Page 35 of Wild Night (Vicious Reapers MC #2)

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

POSEY

Pacing the hall of the hospital, I don’t know what to say, what to do. I haven’t heard anything. Not that they would tell me anything, even if I asked. I’m not his wife. I’m not on any paperwork. I’m nobody and nothing right now, and he’s not in a position to speak.

So there’s that.

So I pace.

The rest of the club has started trickling in.

Bullet is alive and breathing, but he’s also being thoroughly checked out.

He wasn’t taken anywhere but the emergency room and is set to be discharged with just a little smoke inhalation.

The only reason I know this is because Dakota has been texting me from his bedside.

Viking and Razor are okay, too. Same with them, a little smoke inhalation.

So, if they were all in the same room, why the hell is Justin in the back and unable to talk to me? Unable to see me? I assume he’s been knocked unconscious or something. I have no clue.

Tears stream down my cheeks as I stay close to the windows and look down into the parking lot. I’m not seeing or hearing anything, not really. My eyes are too watery, my heart pounding too loudly in my ears.

I thought Lucian had ruined my life. I thought I was never going to recover from what he did to me. But I was wrong. I survived, then thrived, and fell in love again when I least expected it.

Now I know that I won’t ever thrive if something happens to Justin. I might survive, but thriving will never happen again.

I’ve felt things for him that I didn’t know I was capable of feeling.

And yet with Justin, it came naturally, easily, and now we are having a baby that I also didn’t think was possible.

I never imagined children, that I would have them, especially as I inched closer to forty. Yet here I am, pregnant with his child.

And now what?

What kind of cruel world would show me just a taste of what life could be, only to rip it all away from me? Although that seems to be par for my course. Every time I think I’ve found a slice of happiness, it vanishes the next instant.

I thought this was different. I imagined that everything in my past was leading me to this moment, to this man. I don’t think I was wrong, either. Justin is my person. I feel it to the depths of my soul. I refuse to lose him.

I’m not sure how long I pace. It could be minutes, it could be hours, but when I hear a ruckus, when voices break through the blood pounding in my ears, only then do I pause. Turning away from the window, I don’t know why, but I halfway expect to see Justin standing in the middle of the room.

He’s not. It is Bullet and Dakota. I watch them, the men around them, and then I realize that there aren’t just men here anymore.

I see a couple of the women, the ones who are called clubwhores.

I don’t know when they showed up. I’ve been too busy alternating between pacing and staring out the window.

I continue to stand to the side, watching everyone in the room rally around their president, then a few moments later, return to their assumed positions. I expect Bullet to do the same, but instead, his eyes find mine, and he jerks his chin before he makes his way toward me.

He’s wearing the same thing as the rest of the guys. Boots, blue jeans, a T-shirt, and a cut. The only difference is he’s got what appears to be soot and burn marks on his jeans.

“Posey,” Bullet murmurs as he approaches me.

I stare at him wordlessly. I don’t know what to say, what to think, or even what to feel. My heart races as he tilts his head to the side, his brows furrowing and his expression almost pained as he watches me.

“Just tell me,” I whisper.

Sucking in a breath, I hold it as he begins to tell me what the hell happened. Then, as he continues—his story too long for me to continue holding my breath or I’ll pass out—I let it out slowly.

“Someone blew up our bikes and the front of the building. We were in his office having a meeting. The blast threw us all backward, but he got the brunt of the injuries. It knocked him out. I know he’s in surgery for a few different things, but the doctors told me it’s going to be okay.”

“They don’t know that,” I whisper as tears well in my eyes again. “They can’t promise it, can they?”

“No,” he exhales. “They can’t.”

I wipe the tears from beneath my eyes and think for a moment. I try to gather my thoughts about the information I know. “Who was it?” I ask.

“Got no clue. We’d found a threatening note and were trying to overhaul his security system to see who could have broken in undetected. He had just called Monty to check on the status of Lucian before it happened.”

“It’s not Lucian,” I say.

Bullet chuckles. “No, it’s not Lucian.”

His eyes dance, and I have a feeling that Lucian will never be an issue again. That thought should bother me, but it doesn’t. All it does is allow me to breathe easier. What does bother me is the fact that there is someone out there trying to kill Justin.

“You have no idea?” I ask, even though he’s already answered that question.

Bullet lifts one of his hands, and his fingers gently but firmly wrap around my shoulder before he gives me a squeeze, his eyes searching mine. I watch as he dips his chin, his gaze never leaving my own. The connection is so strong that I can feel the calming waves radiate off him and pour into me.

He’s not worried. He’s not scared. Bullet is at peace and calm. “We don’t know who yet, Posey. But we will find out. Right now, all I want you to do is focus on that baby and Ivy. Nothing else. Leave the rest of the shit to me. As far as you’re concerned, it’s all good.”

It is indeed irrevocably not all good.

Not in the damn slightest. But also, he’s right. There is nothing I can do about it. “How do I focus on Justin when I’m not family?” I ask.

Bullet’s lips twitch into a smirk. He releases my shoulder and jerks his chin upward as if he’s holding on to some secret information, and it seems as though he is.

“You’re not in the city, babe, known the doctor working on him since high school. No worries. Plus, Ivy’s parents are on their way. They know about you, and you’ll be given information and access to him when he’s ready.”

Holy. Shit.

Justin’s. Parents.

IVY

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The beeping sounds of what I assume are hospital machinery play in the background.

I’m trying to open my eyes, but it’s not working.

They aren’t working. I feel as if something heavy is sitting on my chest, maybe even lying across my whole body.

I can’t lift my arms or legs. I can’t open my eyes. Nothing works.

Beep.

Beep.

Beep.

The sounds lull me back to sleep, back to nothingness.

POSEY

I watch as they walk through the door. I know exactly who they are without them needing to say a single word. And as their eyes scan the room, I watch as his find mine. I know he’s Justin’s father because he is an older version of him.

Perfectly.

The woman is polished but still dressed comfortably. Her hair is up in a bun at the back of her head. Her makeup is subtle and flawless. Her clothes clearly on the more expensive side but not flashy in any way.

The man doesn’t walk up to me immediately.

Instead, he makes his way toward Bullet, and I watch as their heads bend slightly as they speak to one another.

The woman does not walk toward Bullet. Her eyes find mine, and she moves toward me.

It’s then that I notice her purse. Chanel.

Not that I own a Chanel purse, but the quilting gives it away, and I can tell that this woman doesn’t do fake.

These are, without a doubt, Justin’s parents.

“Are you Justin’s young lady?” she asks as she approaches.

I’m not sure what I expected her to say, and I know I’m not at my best, but I’m still taken aback that she even came over to me, so I nod. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I tell her my name.

“I’m Posey Bennet,” I say, stretching out my hand.

She pushes my hand away gently, then wraps her arms around me in a hug. I close my eyes, my arms wrap around her as well, and I inhale her scent. I’ve never had a woman hug me before like this. And I don’t know why, but it feels really nice, and she smells like Chanel No. 5, too.

“Justin told us about you, sweetheart,” she murmurs into my ear.

Unfortunately, I have to break the hug, because I don’t want her to think I’m a big weirdo. Releasing her, I take half a step backward, and she does the same at the same time. But she doesn’t look away from me. Her eyes search mine as her lips curve up into a small smile.

“Well, you are absolutely beautiful. I am sorry we’ve been forced to meet this way.”

“Me too,” I whisper.

Her smile doesn’t fade as she gives me a wink. “I won’t barrage you with an interrogation yet. But let’s sit down. The men will tell us what’s happening when it’s time.”

God.

I don’t know how this woman became part of this rough club, but she is exactly what I need right now. Dakota is great, but she has her own issues, given that Bullet has been part of this whole thing, and I can tell she wants to get home to her baby. She’s been pacing just as badly as I have.

“I’m Mae Whitmore,” she says. “You can call me Mae. Lloyd is my husband and Justin’s father. He’ll inform us of what’s happening as soon as he’s able.”

Mae hooks her arm in mine and guides us toward the chair that is just out of earshot of the men’s little gathering. That’s a little disappointing because I would like to hear what’s happening, but I guess it’s not my business.

“John called us right away,” Mae says as if she’s answering a question. Maybe she just needs to talk as much as I feel like I need to pace. Nodding my head, I turn to face her slightly, giving her all my attention.

I open my mouth, but then hear someone call out and ask for the family of Justin Whitmore. Mae is up and over at that doctor like a shot. I don’t even know how she moved that fast. I watch them, knowing I shouldn’t be over there.

I hold my breath, then her eyes flick to mine, and she lifts her hand, motioning for me to join them. I let out my breath in a whoosh, and it’s my turn to sprint toward them.

I don’t know what’s going to happen, what’s going to be said. But I don’t care. I’m standing here with the two people who love Justin most in the world, and they’re letting me join their tight-knit circle. I have never felt so accepted in my whole entire life.