Time slows as I watch them return with a back brace. They bend over Jagger, shining a pin light in his eyes as they ask him questions.
“Don’t cut his vest!” I scream as they pull out scissors. They peer at me as if I’ve lost my mind.
“Believe me this is incredibly important.”
“Alright. I think we can take it off with the transfer if you’re willing to help so we can keep him steady.”
“Thank you,” I whisper.
I rush over and kneel beside them.
“One, Two, Three.”
My hand shakes as I work his arms free of the cut. The cry of pain that spills from his lips when they lift him onto the back brace and then onto the bed rips my hair open. All of this is my fault. I hold back the break down. He needs me to be strong now.
“I’m coming with you.”
“Who are you?”
“His fiancée.” I lie. Fiancée holds far more weight than a girlfriend.
Bikes roar up as the EMT’s carry him to the ambulance.
Warp jumps off the bike and runs over. “What’s going on here, girly?”
“He got hit by a car. I’m headed to the hospital right now.”
He narrows his dark gaze at me.
“I have to go. Where are we headed?” I yell to the EMT as I rush toward them.
“San Mateo Medical.”
“We’re going to San Mateo Medical,” I yell as I climb up and move out of their way. I hold his hand, bow my head, and pray.
***
I feel like my life is being taken away as we unload and they rush him off to ER. My stomach clenches and I remain at the end of the hallway, unable to follow him on to the next step. This is all my fault. My mind goes to Elizabeth. Where is she now? I turn as the club comes through the entrance no less than fifteen deep. Warp makes a beeline toward me.
“Start talking.”
“I was doing some unpacking when I heard a knock. I thought maybe one of the girls had forgotten something, but they hadn’t.” My voice cracks.
“Who was it,” Warp growls.
“Elizabeth, my- my ex-husband’s mistress.”
“Son of a bitch,” Warp spits the words out. His face twists like he’s tasted something sour.
“She pulled a gun. But then J—Freeze came, and the bike distracted her. So I knocked the gun from her hand, rushed her, and took off out the front door. She fired a few shots. I guess on her way to her car because the next thing I know she was roaring toward us. He. He protected me with his bike.” I place a hand over my chest and swallow around the huge knot in my throat.
“I told him nothing good would come from this, now look. You can’t ride, you can’t be in the club, gal. What do you think that’s going to do to him?” He sneers. “You don’t deserve to touch this, let alone hold it.” He snatches his cut from me, and I cry out at the loss of his scent.
He’s not saying anything I haven’t already thought, but hearing the words from someone else breaks me. My legs give way, and I lean against the wall to remain upright as guilt crashes over me like a relentless wave.
“That’s enough.”
I peer up and find a furious Stone hovering over him. His nostrils flair and his green eyes seem to glow with anger.