“Yes, she does.”
“Who is she? What is she to you, and why do I recognize her?”
Scrubbing his hands clean, he stared at Butch, wiping his hands dry on towel. “She’s my best friend’s sister. I’m the one who is supposed to be taking care of her.”
“None of this is making sense. You’ve never mentioned shit about her.” Butch was not buying anything.
“I f**ked up big.”
“Why? How?” Butch asked.
“He’ll not be telling you on your own,” Tiny said, entering the bathroom. The other man was large, dominating, and brimming with rage. “We find out she is safe, and then we’re having a meeting, and you’re telling us everything.”
“I can’t leave her alone. She’s in danger.”
“Far as the person is concerned, she’s dead,” Tiny said.
“I can’t risk it. I promised I’d keep her safe, and I’ve already f**ked up.”
“Then Blaine can stay behind. He’s working on his shit with Emily and Darcy. It’s time for him to do something for the club. Don’t f**king question me again.” Tiny left the bathroom, giving him no choice but to follow instruction.
Following behind the two men, Zero watched Tiny talk to Blaine, who nodded. His brothers were there, looking out for him. Running fingers through his hair he felt guilt swamp him as he looked at Nash. Fuck. He’d been about to kiss his wife.
Shit, f**k, shit. Killer was there as well. They were going to wait for the doctor to let them know how she was doing before leaving. He took a seat, staring at the clear doors, begging for the doctor to enter and give him some good news and to put him out of his misery. He couldn’t accept bad news right now.
Two down, one to go.
What the f**k was Alan even doing alive? Zero had left him for dead.
You didn’t wait to see if he was dead.
Fuck.
Once he climbed on his bike, he hadn’t waited to see if Alan died or not. He didn’t care if he died himself or not, so long as Alan was no more. Once he’d set the match down, his thoughts had been directed toward Prue. For years afterward he kept returning to the city to see who was taking over from Alan. It was a surprise to see how many men came out of the woodwork to take over his place. None of the men were working for Alan or trying to take look for the man who got rid of Alan. Zero had f**ked up, seeing as Alan was in fact alive.
Running a hand down his face, he looked toward the door. No one was coming, and he heard the chaos coming over the line as the hospital was taking in more emergency cases.
None of the brothers talked to him. Butch stayed sat beside him playing some game on his cell phone.
“I’m sorry,” Zero said.
“I don’t care. We’ll handle whatever you’ve got to throw at us.”
Closing his eyes, he rubbed at his temple, needing to know Prue was okay. This was going to take time. She needed to make a full recovery, as otherwise he failed Trevor.
Four hours later, the doctor appeared to give him the news.
“She’s a lucky woman. The bullet didn’t penetrate her heart or sever any major arteries. I extracted the bullet with ease. We’ll keep an eye on her for the next couple of days in case of infection.” The doctor nodded at all of them before leaving. Zero had already filled all the paperwork for her. Relief swamped him at the news. He wasn’t going to lose her like he’d lost Trevor.
“Do you want to see her?” the nurse asked.
He nodded, following her down to the ICU. “Why is she here?”
“To keep her under observation. We’ll keep an eye on her all through the night and move her to a ward tomorrow morning.”
Zero moved to her bedside. There was a tube inside her mouth, and she was hooked up to other tubes and drips. He didn’t know what all the machines did, but they must be helping her in some way. She was breathing on her own, which he was thankful for.
The nurse left him alone as he stared down into Prue’s pale face. Reaching out he stroked her red hair away from her face. She was such a beautiful woman. He’d always found her striking, and he struggled to look away from her whenever he was in her company. Why was he suddenly thinking about her beauty? It was wrong with her lying in a hospital bed. “Hey, honey. You’ve got to fight this and live. Live for me. I promise, I will not fail you again. You’re not going anywhere. I’ll take care of you and love you.”
He leaned down, kissing her temple.
She didn’t respond. Her face pale making her red hair stand out even more, Prue was a beautiful woman, and he was surprised she wasn’t taken. Any man with any sense would snatch her right up. He would, given half a chance.
“I’m sorry,” he said, brushing his lips against her temple once again.
Prue stayed silent, sleeping.
She’s only sleeping.
He needed to remember she was only sleeping and there was nothing else wrong with her.
Staring around the hospital room, Zero didn’t know what he was going to do. After a few minutes he left her side going back toward the main reception of the hospital. He was tired of being near the hospital. In the last few years he felt he’d lived more at the hospital than the clubhouse. The Skulls had dealt with their fair share of enemies, each one hurting a member at one point. They had even lost some of their own men because of those enemies. What was Alan going to do to him or The Skulls? Cutting the thoughts off, he made his way out of the hospital. He hadn’t brought his bike and ended up climbing on the back of Butch’s bike. Blaine was staying at the hospital to take care of Prue while Zero was due back at the clubhouse for the meeting. Butch waited outside, standing beside his bike. Nash and a few others had stayed behind.
“Don’t get any f**king ideas. My ass is my own,” Butch said, pointing at his bike.
Rolling his eyes, Zero held onto his friend while his thoughts were with Prue. She was a teacher and took care of young children, first grade he believed. Shit, what the f**k was he going to do? Prue shouldn’t be dead or even fighting for her life.
They arrived at the clubhouse. On the way inside he saw Sophia waiting up with her daughter. Her gaze landed on him then turned to Nash. He saw her cheeks were heated, but her smile held all the warmth for her husband, not for him. Once Nash was inside, Sophia didn’t look back toward him. She didn’t give him any clue as to what she thought.
She’s not looking at you because she doesn’t want you. This is her answer.