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Armor
We’ve been at the hospital for over six hours. Jada’s fallen asleep beside me and is leaning against the corner of the wall. Killer fell asleep, and so did Sarge and Brick. Shiloh, Hammer, Breaker, and I have been awake the whole time. Agony, Fury, Archer, and Chains are all back at the clubhouse, cleaning up the mess the shooting caused. Ops and Mabel went out to a diner to get some hot coffee and food. If Jada meant nothing to me, I probably would’ve gone with them to get some grub. They invited most of us with them, but a few of us were asleep, or we chose to stay here with Hammer and Shiloh. Meanwhile, Ice is back home with Sunny since she’s pretty late in her pregnancy.
I have to admit, Shiloh’s not Oakleigh’s biological mother, but from the way she’s been tapping her foot and her hand’s been shaking all night, you wouldn’t know any different. The woman loves Hammer’s daughter like she’s hers, and I don’t think a lot of people find that anymore. It’s a rarity if you ask me. Hammer has his arm draped around his woman, but the worry in his eyes is obvious.
We haven’t had many updates on Oakleigh. She was rushed back to the trauma unit, and then about fifteen minutes after we got here, we were told she was being taken back into surgery to retrieve the bullet and repair whatever damage occurred. I’m not trying to be a pessimist, but part of me thinks things can’t be going well. What sort of surgery lasts over six hours? It makes me think the doctors are running into problems, and they’re trying to fix them. The only positive is we haven’t seen a doctor come out and tell us she’s dead, so there’s that.
I glance over to see if Jada’s stirred awake, but she’s still catching some z’s. A man in a white coat comes up and walks toward the group, “Can I speak to Oakleigh’s parents, please?”
Shiloh and Hammer rise to their feet, and the doctor shuffles them off to a different area of the waiting room. I arch a brow, praying for not only Hammer and Shiloh but Jada that they don’t have to face an unimaginable loss today.
“I hate that this shit keeps happenin’ with the club. We’ve had enough loss, so why are we bein’ subjected to more of this shit?” Breaker grumbles under his breath, barely enough for me to hear him.
“One of these days, we’re going to level the playin’ field with them. I think it’s gonna happen sooner than you think, brother. Honestly, we’re not gonna let this shit fly. We’ll be here for Hammer, Oakleigh, and Shiloh right now. That’s all we gotta worry about right now, bein’ here for them. We can worry about the other shit later.”
I catch Breaker looking at me and sense his anger growing with every passing moment. “I don’t tell anyone this shit, but every night I ask myself if what I did to Celia was the right decision. I’ve never hurt a woman before, Armor. I don’tenjoythe fact I made her pay with her life. I was in love with her, or rather the lie she made me believe. Was me killing her for betraying me warranted?”
Fuck, it sounds like he’s had a lot of nights thinking about this. “I think you’re focusing too much on the fact she was a woman. She betrayed you, yes, but she was doing far worse than that, brother. She was planted to go after you to get information for the 17. That’s somethin’ entirely different if you ask me. At any time, she could’ve told you the truth, been honest with you, but that isn’t somethin’ she did. Only when she was beggin’ for her life did she try to get her ass out of it. The truth is, I probably would’ve done the same thing.” I’m being as honest as I can with him, and Breaker raises both of his brows.
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust another woman, not after what Celia did. I stripped you all of your fuckin’ patches because I thought one of you was the rat. When the rat was in my fuckin’ bed. But . . . I fuckin’ loved her, man, that façade she presented to me, at least. I loved that woman, and I had to make a choice.”
“A choice that showed the 17 we aren’t ones who can be fucked with, and that we’ll take down anyone they send our way, regardless of who they are,” I speak up, trying to encourage my Prez and show him his choice might not have been ‘right’ in a moral code, but it was the right decision for our club and the people in it.
“But is it worth it when people suffer because of it, like Hammer’s daughter?” Breaker looks over to where Hammer and Shiloh are, surely blaming himself for the pain they’re feeling right now.
“There are risks being affiliated or associated with the club. Everyone in it knows it. There isn’t a day when we don’t have any sort of risk. It might not have been Oakleigh. It could’ve been Jada, Mabel, or even Sunny. Hell, it could’ve been one of us.”
“It doesn’t matter, man. The point is this happened to Hammer’s daughter, and maybe if I hadn’t—”
“Stop your shit right there. You and I both know the 17 don’t abide by any rulebook. They won’t be like some other clubs who won’t go after families. They don’t give a flyin’ fuck about the people we love, and in turn, they put their own families at risk. You did what any of us would’ve done, and don’t overthink that shit. You were faced with an impossible decision and made one. You showed people that they can’t fuck with us, and those who do will pay the ultimate sacrifice. You showed our enemies that our club isn’t one to mess with.” I keep trying to help Breaker see that he wasn’t wrong in making the choice he did. But I don’t know if he’s ever going to feel good about it. I think what Celia did, the betrayal, the lies . . . I think all of it fucks with him in a way none of us will ever be able to truly understand.
A deep inhale coming from my left causes me to look over, and Jada’s stirring awake. She rubs her fingers against her eyes and stretches. “Any updates?”
“Not yet. The doctor’s talkin’ to your brother and sister-in-law now,” I tell her, and Jada lets out a sigh. I know she was hoping for another answer, but we don’t have another one as of yet.
“All right. Um, well . . . I’m going to go find one of those vending machines with some coffee. I need it so bad right now,” Jada says, slinging her purse over her shoulder in the process.
“I’ll go with you.”
Jada gives me a concerned look, probably afraid someone’s going to put the pieces together between us, but I’m not worried. “Someone associated with the club was just attacked. No one is goin’ anywhere by themselves.”
“Okay, whatever. I can go get a coffee by myself, but if you wanna be my personal security guard, go for it.” Jada dramatically rolls her eyes and puts up a fight, just on the off chance anyone’s paying attention to us.
Jada starts walking in the direction of the cafeteria, and when we’re out of sight of anyone from the club, I grab onto her hand. I give her a reassuring squeeze, a silent way of telling her I’m here for her because I know this woman has to be hurting.
I just hope whatever news the doctor’s telling Jada and Hammer is good.
CHAPTERNINE
Jada
It feels like I’ve been walking in a daze for the past few hours. We’re here at the hospital for Oakleigh, but none of this seems real. Armor and I went to get the group of us some snacks so we could all keep our spirits and energy up, but it all felt like a half-measure.
The minute I get back into the waiting room, I see Hammer and Shiloh holding each other.
My body goes stiff, and I’m already preparing myself for the bad news.
“No. Please, no,” I whisper, and Armor rubs my back.
