Page 3

Rachel

I found my mother wandering the hallway, a confused look on her face. I took mercy on her and showed her the way to Bee’s room.

After waking Bee and introducing her to my mother, I instructed them both to go downstairs and find Imogen and Zach. Bee knew who they were, so I didn't bother explaining to my mother. I promised Bee that everything was okay, and that I would come find her as soon as possible.

My mother tried to ask questions, but I silenced her every time with a sharp look. This was Bee’s life, and she had already been exposed to so much. I wasn’t going to let her find out about her dad until we knew exactly what we were dealing with.

“Everything is fine. It’s just a practice lockdown, and everyone needs to meet the target time for getting into church. Isn’t that right, Mother?”

I glared at her, and after a moment’s hesitation, she nodded and beamed a beautiful grin at Bee.

“Can you show me what to do, honey? We don’t want to be the last ones there!

Maybe along the way, I can tell you some stories about Rachel when she was your age.

You wouldn’t believe the trouble she used to get into! ”

Bee grinned her approval, and I sighed in relief as one battle of the night was won.

This wasn't Bee’s first club lockdown, so despite being blurry eyed and still half asleep, she clasped my mothers hand in hers and went to find Zach like I told her to.We had spent enough time together that she trusted me, just as she would her Dad, and knew I would never let any harm come to her.

Bee was shooting a dozen questions at my mother, oblivious to the tension in the air. It rolled off her like water off a duck’s back. The poor girl just couldn’t comprehend the level of chaos that had taken place here tonight .

I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her.

It baffled me that no one was concerned about how much shit a child of five was being exposed to.

Her main concern in life should be brushing her Barbie’s hair or annoying her dad into buying her another Bluey teddy.

She shouldn’t be woken in the middle of the night to go and hide from enemies that had kidnapped the only parent she had left.

Bee should be playing with kids her age, getting muddy, being a little terror in all the best ways.

Children only get one shot at childhood, and I hated the thought of her spending her one chance at a normal life in the club’s circle.

Sure, it offered her protection, but it also came with danger and robbed so much from her.

The fact that we were already teaching Bee the correct way to hold a gun, and how to hide in case of an ambush… it was fucking wrong.

The world is a dangerous place… surely it doesn’t hurt to know how to defend yourself?

No! I shoved away that thought. At her age, self-defence should be knowing how to defuse bullies or learning about stranger danger. It should not be target practice and teaching how to duck and cover.

She deserved so much better than all of this.

I watched them down the hallway, my heart heavy and my thoughts miserable. As they descended the stairs, Doc came flying up them, grumbling as he did so.I straightened my back and schooled my features into a neutral expression.

“What the fuck has happened now?” He all but yelled at me, causing a wry grin to split my lips.

“It’s a pleasure to see you, too, Doc. And might I say, that attitude you’re wearing is very flattering on you. The way your neck veins bulge—”

“Are you being smart with me, woman?” He grumbled, narrowing his eyes at me.

“I would never ,” I gasped. “I’m insulted you would even ask.”

“You’re a fucking nightmare, that’s what you are. Are you going to tell me what’s happened?”

“No. With that attitude, there’s no doubt you’ll shoot the messenger. I think you best go and see for yourself,” I replied, stepping to the side and pointing down the hall to Dante's bedroom.

He pushed past me with his medical bag and drew up short in the doorway.

It wasn't a pretty sight, and I sucked my breath in sharply as I took it all in once more.

Jenna was pressing on Sharks stomach, both of her hands drenched in his blood as she tried to stop the flow of blood. Vienna was ripping up sheets as fast as he could and throwing them on the bottom of the bed, so they had something to clean it up with.

Shark's face was pale, and his brow furrowed in agony.

“Ahh, shit. This is all I need at my bloody age! Of all the fucking days to choose to go bang your old lady in the woods, this is the day Crash chooses,” Doc muttered to himself before making his way to the bed and opened his case.

I could have done without that visual, thank you very much!

The thought of Big Mama getting railed had me almost dry heaving.

I’ve no problem with the elderly having a sex life – more power to them.

Crash was a fine-looking man, and any woman would be lucky.

I’d climb that man like a goddamn tree and wouldn’t let go until we were both spent and exhausted.

But the thought of Mama getting pleasured in the woods was enough to make me want to bring up my breakfast. She’d probably have a list of complaints as well. The woman was never fucking satisfied.

As Doc set to work, pulling out a scary-looking needle and a syringe, I turned to Vienna and asked him the question that had been plaguing me.Vienna was the only man who would tell me the truth. Other than Dante, of course. Everyone else felt the need to protect me. Vienna treated me as an equal.

“Is he dead?” I asked softly.

“Rachel,” Vienna said kindly. “You see the way his chest is rising and falling? That’s usually a good indication that a man is breathing. You see the way he’s talking? You’re a murderer, you know dead men can’t speak.”

“You’ll be a dead man if you carry on with the sarcasm. Would you speak if you were dead?”

“Oh, for sure,” he grinned. “I’ll be haunting all you cunts, and there’s not a thing you can do about it. ”

“We could always acquire some holy water.”

“This whole place is unholy,” Vienna scoffed. “You wouldn’t get it past the grounds without it self-combusting — taking you with it.”

“Vienna, please. It’s been a long day…” I huffed, rolling my eyes at him.

“Now you know how we all feel dealing with you.”

“Do we have a problem?”

“Many,” he smirked down at me with a sideways glance. “And no. Dante isn’t dead. He would rather die than let Macbeth kill him.”

“That literally makes no sense.” I resisted the urge to stomp my foot at him. He was the most annoying person sometimes.

But surely this is reassuring? If Vienna is still laughing and joking, then that shows everything is okay. If he isn’t worried, I don’t need to be worried.

Vienna was also a fucking idiot. He’d be laughing and joking if someone was hacking him into pieces.

He gave me a lop-sided grin. “It doesn't, does it? But strangely, it also does. There's not a lot in this world that could take Dante out, but it certainly isn't going to be that little fuckwit. Dante will be fine, Rachel. I promise you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

He handed me some sheets, and nodded at Doc. “How can you not be sure? Dante isn't going to leave Bee, and believe it or not, he's not going to leave you, either. He'll fight tooth and nail to come back to his girls, you'll see.”

I stayed silent.

Vienna had no idea of the argument me and Dante had before this shit show happened. I had a feeling I'd be the last person Dante would want to come home to.

“Get yourself fucked right off!” Shark gasped, pulling my attention to him.He was straining to get off the bed, Doc pushing him back down by his shoulders.

“Don't be so stupid, lad. They used a bigger needle to tattoo you with. It'll only sting for a second.”

“Like fuck!” he hissed, still straining to get away. It wasn’t much of a fight, though, not with that wound in his stomach. “It's going to sting for a hell of a lot more than that, and you know it! ”

“Alright. A couple of seconds. It's either that or die, Shark,” Doc shrugged.

“Well, that’s it then,” he said, flopping back on the bed. “I’ve had a good run. I’m ready to meet my maker.”

“Shall I call for the church elders and the vicar?” I asked with a sickly-sweet smile.

“I will resurrect you and kill you myself if you even dare say something like that again!” Jenna slapped at his chest.

“I’ve been stabbed, woman, and you’re slapping me! And you’re not helping!” He spat in my direction.

“Um, excuse me, cheese man. I think you’ll find it was me who brought the Doc here. The least you could do is thank me.”

“Go to hell, Rachel!”

Vienna might have a point if this is what I’m like all the time.

“Just let Doc get to work,” Jenna hissed, slapping him again. “Don’t waste energy arguing with these idiots.”

“I was planning on it, anyway,” Doc said with a shrug. “No one is dying on my watch.”

“Ahh fuck,” Shark hissed. Jenna clasped his hand and brought it to her lips, kissing his knuckles. “Do what you need to do, Doc.”

“Go get him a beer, Rachel,” Vienna nudged me.

My head shot up to look at him instead of the agonised look on Shark’s face. “What? Why me? You go get him a fucking beer.”

“I'm not going anywhere. I want to see the Shark man cry.”

“And I don't?” I huffed back at him, placing my hands on my hips.

“Err… I've been here longer.”

“Like that's a reason.” I rolled my eyes as he turned to face me, and placed his hands on his own hips, mocking me.

“It is. I've earned it. You've not put up with his shit as long as I have.”

“He just snapped at me and said I wasn’t helping. He expects me to do nothing,” I said, resisting the childish impulse to say “ha,” afterwards.

“Or… Shark could be waiting for you to make it up to him by bringing him a beer to numb the pain,” Vienna countered.

“He spied on me. He owes me this. ”

“Following orders isn’t exactly spying, Rachel. Dante told him to,” Vienna came right back at the same time as Shark croaked “not spying,” in the background.

“It still happened, though,” I huffed.

“Well, he once stole fifty quid from me.”

“Pft. I’ve heard this story. You lost it at poker.”

“Well then, I deserve it because Dante snitched to his old lady about my lack of poker skills.” Vienna grinned, flicking me on my forehead.

“First of all, ow. Second, you can take that up with Dante. I’m staying.”

“You’re not. I told you, I’ve known Shark longer.”

“You said it yourself – I'm the VP's old lady. That trumps any so-called time power plays.”

“Oh, you're pulling rank on me, are you? And I thought you were my hair friend.”

“Ditto, buddy, and yet here you are, trying to push me out.”

“Fine. Let's play rank.”Vienna said. I narrowed my eyes at him, not trusting the suspicious gleam in his gaze.“You win. You are higher rank than me.”

“Ha! I knew it. So—”

“So, as the highest-ranking person in this room, is it not your job to make sure everyone is taken care of?”

“I—”

“And does Shark not need a nice, cold beer to take the edge off the horrendous, painful procedure he's about to go through?”

“Hey!” Shark spluttered, but Vienna waved him off.

“Not now, buddy. I'm winning.”

“But you're not fucking helping!” Shark hissed.

“See,” I grinned smugly. “Shark doesn't even want you here. You're not helping. You could help by getting him a beer,” I said sweetly, mimicking him.

“I'm not helping because you're distracting me. You know what would solve that, don't you?”

“I'm not getting him a fucking beer!”

“So you’re not going to play the role of your rank? That’s a shame,” Vienna said, shaking his head sadly.

I had a sudden thought. “Aren’t you the peacemaker? Aren’t you supposed to ensure peace? I’m sure a beer will bring a lot of peace to poor Shark.”

“Oh, for goodness’ sake!” Jenna snapped, getting to her feet .

“Not now, Jenna, I’m winning,” I grinned at Vienna.

“Forget it!” She barked. “I'll get him a bastard beer!”

“I mean… I didn't wanna say anything. But as his old lady, you really should have been offering first, instead of letting us two bicker in front of a sick man. What's wrong with you, Jenna?” Vienna asked, shaking his head at her.

She didn't respond. Jenna shoulder barged him as she went past, and shot me a nasty glare at the same time. “I’m not playing these fucking stupid games with you set of cunts,” hurled over her shoulder.

“Put it there,” Vienna said, holding his fist out to me. “Looks like we both won.”

I couldn't help but laugh at him as we bumped fists. “Looks like we did.”

As soon as my fist touched his, he grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me into his chest. “I love you, our kid.”

“I love you, too, Ven.” I murmured against his body. “I don't think they love us right now, though.”

“Dante won’t love you, either, brother ,” Doc said, shooting us a warning glance.

He didn’t let me go, though. He rested his head atop mine, letting his beard dangle over my face. I knew better than to rise to it, and just flipped it over my shoulder. If I said anything, he’d just be more annoying.

We grew silent as we watched Doc stitch Shark up. Despite the banter me and Vienna had shared, I could feel his heart beneath my head, and knew he was just as panicked as I was.

“You get it, don't you, hair buddy?” He said softly, so softly only I could hear. My heart clenched at the raw emotion in his voice.

“I get it, Ven,” I said, pulling back to smile up at him. “Sometimes humour is all we've got.”

“I always did like you.” he placed a kiss atop my head, and we both took a brief moment of comfort in each other's arms. A split second of vulnerability before we pulled apart and went back to mocking Shark.

Jenna came back into the room with enough beers for everyone, and the three of us stood at the end of the bed, each staring down at the patient.

“I feel like I'm in a zoo,” he muttered to Doc .

“This is gonna leave a nasty scar. You might have a touch of the zebra markings about you.”

“Doc, man, don't you join in, too.”

“You leave the Doc man alone,” Vienna said, shaking his head.

“After all he's done for you, and you're going to tell him he can't join the fun? That’s shocking, that is,” I said.

“I raised you to be a better man than that,” Jenna said after me. We all grinned at each other and clinked our glasses together.

“Dante wouldn't have let you behave this way,” Shark hissed through the pain as the needle went through his skin.

“Only because he would have been too busy taking the piss, we wouldn't have got a word in edgeways,” Vienna laughed.

I smiled back, but my heart leapt into my throat.

Vienna was right. Sometimes humour was all we had.

But hearing Dante's name was a stark reminder of why we were even able to mock Shark in the first place.

And it was also a reminder that after Doc was done, we were all going to have to sit down and come up with a serious plan about how we were going to fix this.