Chapter Twenty-Five

AXYL

I never imagined I’d be the one to deliver such devastating news to the people who love her as much as I do.

I sprinted over to my brother and my girl, immediately pulling her from his arms into mine. A nurse quickly approached with a gurney.

“What happened?”

“Her water broke and then there was blood. A lot of blood. I got here as fast as I could,” Trigger replied.

Once again, I wasn’t there to protect her. I was caught up in a damn gunfight while the love of my life was in danger.

“Don’t worry, sir. Your wife is in good hands.”

“I’m her husband,” I corrected her.

“Sorry. Your wife is in good hands. We need to get her to see the doctor.”

“Our club doctor is here with one of our club members. He’s been her doctor since she found out she was pregnant.”

“What’s his name?”

“Patrick Adams.” She nodded at that and quickly wheeled Ali into the back. I turned to Trigger, glaring at him. “What the fuck happened?”

“Ink was in the back with the prospects and I was making some lunch for Aliana when I heard her scream. I yelled for Ink and he and the prospects came rushing in.

“We went up to your room and before we could get to the door, Alex came out guns blazing.

“Ink managed to knock him out and while he and one of the prospects were taking him to the basement, me and Diego rushed into the room. Two of his men had her. One of them had a gun pointed at her.

“Everything went to hell from there. She screamed again and this time blood started to pour from her.

“It gave us a clear shot to take down the one that was holding her when she curled into herself from the pain. We got here as fast as we could.”

“How the hell did they get in? The gate should have been guarded by one of the patched members.”

“Hanson was out when I rushed past the gate. We have to fix that, by the way. I didn’t hear them come into the clubhouse. Somehow, they snuck in without making a sound.”

“Call Robert and Elaine. I have to call my dad and mom. Tell them to get to the hospital as fast as possible. Don’t tell them what’s going on. I’ll do that when they get here, and I’ll tell everyone at the same time.

“Alex locked up?” He nodded in response. “Good. I’ll be having a nice little chat with him later. I’m sure everyone here will. Now, go make the call.”

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and stepped out to make the call. I took out my phone and dialed my dad.

“Hello?” He answered on the first ring. I paused for a moment, trying to steady my voice.

“Hey, dad. I need you and mom to come to the hospital as fast as you can.”

“Does this have anything to do with the call that Robert and Elaine just got?”

“Yeah. I’ll explain when everyone gets here. I don’t know where else to take the boys, so just bring them along.” I hung up the phone and walked into the waiting room.

How the hell do you tell your family that the woman they love so much might lose everything? Including her life.

How do you tell them these things when you don’t even know what’s going on yourself? Trigger walked into the waiting room with Ink. The prospects must have stayed at the club to keep an eye on things.

“Where’s my sister? Aren’t you two supposed to be watching her?” Damn…

“I’ll explain everything when everyone gets here. Have you heard anything about Reaper? Snoopy?” I asked.

“They’re both fine. Snoopy got a few stitches and should be out here soon. Reaper is fine as well. He just had a through and through. He’ll be released soon if he has anything to say about it.”

I knew that was true. Reaper hates being stuck in a hospital bed. He’ll raise hell if he doesn’t get out as soon as he gets patched up. He’s worse than Ali when it comes to that.

We sat in the waiting room, each of us worrying about our brothers and Aliana. About ten minutes later, Snoopy walked out into the waiting room.

He looked at all of us waiting and could see that our faces were a mix of anger and grief. He didn’t say anything, which I was grateful for because I only wanted to explain this once.

Reaper followed five minutes later and did the same thing. We weren’t surprised to see him walking out because we all knew he wouldn’t stay longer than he had to.

Ten minutes later, our parents and the boys came rushing in. “What’s going on?” Elaine has always been the one to get straight to the point. “Where’s my daughter?”

I took a deep breath before I told them exactly what Trigger had told me. How Alex and two men snuck into the clubhouse and how Ali’s water broke at some point and how the blood came soon after.

I explained how I found Trigger rushing her into the hospital when I walked out of the waiting room. By the time I finished explaining everything, my mom and Elaine were in tears with our fathers trying to console them.

The boys weren’t much better, and my brothers were furious.

“Why the fuck weren’t you with her at all times!?” Westyn roared. I didn’t blame him for his outburst. I had a similar one.

He was looking to vent his anger on someone, and it just happened to be Ink and Trigger since they were there with her. I was angry, but my anger was directed at the bastard that caused all this.

“She was sleeping. I was making her something for lunch when I heard the scream. I got there as fast as I could. I swear I did.” Trigger explained. I could tell this was hitting him hard.

Westyn has always been our shield, our protector. That’s why we honored him with an enforcer patch. He turns to Ink, asking him the same question he just asked Trigger.

Ink’s face loses some color. He knows better than to cross Westyn when he’s this riled up. That’s how he earned his road name. He’s notorious for smashing anything within reach when our enemies are involved.

I know that once we’re out of here and we’re sure Ali is okay, Alex is going to face the full force of Westyn’s wrath.

“Diego pulled me aside. They needed help with something. When I got there, Trey and Jack were at each other’s throats. I was trying to break it up.

“That might be why I didn’t hear anything when they came in.” I swear, I’m going to kill those prospects. They know better than to fight each other.

They better pray it was something important.

“You’re telling me that my goddamn daughter is caught up in this because of two fucking prospects scrapping? Over what? Probably the same thing men always fight about in a club. Fucking pussy.

They better hope it’s something more important than that. It better be damn important.” Robert vents, echoing my thoughts exactly. I glance at Reaper, knowing he’s closest to Aliana.

“You holding up, man?” The guys turn their attention to him. He looks worse than when he was shot. His best friend is fighting for her life and we’re in the dark about her condition.

Believe me, I tried to get information while we were waiting for everyone to arrive, but the nurse only said the doctor would update us as soon as possible.

“I should have been the one to stay. I shouldn’t have been at that damn diner! I’m going to kill those fuckers. I should have trusted my gut.” He shouldn’t be blaming himself, though.

If anyone should, it’s me. I don’t know how I’m managing to keep my cool. On the outside, I’m as calm as a cucumber, but inside, I’m a whirlwind of anger and heartbreak.

“She’s my best fucking friend. What’s going to happen if she survives this and those girls don’t? What if she…”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.” I shoot a glare at Reaper. There’s no way all three of them aren’t going to pull through. “She’s going to make it. My girls are all going to make it.

“They have to.” I rise and start pacing the room. They have to survive. I can’t live without her and those girls. They’re not my blood, but that doesn’t matter to me. They’re mine.

“They have to survive. They’re my world. They have to survive.” I can feel a panic attack brewing. How’s that for irony? A big, tough biker on the verge of a panic attack.

Tears are welling up and I’m not too proud to admit that I want to sob like a baby. I’m trying to stay strong, but it’s not working. The tears start to fall.

My mom and Elaine rush over to me.

“It’s okay, baby. They’re going to make it. They will.” My mom wraps me in her arms, and I let the tears flow.

Before we know it, hours have passed, and Doc enters the room. We all turn to him. His face is unreadable. We can’t tell what he’s thinking.

Dread. That’s all I feel.

No…