Coyote (Hawks MC Next Generation #1) - Lila Rose Page 0,81
it, and I didn’t care. I’d give her anything she needed. I cupped the back of her head, pressing it against my shoulder, and said urgently, “Angel, I promise soon you can take what you need, you can grieve, scream, anything, and I’ll help you through it. I’ll hold you, but now, I need to go to my dad.”
She pushed me back, nodding. “Go.” We moved to Dad, and I dropped to my knees opposite Stanley.
Dad’s arm shook when he tried to lift it.
Fuck me. Fuck.
I ground my teeth together to stop the emotions rushing forward and took his hand in both of mine.
“Dad, you’re gonna be fine.”
His gaze lifted to Channa then back to me. “Y-You got a good woman….” His breath shuddered. More claws scraped at my heart. They dug deep and opened me wide. Dad sucked in a breath. “Proud of you, Cody.”
I shook my head, damn tears filled my eyes. “Tell me when you’re healed.”
He slightly shook his head. “Proud,” he whispered before his eyes closed.
Channa whimpered behind me, her hand on my shoulder. Dread smashed into me, and I shook my head. “Dad… fuck, Dad.”
“He’s passed out,” Stanley managed to say before people rushed into the room. “Call an ambulance.”
“What the fuck happened?” Griz demanded. He fell to his knees by Dad’s head, his face pinched in worry. Stanley filled him in on what he knew, but I couldn’t say anything. I couldn’t do anything but hold Dad’s hand. I closed my eyes and dropped my chin.
Please, fucking please, if anyone’s listening, don’t take him from me. Don’t take him from the family. We won’t be the same without him. We won’t.
Time went by, brothers spoke and walked around us. I thought I heard my aunt Violet, which had me relaxing a little because I knew she’d take care of anything when it came to the police, with her being a private investigator and working with them regularly.
“Cody,” Channa whispered into my ear. I jolted a little, blinking through the haze of pain and fear. “Move back, honey. They need to work on him.”
Nodding, I stood and stepped back a few paces, watching the paramedics frantically moving around my dad. My pulse raced when they quickly patched him up enough to get him into the ambulance.
It told me how bad things were, and Christ, that fucking gutted me.
Griz stepped in front of me. “Go with your woman to the hospital. I’m with Talon. I’ll see you there.”
I nodded. Griz would make sure they did what they had to for Dad. I wanted to have Channa at my side and in my sight.
Griz turned and left, and I noticed Stanley had been bent saying something to Channa about going back to the bakery to sit with Denise.
Outside, the ambulance roared to life and sped off. It felt like a knife opened me from heart to gut. Channa had me though. She led me towards a car. Fuck, I didn’t even know whose it was. But then another paramedic stepped in front of us.
“I need to see to your wound.”
“No,” I clipped and tried to shift around them.
They moved with me. “You’re bleeding, I need to see what’s going on.”
“Get the fuck out of the way.”
“It looks like a bullet is sticking out of your shoulder.”
Reaching up, I ripped the shirt enough to stick two fingers in the wound and pull the bullet free. I dropped it to the ground. “Now it’s not. If you don’t move and let me get to my dad, I’ll fuckin’ move you myself.”
“Goddamn,” the paramedic cursed. He bent, grabbed out a bandage, and handed it to Channa. “Get him patched enough for the nurses to deal with at the hospital.”
Channa nodded, took the bandage, and said, “I will.” She tugged me to the car. I got in the passenger side, knowing I wasn’t in any state to drive.
Channa leaned in and pulled my tee up. I winced as she applied the patch to my wound. She pressed her lips to my temple. Then she shifted back a little and said, “Together we’ll get through this.”
Not long after, we pulled into a parking spot out front of the hospital, got out, and started, hand in hand, towards the doors that read Emergency. A nurse stood by the automatic doors waiting. They must have been warned I was coming, and he stepped close, saying, “You have to be seen.”
“No,” I stated.
Christ, my breath caught when we stepped through the doors. There were at