Page 46 of Savage Bond

“Nope! You’re not cutting this off of me. I’ll get it off myself.” I ignore all of the pain as I sit forward in bed and fumble to try to untie the knot at my back.

“Let me help you,” Chopper breathes in my ear. He gently moves my fingers out of the way and undoes the knot. He unlaces the ribbon from the entire corset as I hold the fabric against my body. He grabs a hospital gown and holds it out, while turning his head to the side. As soon as I toss the corset on the chair and slip my arms in the gown, he glances down at me again.

“Would you two mind stepping into the hallway so I can examine Roxy?” The doctor sighs. I'm pretty sure she’s fed up with me already, but I don’t care.

“Chopper and my dad are both staying. They’re allowed wherever I am. They have permission to talk to anyone about my medical care and make decisions for me,” I state firmly, leaving no room for discussion.

“Is Chopper your husband?”

“No. He’s my everything.” I glance up at him and find so much love and affection staring back at me.

“Fine,” she sighs. “I already spoke to the Sinners so I know how this happened. I won't be marking any of that down on your file. As far as anyone is concerned, you were mugged in the parking lot at the mall. Understand?” She glances towards the door like she’s checking to make sure no one is close enough to hear her.

“Yes.”

“Good. Now, I need to check your abdomen before I send you for some x-rays and a CT scan.”

Chopper helps me situate the blanket to cover my pelvis and then he helps me pull the hospital gown up to expose my abdomen. He lets out a deep growl as his gaze lands on my side. It’s a deep red and I have no doubt I’ll be black and blue in the morning.

“Jeez, Roxy. You have to be in a ton of pain,” Dad whispers, taking a step closer.

“I’ll be fine,” I grumble, wishing I could go home. I don’t want to be in the hospital. I don’t want people examining me and trying to figure out where I'm broken.

“I'm so sorry I wasn’t there to save you.” Chopper drops onto the chair next to me and squeezes his eyes shut. He’s so upset. He truly feels responsible for this. He rests his forehead on the mattress next to me and I don’t hesitate to run my fingers through his long hair, doing my best to comfort him.

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“If I had stepped in like I wanted to that first night… he never would’ve gone after you.” He peeks up at me with moisture in his eyes.

“And I would’ve gotten mad at you. I never would’ve dated you or admitted I was in love with you. It sounds like it all played out exactly how it needed to and I wouldn’t change a thing about it.”

“But he-”

“He beat the crap out of me.” I smirk when Chopper glares, he clearly doesn’t think this is a joking matter. “He surprise attacked me and knocked me out. When I woke up, I was in too much pain to fight back and he quickly tied me to the chair. He knew if I wasn’t tied down, I would’ve been too much for him to handle. But you…” I shake my head, amazed as always with how incredible he is. “You stormed in there and saved me.”

“I helped,” Dad grumbles under his breath, making me grin.

“I have some pretty amazing men in my corner and I'm extremely lucky for that.”

“You’re not working at Savage Saloon anymore.”

I arch a brow at Chopper. He seriously can’t think I'll let him tell me what to do, does he?

“Um, yes, I am. Wilson isn’t taking that from me. That lowlife doesn’t get to dictate how I live or the choices I make. I'm the only one who gets to do that.”

I hold up a hand to stop him from arguing. We could do this all day and we’ll get nowhere. Instead, I decide to compromise for the first time ever.

“How about we let Morris, Jasper, or another prospect work at the bar with me? I get to leave every night when you do, and they can close. If any man flirts with me, I’ll let them step in and deal with it.”

“We can try it and see what happens. But I'm not risking your safety anymore, baby.”

Chapter 32

Chopper

Roxy isn’t happy. Morris likes his construction job and Jasper likes working at the garage. Considering Jasper’s one of the most skilled mechanics there, it doesn’t make sense to pull him over to the bar either. Neither one of them were overly thrilled with the idea of pouring drinks for the rest of their life and I can’t blame them. I'm sure if I had pushed a little more, they both would’ve done it though.

That leaves Lionel to work with Roxy. She’s livid. She can’t stand him and says he’s dumber than a sack of bricks. She thinks he’s going to ruin her bar and everything she’s created. When I told her that was being a bit dramatic, she almost punched me.