Page 29 of The Saviors: Part Two

“Extra eyes won’t hurt, but you could have told me,” Ghost says dryly.

“I didn’t want to bother you with tedious details.”

“Tedious details, Sean? Those are important details. But that’s beside the point. Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me. You guys are family. Me, you, and Gavin grew up together. I wanted you to be able to focus on him.”

“I can thank you if I want to, asshole. Hey, the doc just walked in. I’ll call you later.” The call disconnects, and Chelsea pulls back to look at me.

“I want to go see him.”

“Absolutely not,” Axel says. “It’s not safe to go to Abbs Valley right now.”

“He took a bullet for me, Axel.”

“I get that, Cupcake.” Axel walks around the island and runs his fingers through her hair. “You can see him when all this clears up, but not right now.”

He said it gently but with that tone that meant it wasn’t up for discussion.

And what Axel says usually goes.

* * *

Axel holdingout on her lasted a whole fucking hour. Now Chelsea, him, and I are on our way to Abbs Valley. Nolan stayed behind to scrub any footage of us being here, with Holden helping from his end. Les’ guys are going to meet us at the hospital as an extra precaution. But that isn’t helping the permanent scowl on Axel’s face.

Chelsea rubs her hand down his cheek. “Are you going to look like that the whole time?”

He glances at her from the driver’s seat. “Until I have you safely back at home, yes. I shouldn’t have agreed to this in the first damn place.”

“He tried to save my life,” she says softly. That’s what she said at the house that had him melting into the palm of her hand. It’s actually really fucking amusing watching Axel fold. “I just want to say thank you and see with my own eyes that he’s okay.”

Axel sighs, but his shoulders don’t relax. He’s on edge just as much as I am. But neither one of us could handle the pleading look on her face. He pulls into the hospital parking lot, and I hand him a bulletproof vest. She goes to argue but snaps her mouth closed when he narrows his eyes. “This was part of the agreement. You do not take this off under any circumstances.” He tightens it up and hands her Kai’s hoodie. “Now put this on.” He wanted to come with her but didn’t think he could handle being in a car that long, so he handed her his hoodie to take with her.

She slides it over her head and pecks his lips. “I’m ready.”

“Ten minutes,” Axel warns before flipping his hood up and pushing his door open. I do the same, get out and open hers.

“Ten minutes,” I mock under my breath, making her giggle.

We start making our way toward the intensive care unit; Dex and Ryder fall into step behind us. “Zane is perched outside with eyes on the vehicle,” Ryder says.

“Thanks, man,” Axel replies.

When we get to Gavin’s room, Ghost and Bridget are standing by the door. Bridget’s eyes land on Chelsea, and she comes running over, wrapping Chelsea in a hug. “It’s so good to see your beautiful face.”

“You too,” Chelsea answers.

Bridget squeezes Chelsea one more time, then steps back. “Have you been working out? You’re fucking solid.”

Chelsea rolls her eyes and jerks her thumb over her shoulder at Axel. “He made me wear a vest.”

Bridget nods and slides her arm through Chelsea’s. “Good. You should listen to Daddy Axel.”

“Don’t start that shit again,” Axel mutters. “Sean didn’t leave me alone about it for a month.”

Bridget grins at Chelsea. “But you have Daddy vibes. I just call them like I see it.”

Ghost shakes his head. “You said the same thing about Nik, Sunshine.”