Ugly Beast let Smokey handle it. He walked up to his wife, stroking a hand down her hair, holding her shoulder.
“She hates hospitals. If she wakes up in one, all hell will break loose.”
“She’s losing too much blood, and I can’t operate. The bullet didn’t come out. This isn’t a through and through, and she could have internal bleeding. Her only chance of surviving is in the hospital.”
“Fuck!” Smokey slammed his fist against the wall, and Abriana jumped. “Pieces of fucking shit.”
His gaze turned to Abriana. “Did you know? Did you fucking know?” Smokey advanced on her.
This was the first time Ugly Beast had ever gotten in his president’s way. He stood in front of Smokey. “You know she didn’t do this.”
“It’s her fucking family that did this. We don’t need to interrogate those fucking dweebs. We know the truth. Pieces of shit!”
“She showed her loyalty.”
“I swear I didn’t do this,” Abriana said. “Please, can we take her to the hospital? I’ll sit with her. I don’t want her to die.”
Smokey stepped away, and paced. “She’s going to the hospital. She’s not fucking dying on my watch. One of the boys will watch her though.”
Abriana tensed at his side, and Smokey looked at her.
“You don’t have what it takes to protect the both of you. As far as I’m concerned, Garofalo has just shown his hand, and his days are numbered.”
Hunter and Kinky were to take the first shift in keeping Raven safe.
All of the brothers were pissed they hadn’t done a better job in protecting them. It was rare for a drive-by shooting but not unheard of. This was their turf, and as yet, they weren’t in a war over land or fuck all.
They all stayed at the hospital while Raven was in surgery.
Several of the people had moved when he took a seat with Abriana. They looked at his face in disgust. Abriana held his hand though. She was pressed close to him, almost as if she was afraid he’d leave.
Time ticked slowly by, and they were all aware of the three men chained in their basement.
Those men were about to get a lot of anger thrown down on them.
All it required was one word from them, and they were going to fucking slaughter the outfit.
“I’m going to use the bathroom,” Abriana said.
She let out a little sniffle, and he watched her go.
He waited a couple of minutes before following her to the bathroom. Opening the door slowly as to not to alert her of his presence, he saw her gripping the sinks, crying.
Entering the room, he gripped her neck, hearing her gasp as he pulled her against him.
“What are you doing?”
“It’s not your fault,” he said.
“How can you say that? She’s dying.”
“She’s not dying. You’re not the one to pull the trigger or organize the attack. We’ll deal with it. We’ll handle it.”
“It’s really happening, isn’t it? We’re all going to die.”
“You need to have a little more faith in us than that.” He cupped her face, pressing her up against the sink and his hard body. “We’re not going to die. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
“I don’t care about me, Ugly Beast. Raven is … she’s the first person to treat me like a friend. I don’t want to lose her. Not ever. It probably sounds silly and childish.”
“It’s not.” He assured her.
She tried to pull away from him, but he wouldn’t let her go.
“Please. I don’t want you to see me like this.”
“See you what?”
“Like this. I … I’m useless, okay? I can’t help her, and I don’t know how to help you. I’m so lost right now, and you need to go back to your club.”
He pressed his lips against hers. “You’re not useless.”
“You don’t have to try and say nice things to me. I know I’m not good at anything.”
“Do I strike you as the kind of man that’ll lie to you? I won’t lie. You’re not useless, and I won’t have you saying otherwise. Cry. Scream. Rant. Rave. I don’t care. You’re hurting because you care. I care.”
“Why are you not crying?”
“Because I don’t deal with my hurt the same way. I’m fucking infuriated that those pieces of shit thought they could deal with us in this way. I’m going to kill Garofalo, Abriana, and I’m going to take care of your dad. They won’t be able to identify the bodies when I’m through with them. That’s the kind of monster I am. The one you were given to.”
“You’re not a monster.” She cupped his cheek.
She hadn’t seen him kill. One day, she would, and she’d see who she really married.
Chapter Thirteen
Raven had lost a lot of blood, too much. She had to stay in the hospital for a couple of days before they would even consider allowing her to leave. Kinky and Hunter had to each stop her from trying to leave. She had ‘round the clock care and security to guarantee her safety.