Dark Guardian (Black Hoods MC #3) - Avelyn Paige Page 0,54
to each other, all of them looking worried.
“Have we heard anything?” Their heads whip up, and one by one they come to me, slapping me on the back. It sounds nice in theory, but with broken ribs, they might as well be stabbing me right in the chest.
“Glad you’re okay, man,” GP says, going in for the final hug of the group. “You just missed the doc about twenty minutes ago. He said Karma is out of surgery, but for now, it’s touch and go. He took a bullet directly to the heart.”
Natalie sobs beside me, and Grace wraps her arm around her shoulders, pulling her into her side.
“They got the bullet and stopped the bleeding. They fixed it as best they could.” GP sighs. “He’s in a medically induced coma, and will be for the next few days. His heart needs time to heal, and he’d be in too much pain if they let him wake up now.”
“Is he going to live?” Grace asks.
“It’s too early to tell.”
I look over at Stone Face, whose anger always seems to simmer just under the surface. “What happened to Henry Tucker?”
“Cops arrested him before we even got there,” he bites out. “He’s locked up at the station tonight, but will probably be off to county before lunchtime tomorrow.”
I narrow my eyes and step closer so only he can hear me. “We can’t let this slide.”
“Oh, we aren’t. Trust me. But once he hits county, it’s going to take some effort to get to him. It won’t be easy.”
“Mr. Grant?” a nurse calls from the locked door leading down to the patient rooms. “Your niece would like to see you.”
I make my way toward her, squeezing Grace’s hand as I go. I don’t know what to think about Lindsey and this whole baby thing. I mean, she’s a grown ass woman. She can make her own choices. She taught me that back when she was just a teenager. If I had to describe Lindsey in one word, it would be independent. But if it was Karma’s baby that she lost? That’s a whole different story.
I follow the nurse down the hall and around the corner. Finally, we stop outside of the room. “She’s very emotional,” the nurse warns, and then, without even giving me a chance to absorb that unwelcome information, she shoves the door open and steps inside.
Lindsey’s curled on her side, a pillow clutched to her chest. She’s not crying, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see she’s been doing a lot of it recently.
Her head lifts when she sees me, and she starts to cry. “You’re okay?”
Moving to her side, I wrap her in my arms. “I’m okay, darlin’. Are you okay?”
Her voice breaks as she tells me, “I lost my baby.”
I don’t know what to say, so I say nothing other than, “I know, sweetheart. I know.” Holding her tight, I ignore the pain I feel from my own wounds and rock her gently from side to side.
“Nothing’s ever going to be the same again, is it?”
And that’s when I realize that no, it won’t be. The cops have arrested Henry. Karma’s in a coma. Lindsey will never have children, which is something she’s always wanted. And my kids will never have peace until they know he’s gone. Not in jail, but gone.
As a father, I need to make sure my kids get their peace, no matter what.
Grace
I never thought this day would come. The day I would walk into my office for the last time. While a part of me has pangs of sadness for all the years of work I’ve lost to this place, the future in front of me lessens it.
I scan the four walls that are filled with memories. Good, bad, and in-between.
I’ve done good things here.
I’ve seen the worst.
I survived.
I pull out one of my desk drawers and double check that all of its contents are securely nestled in the box on my desk. A noise draws my attention to the door. Eric leans against it with a frown on his face.
“Grace,” he mumbles before shoving his way inside.
“Eric.”
“I thought I’d come see you off.”
“That’s nice of you,” I lie. He’s only here because it’s mandated for anyone who puts in their notice.
“Are you sure this is what you want?” I hear it in his voice that he wants me to reconsider.
“It is,” I declare. I broke the rules. All the rules, actually. And to be honest, it felt good that I