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Chapter Twenty-Eight

Henley

S everal hours later, I have everything I need. Cahir let me know right after I left that Doc was starting the official drip and would let me know if anything changes. After that, I was on my own.

Now, as I walk the halls of the club to get to the medical wing, my thoughts are haywire.

Maybe this isn’t the greatest of ideas, but if I want to keep her safe, I will do what I have to. Even if that means making her hate me. As long as she is safe, I can handle anything else.

Opening the door, Doc is there checking her vital signs while Cahir scrolls through his phone. “How is she?” I ask as I put the small bag of stuff on the bed.

“She’s good, no concerns from what I have seen. Tala and a few of the other girls are coming by in a few minutes to get her ready.” Letting out a small sigh of relief, that’s another piece that I don’t have to worry about. “Did you get it?”

I hold up the small bag of stuff, a satisfied smirk on my face. “Sure did, just need to sterilize it.” He smacks his hands on his knees and jumps to his feet.

“I’m going a little stir-crazy, so I have no problem doing it for ya.” I go to deny him, but he’s already sweeping the bag from my hand and dashing out the door. I chuckle at his quick escape, the man not having any clue how to stay still. He’s the kind of guy that is always on the go, not that I could blame him. When I was his age, I did that too. Now, on the other hand, I had a gorgeous woman brought into my life by some form of higher power. I won’t let her go, no matter the circumstances.

The small box sits heavily in the pocket of my jeans. The corner jabs me with each step, but it remains as a reminder as to why I’m doing what I’m doing.

“I hope you don’t hate me, sweetheart,” I whisper as I sit next to her and bring her small hand to my lips. For some reason, the pressing need to clarify brings the next words out of my tight throat. “You ran off without me, and I thought you were leaving. You were almost killed today, could have been if you didn’t fight so well. Elodie, you have no idea the lengths I will go to protect you, and when you wake up, I will be there to ensure you know that I’m not going anywhere. You aren’t going anywhere. Whatever I need to do, I will do it.” Barely standing, I plant a gentle kiss on her pale pink lips, her breathing even, and her chest rising and falling with each breath. The monitor next to her beeps rhythmically as I sit and watch.

“She’s safe,” Zale says while calling me out on staring at her. “The good thing about having her in a coma is that she’s not going to go anywhere unless we move her.” He comes to sit in the chair next to me, his large body barely fitting in the slim seat.

“Fuck off,” I grunt. He chuckles softly but doesn’t say anything else for a long time, his eyes dragging over her sleeping form. Normally when someone stares at my woman, I have the immediate urge to kill them. Zale, on the other hand, doesn’t invoke that feeling. Instead, he sits back and watches her like the anomaly she is.

“Hael let me know that there would be a wedding happening soon?” I nod to answer his question, words not enough to express just how conflicted I really feel over it. “If this is the way you believe is going to keep her safe, then by all means, we support you. If my woman did that shit, she would be barefoot and pregnant before she had the chance to decline anything.” Something about his statement drives me up the wall. At least I know I’m not the only one that’s fucked in the head.

“Wait,” I pause and look at him over my shoulder. “When did you and Hael start talking again?” A few months ago, something went down between them. We’re not exactly sure what and neither one of them has decided the rest of us need to be privy to it. Either way, it was almost a house divided for a while there. We’ve all gotten back on solid ground but we all just know that those two aren’t to be kept in the same room for a while.

Zale looks uncomfortable with my catch, but he doesn’t stop me from asking. A dark crimson spreads over his cheeks which only brings more questions to the forefront of my head.

“We aren’t really talking. Since you’re technically our boss, he felt everyone needed to know that you might be…indispensable for a while.” Shaking my head, I turn away from him once again. “If you need a witness, I can do it.” His offer means a fuck more than he realizes.

“Yeah, Elodie and I would like that.”

A bustling from outside the room has us both standing on guard. Three girls bust into the room with no shame, glaring at us as they take us in.

“Out,” Tala barks, her finger pointing to the door directly behind her. Zale and I both take that queue, and we book it out of there. The door slams and hits Zale on the ass, his yelp of surprise has me cackling.

“Did you see that massive bag?” He gawks, staring at the barrier between us and them. “That thing needed fucking wheels. Wheels, Henley!”

“It probably has everything they need to get my girl ready for her big day.”

Zale opens his mouth to say something back, probably a sarcastic remark when Hael turns the corner and sees us. Instead of making the remark, Zale’s mouth slams shut, his muscles tensing under his shirt.

“Text me when you need me to come back.” With that, he’s off. I don’t try to stop him. There’s no way I’m going to sit here and be in the middle of this awkward bullshit.

Hael watches him leave, a weird longing in his eyes that I can’t quite decipher. After a moment, he turned back to me. “Did you get it?” Swallowing thickly, I dig out the small box and show him.

With a low whistle and nod, he smiles brightly. “You did good, man. If she’s pissed when she wakes up, the rock on her finger might make her a little less mad.”

“That’s not fucking helpful,” I grumble out, snapping the box closed and putting it back.

“I’m officially ordained, so I presume that is helpful. When are we going to get this shindig rolling?”

“You didn’t just fucking say shindig ,” I harrumph. “You’re aging us and you don’t even realize it.” He laughs at me as he shoves his hands into his pockets.

“Whatever. Are we doing this or what?” Glancing at the shut door, I can’t help but feel like everything is falling into place exactly as it needs to.

Not even two hours earlier, Doc assisted in moving her to our bedroom where she sleeps deeply. He was adamant that nothing would wake her with the medications rolling through her system. He also made it clear that anything could happen and she would be none the wiser.

She tested my limits, now I’m going to test hers.

A raw, uneasy ache still touches me when I think about everything I’m doing. On one hand, I have no remorse for keeping her safe. The second I met her, I knew I would take a bullet to the heart to keep her safe. Even if that means trapping her.

On the other hand, I know that if I were in her shoes, I would likely wake up and kill me. Thankfully, the roles aren’t reversed, and I have time to figure out what the fuck I’m going to do.

Instead of thinking too far into everything, I stare at my beautiful woman, the one I’m now lucky enough to call my wife. She may be hard-pressed about it, but I sure as hell could never be mad at this. I knew there was only one way to keep her safe, and I succeeded in doing that.

“You are now pronounced man and wife. You may kiss your bride,” Hael says dramatically.

Leaning down to kiss her soft, sweet lips. Everything went as well as it could have, including Cahir bringing the bag of freshly cleaned items back and the girls working their magic on my sweet bunny. Now, she just needs to take everything I give her. Pulling away only slightly, I bring my lips to her ear and whisper.

“You’re mine now."