Page 85 of Hard Corps (Selected Sinners MC 7)

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

Early Summer 2015, Austin, Texas, USA

I kneeled at the edge of the hospital bed and held his hand in mine as Katie’s hand rested against my shoulder. Cambio Todelli was in a coma, and there was no consensus on his potential recovery. According to the doctors, he may come out of it, and he may stay in it forever.

I had no idea of what to expect, and left the outcome in the hands of God. Mentally, spiritually, and physically, I attempted to release myself from the feeling of responsibility to keep him alive, realizing my health and sanity was far more important than anything.

As Otis, Slice, and Ripp walked into the room I stood and turned to face them. “We’re going down to get something to eat.”

“Hell, I’ll go with ya,” Ripp said.

“I’m going to stay up here. His girl is supposed to be here pretty quick,” Otis said.

“Mine’s coming with her,” Slice said. “I’ll wait up here ‘till they get here anyway, then I’ll be down.”

Ripp had followed the shooter in a high speed chase down the highway for several miles. While a traffic jam slowed the vehicles to a halt, he dumped his bike, ran to the car, and pulled the guy through the window.

One of the stopped motorists called police, and when the police arrived, Ripp was still beating on the guy.

I walked to Ripp’s, patted him on the shoulder, and nodded my head toward Otis and Axton. “We’ll be back up as soon as we’re done. If you’re not down first.”

“See ya in a bit,” Otis said with a nod of his head.

Axton nodded his head toward us and slapped his hand against my back as we passed.

We silently walked to the elevator, got inside, and independently stared at the closed elevator doors as we rode to the first floor. I was truly blessed to have Katie in my life, and seriously doubted I would have had the state of mind or the spirit to accept Toad’s condition as God’s will if it had not been for her.

The elevator doors opened and as we stepped from the elevator, Katie gasped.

“What?” I asked.

She grinned and shook her head. “Did you see that?”

“See what?” I asked.

“The light. When we were getting out,” she said as she peered over her shoulder toward the elevator.

I shook my head and glanced toward Ripp.

“Come on,” he said. “Dekk’s in there with Austin.”

“What happened?” I asked as I turned toward Katie, confused as to what had startled her.

“The elevator light, it flickered,” she said.

I shrugged my shoulders. “Fluorescent lights do that sometimes. Probably a bad ballast.”

She grinned, grabbed my hand, and proceeded to skip down the hallway toward Ripp.

“Well,” she said as she tugged against my arm. “I said a prayer on the elevator. And I asked for a sign. God answered me. So, he’s going to be just fine.”

“I don’t think it’s that easy,” I said.

“I do,” she responded.

As we walked to the cafeteria hand-in-hand, I hoped she was right. After getting a plate of fruit and a few muffins, we sat down at the table with Austin and Ripp.

“So, any changes?” Austin asked.