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I wish we didn’t have to.
But his minions just tried to run us off the road.
Blood requires blood.
And I will spill all the blood in the world if that’s what it takes to survive and get back to Nadia in one piece. She’s the unexpected kind of motivation I didn’t see coming until she was already burrowed deep within my heart.
My phone rings. It’s Paddy. Given the timing, something tells me we’re about to get unpleasant news on top of the shitstorm we just rode through. “Yeah, Paddy, what’s up?” I answer.
Orion and Drake eye me intently. They can tell from the look on my face that things just got worse. As Paddy brings me up to speed on the events of the past couple of hours, it becomes clear that the assholes we dealt with mere minutes ago were part of a coordinated action. Colton is only getting started.
“We need to get to the hospital,” I tell the guys once Paddy hangs up.
16
Orion
Three of our club’s senior members are hospitalized after a pickup truck rammed into their convoy. The driver got away, but eyewitnesses and cops are working with them to find the fucker. We already know it’s a Black Devil. They don’t need to share that suspicion with us. Besides, it’s written all over the sheriff’s face once he’s done taking our statements.
The hospital is more crowded than usual. According to the head nurse, there’s been an uptick in violence all over Orange County, and each of these incidents, including the fatalities, can be traced back to the Devils. Colton is making his move more aggressively than before.
“Either he feels ready to take us on, or he’s running out of time,” I tell Drake and Kai as soon as the sheriff heads to the other end of the hallway to talk to Paddy.
The Hammer comes out of the ICU with a grim look on his face. We’ve got two prospects in the waiting room. They’re to stay here twenty-four-seven until they’re relieved by other Blackthorn Riders. We are stretched thin, and this incident only makes it worse.
“Sean is hanging by a thread,” the Hammer says, his brow furrowed as he struggles with his own emotions. A big, burly man, always hiding his expression beneath a thick salt-and-pepper beard and a couple of face tattoos, the Hammer doesn’t usually look so lost, yet right now, the mere sight of him is breaking my heart.
“They had to remove his left leg completely. He’ll need a couple more surgeries for his left arm. They’re trying to recover as many of its functions as possible,” he adds. His voice is uneven, close to breaking.
“He got it the worst,” Drake says.
We spoke to the emergency room surgeons, and the odds of a full recovery are slim. They came in broken and bloody, mangled and barely conscious. After everything we’ve seen during our Navy service, I’d hoped we’d put the gruesomeness behind us. I must swallow the lump in the back of my throat, take a deep breath, and go in to see our boys.
“Sean will never be able to ride again,” the Hammer says. “Some of his motor functions are permanently damaged.”
“What about Hopper and Mac?” I ask. They were with Sean, and according to the doctor, they’re not doing too well, either. “Are they conscious, at least?”
Hammer nods once. “And in a lot of pain. Hopper has several broken bones and a long recovery ahead. Mac has a spinal injury; he can’t feel much below his waist, but we’re hoping that’s just inflammation that’ll go down.”
“Fucking hell, man. And the driver got off without a scratch,” Kai mutters, crossing his arms.
Around us, hospital staff rushes toward the emergency room to attend to incoming casualties. From what I hear through the comms system, there's been a car accident. I’ve never seen this hospital so crowded and chaotic.
There’s constant noise, continuous movement, flashing lights, and beeping heart monitors. It brings back too many memories, and I can’t deal with any of it, not now.
I take a deep breath. My lungs feel like they’re about to explode. I let it out slowly until my chest was empty. Clarity soon returns to my foggy mind as I glance around and remember who the fuck I am.
I may not get along with my old man, but I am still his son. He ran the Blackthorn Riders MC with an iron fist, and it’s time for me to take a page out of his book.
“I’ve got a line with the local PD,” Paddy says as he joins the conversation. The sheriff was kind enough to loop me in going forward. Colton’s business has overloaded their emergency response systems all over Orange County, so if he can give us a heads-up to avoid more carnage, he’s happy to do it.”
“Good,” Kai replies. “We need DMV information on that driver.”
“Eyewitness caught a partial plate,” Paddy says and shows us a scribbled Post-it Note.
“Bless his heart,” Drake says and takes the note. “I’ll handle it.”
The Hammer gives me a worried look. “I’ll have to issue a club-wide alert. We’re no longer safe on the road, not even in groups.”
