “What would you rate your pain on a scale of one to ten, ten being the worst?”

“A twenty,” I say, wanting to knock that grin off her face.

Her smile seems to get bigger, “I’m going to give you something for the pain.

I promise it won’t hurt the babies. It’ll probably make you sleepy.

Go ahead and rest. Dr. Atlas will be up to check on you later.

We’re just waiting on them to get your room ready upstairs.

Your family is waiting for you up there.

Okay here take this. This is a hydrocodone five. ”

I look up at her, even in my groggy state of mind I ask, “Isn’t that an opioid? Aren’t they bad for babies?” She smiles down at me, nobody should be that cheery in a recovery room, I think.

Lil Miss Britt who is happy as a buzzing bee says to me, “Short term use is okay, and you’ll probably be on them for a week at most. It’s safe.

Dr. Atlas wouldn’t give them to you if they weren’t.

” I nod and take the pill. I lay back against the pillows as she takes my blood pressure and temperature.

“I’ll be back in a few minutes to check on you. ”

I close my eyes and the next time I open them, Cotton is sitting beside me, my hand in his, his head laying on the bed beside me. I move my hand a little, and he wakes up. “Hey, Butterfly. You scared the hell out of me. Are you okay? Do you need anything?”

My throat feels like it has a desert in it. “Water,” I croak out. He gets the cup on the table by him and tips the straw towards me. I take a couple of sips, then lean back. “Did they get the bullet out?”

“Yeah, baby. It went in and ricocheted off the bone and hit your carotid artery. That’s why there was so much blood and you passed out.

The doctor got the bullet out, stitched your artery, then stitched up your arm.

You have to keep it in a sling for a while.

They are going to keep you for a couple of days to watch for infection.

The babies are fine. They did a sonogram just to make sure.

” A tear slips from the corner of my eye, and he kisses it away.

“You feel up to a little company? They won’t stay long, they just want to see you before they head back to the clubhouse.

Leilani wants to know what clothes you want her to bring back tomorrow.

” I nod and he goes to the door to let them in.

Dad rushes to me, stating, “My beautiful baby girl. You gave us such a scare. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”

“I’m okay, Daddy. Just hurting.” He leans down and kisses my forehead. “Leilani is going to get you some clothes to bring with us tomorrow. Anything in particular you want?”

“I have several different maternity summer dresses. If you could just bring me one of those. My underthings are in the drawer. I can’t think of anything else, except my deodorant and toothbrush and toothpaste.”

She is typing everything into her phone, so she doesn’t forget. She leans down and kisses my forehead, saying, “Okay, baby girl. We’ll get it. I’ll let the others know that you’re okay and we’ll head home. Bacon is refusing to leave. He’ll be outside your door if y’all need anything. We love you. ”

“I love you both.” After they leave, I look at Cotton. “Finn, I’m getting hungry. Will they let me eat?”

“I’ll find out, baby.” He pushes the button on my bed and lets the nurse know that I am awake. She comes bustling in the room a few minutes later, and I instantly think of my Grandma Farrell.

“Hi, there sweetheart. I’m Ila. I’ll be your nurse this evening. How’re you feeling?”

“I’m hurting a little, about a five right now. And I’m getting hungry, is it okay if I eat? I want to get some cheese bread with ranch,” I say rubbing my stomach.

She smiles as she bustles about, “I believe you can eat, there isn’t anything in your chart stating that you can’t.

Just be warned where you were under anesthesia, you may get an upset stomach.

Would you like a menu for the cafeteria or a list of places that deliver?

After you eat, I can give you something for the pain if you need it. ”

I smile at her. “I already know what I want and that they deliver. I’m not worried about the sickness, these two have kept me sick. Whoever calls it morning sickness, must not realize that it happens all day long.”

She laughs. “Okay, sweetheart. I’m going to take your vitals, then I’ll let you do your thing.”

“Thank you, Ila.” After she leaves the room, I look at Cotton, and he is already on the phone ordering my pizza, his pizza, cheese bread, salads and extra ranch.

I get his attention and tell him to get Bacon something too.

He smiles at me and orders one for him. I’m sitting the bed up to where I am comfortable when I hear him say ten extra pizzas for the nursing staff.

I smile at him. He is the sweetest guy when he wants to be.

After he hangs up, we talk about the house and how much longer it’ll be before it’s ready.

He talks about anything and everything, except what happened earlier.

I run my hand through his long white blonde hair.

There’s a knock at the door and Bacon pokes his head in. “Sorry, Saige. But Lt. Grady’s here, and he needs to get your statement. Is it okay to let him in?”

“Yeah. Oh Cotton ordered us all some food. It should be here soon.” He grins at me and lets Lt. Grady in the room.

“Saige, I’m so sorry to have to do this now, but I need to get your statement about what happened earlier.

” I tell him everything that happened, and he writes it all down.

“Well, your statement matches everyone else’s.

But why would she try to do this to you?

You two have a history?” I explain everything with Cotton’s help about Dayna’s obsession with him, the fight we had, her being banned from the clubhouse, and about the shooting and explosion .

“Y’all have that shooting and explosion on record. Bacon out there was injured in it, protecting me. She had a guy with her then. What was his name, Cotton?”

“Matt Rivers. He was with her tonight too, he and Bacon fought, and Bacon got him cuffed to a bar. That’s what took him so long to get in the room. But he got there in time to save you.”

Lt. Grady looks down at the papers he has.

“Okay then. If you’ll read over this and sign it, I’ll get out of your hair.

” I take the paper and read it, then sign at the bottom.

“Thank you for your time. I hope you heal up fast. Good night.” He leaves just as the food gets here.

Thank goodness, I am starving. It feels like it has been days since I ate something instead of nine hours.

I push myself up with my good arm, and Cotton sets my boxes on the table and slides it over me.

He hands me a huge cup of sweet tea, too.

We turn the tv on and find a program that we both like.

A few nurses come to the door to thank us, and a lady comes in with a cart full of flowers, stuffed animals, and balloons.

“All of these are for you, hun. I’ll just leave the cart in here, and this handsome fella with you can read the cards to you. How is that?”

“Thank you so much. Would you like some pizza? ”

She smiles. “No thank you, hun. I just ate. Have a good night.”

“You too. Oh my gosh, Finn, what in the world is all that?” He laughs and grabs cards and reads them and puts them back with the item they came with.

Flowers from Finn, Bacon, Tonya, and half the clubhouse.

Bears from Loki, Beth and Bethany, and there is a card on a bear dressed in sexy lingerie, it’s from Michael.

It says, ‘Sorry that you were hurt, but I know it won’t deter your beauty. See you soon. Michael’

“How the hell does he know that you are in the hospital? Bacon, come in here!”

Bacon comes running into the room. “What’s going on, Cotton?”

“Bacon, we need you to call Stone and Tech. Tell them to get up here asap. Also keep your eyes open. Saige just got a bear from that Michael Simms. We need to find out how he knows where she is and what happened.”

I am sitting in the bed just listening to what all is being said, getting sicker by the second. I get up and make it to the bathroom just in time. I get myself cleaned up, and I’m walking back to the bed, when Bacon asks, “Saige, why are you out of bed? ”

“I got sick. I ran to the bathroom. It’s okay.” Cotton comes over and helps me back into bed.

“I’m sorry, Butterfly. I should have noticed and helped you.” He kisses my cheek.

“It’s okay. You and Bacon are doing what you need to be doing. Please, once you show Dad and Tech, get that thing out of here and toss it in the trash where it belongs.”

Cotton holds me close to him. “I will, baby. You rest some or as much as you can, because you know when your dad gets here, he’ll be a little loud,” he says laughing. We both rub our hands over my stomach, and he kisses me.