Chapter 29
I woke to hushed voices and opened my eyes to find Austin’s head leaning on my arm, his hand holding mine. “Dani?” my mother crooned and walked toward me.
Austin stood and leaned over my bed, a tentative smile on his face as he swept my hair from my forehead. “Hi, baby.”
“Hi,” I rasped and grimaced. My throat was burning. “Water.”
Austin nodded and grabbed me a cup and a straw, guiding it to my mouth. I drank deeply and then relaxed back onto the
mattress.
My mother squeezed my hand and smiled. “You gave us a scare, baby girl.”
I nodded.
“I’m going to let the nurse know you’re awake,” she said.
I nodded again and she left the room. I reached for Austin, who took my hand and pulled it to his lips. “Fuck me, baby. It took me two hours to get you out.”
“That’s all?” I asked.
He frowned. “That’s a fuckin‘ long time when I’m scared outta my mind not knowin‘ if you were okay.”
I smiled. “I knew you’d come.”
“We’re gettin‘ married.”
“We are?”
He nodded. “Tomorrow.”
I chuckled, ending on a whimper at the pain in my ribs.
“Sorry, baby. You’ve got a couple broken ribs.”
“I’m okay, honey.” I squeezed his hand. “A little beat up, but okay
I could see the sheen of tears in his eyes, but he turned his head and blinked them away.
My door opened and Macey Stone walked in, her light–blue scrubs crisp and clean. “I’d hoped our second get–together would have been dinner or something, but I guess I’ll have to take a rain check.”
I smiled. “You’re on.”
“How’s your pain level?” she asked. “From one to ten?”
“About an eight.”
Macey nodded and checked the pain pump next to me. She pressed a button on the unit and then handed me a wire and smiled. “Press the red button when it wears off. It’ll let you dose yourself every four hours.”
“Thanks.”
The nurse took my pulse and notated a few things in my chart, before smiling and focusing on me again. “All told, Dani, you were really lucky. I’ll let the doc know you’re awake and he’ll be
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Chapter 29
“Thanks, Macey”
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“My pleasure, hon.”
She left the room and my entire family flooded inside, along with Kim. Austin stepped back and sat on the bench by the window as my niece and nephew hugged me gently, Amelia talking a hundred miles a minute, a clear indication she’d been concerned about me.
The doctor arrived and ordered everyone out.
“Can Austin stay?” I asked.
“Sure.”
My dad shared some secret badass man chin lift with Austin and then my family filed out of the room and Austin stood beside my bed again.
“I’m Dr. Stone,” the handsome doctor said.
“Related to Macey?”
“She married my brother,” Dr. Stone said. “Lucky bastard.”
I smiled.
“Let’s have a look at you.”
The doctor looked me over and decided that I could go home the next day. They’d keep me overnight for observation, but since my eye–socket was bruised, not broken as they initially had worried, and the ribs would heal on their own, there was no point in keeping me any longer.
He left and my family descended again, staying for close to an hour before Emily forced hers to leave and my mother convinced my dad and Elliot to go as well.
Kim leaned over the bed and kissed my cheek. “Love you, hon. Please no more kidnapping, okay? You totally freaked me out.”
I chuckled. “That’s a promise.
She smiled, hugged Austin, and then headed out and Austin took his place beside the bed again.
Late that night, Austin and I were finally alone and I scooted over and patted the mattress. “I need you to sleep with me.”
He smiled as he climbed beside me. “This is probably against hospital policy.”
“Where’s my big badass motorcycle man?” I demanded. “Are you telling me you’re afraid of hospital security?”
He chuckled and gently settled me on his chest. “I’m more afraid of Macey.”
“Ooh, I know, right? She’s kind of scary.”
“I love you, beautiful”
“Mmm, I love you too.” I raised my chin for a gentle kiss and then snuggled close.
“Marrying you in a month, babe.”
“What?” I squeaked and looked up at him again.
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Austin smiled. “I talked to your dad. It’s all set. We’re gettin‘ married by the water in their yard. Small and intimate like.”
“Do I have any say in this?”
He shook his head. “You can pick your dress. Otherwise, Emily and Kim have the rest of it under control. They said they know what you want or something.”
I sighed. “Yeah, they know.”
“Good. It’s settled.”
“I don’t have a ring.”
“Got that planned, baby. When you’re feelin‘ better, I’m gonna get romantic.”
I laughed. “Seriously?”
“Hell, yeah. Gonna blow your mind.”
I closed my eyes and kissed his chest. “Love you, baby.”
“Love you too, Dani.”
We stayed like this all night. I was restless with pain, but Austin kept track of the time and would dose me every four hours like clockwork, which meant I slept even if he didn’t. I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to fall in love with the most amazing man on earth, especially after my track record.
I fell asleep knowing I was the luckiest woman alive.
***
Booker
I slid the covers up Dani’s body and kissed her temple. She was finally asleep, the pain meds and muscle relaxers coursing through her system making her more comfortable. I pulled the door partially closed and headed to my office, phone in hand.
“Hello?” Kim answered.
“Hey. You got time to come hang with Dani for a bit? I have shit to do.”
“Sure. I can be there in twenty minutes.”
“Thanks, Kim.”
I hung up and called Mack.
“Yo.”
“You got him?” I asked.
“Yeah, brother. He’s here,” Mack said. “Prez and Hatch are here too.”
“Why?”
“Make sure you don’t kill him.”
“Fuck.” I dragged a hand through my hair. “You got my back they get in the way?”
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Mack chuckled. “When don’t I?”
“Thanks, brother.”
I hung up and slipped my phone into my pocket. I needed to ride today, so I grabbed my leathers from the closet. Kim arrived a few minutes later.
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“If she’s in pain, she can have painkillers in three hours… everything’s on the counter. I don’t know how long I’ll be, but if you run into any issues, text me.”
Kim nodded. “Got it. Do what you gotta do,
I’ve got
Dani.”
I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Thanks, babe.”
I made it to the club in record time, my thoughts occupied with Dani and the bastard I was about to teach a lesson to. Maybe it was good that Crow and Hatch were there… I was pissed enough to kill him, and I was pretty sure Dani’s cop family would back me up.
I walked through the common room, into the kitchen, and down the stairs to the cellar where Mack was waiting.
I closed the door at the bottom of the stairs and made my way to where Steven was zip–tied to a chair… exactly the way Dani had been in the warehouse.
“Remember me?” I asked with a sneer.
Steven’s eyes grew wide with fear as he stared up at me.
“I found Dani’s money… I also found all of yours.” I rolled up my sleeves. “All of this information, including the money you stole are with the FBI. I took the liberty of retrieving Dani’s first, with interest from your own stash. Dani’s gonna have a perfect little house wherever the hell she wants because she can afford it now.”
Steven mumbled behind the duct tape.
“Sorry? Did you say something?” I asked, and slammed my fist into Steven’s face. “Oops, sorry. That was a slip… I actually meant to do this.” I slammed my fist into his stomach. Steven squealed on a grunt and then tried to draw air in through his nose. “One thing you’re gonna find out is what it’s like to live under the watchful eye of the NSA.”
Steven let out a muffled “Fuck you.”
I laughed. “Nah…that’s all you, bro. See, I kinda hacked into the homeland security terrorist database and according to your record… did you know you now have a record?”
Steven grunted.
“Yeah, you have a record, and according to your record, you’ve been stockpiling money to fund a bombing… murder of the president… something like that. So, the government has seized all your assets and you are on the no–fly list, domestic terrorism list, along with several other interesting lists that I didn’t even know existed. Bottom line is you can’t really walk out your front door without someone knowin‘ about it. Oh, and by the way… your house has been repo’d… good luck finding
what you a shithole to put a sleeping bag in. You’re welcome for that. It’s the least I could do. I think it’s fitting that you get deserve.” Steven mumbled again, so I pulled off the tape. “What was that?”
“Why are you doing this?” he asked. “I would have given back the money.”
“My woman got taken, asshole. They beat her and threatened to kill her, and even if you weren’t directly responsible for that, I found the email from Bobby telling you about the policy and the suggestion to use it in an alternative to your plan. But that wasn’t good enough for you. You chose to use her physically and emotionally instead. Which means, you’re dealing
with me now.”
“You won’t get away with this!”
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“But I already have,” I said matter–of–factly.
“Fuck you!” Steven spat.
I laughed and shoved the tape over his mouth again.
For the next hour, I took my time making Steven hurt. I delivered every injury Dani received, and then some, before releasing him in the middle of a park, naked and without ID.
I, on the other hand, headed home, found my woman awake and laughing with her best friend, and I knew she was okay. She loved and was loved and that’s all that mattered.
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