Moving On (Dominant Devils Mc Book 1) Page 2

  "As you know Mr. Manning was brought in by ambulance this morning in pretty bad shape." Taking a nervous breath, the doctor continued, "We were able to remove his spleen and repair most of the internal damage caused by the impact. However, the head injuries, I'm afraid were more than medical science was able to repair. At this time, Brookes is not exhibiting any brain activity. He is on a ventilator, which is breathing for him completely, and many monitors in order to give you, his family, time to say goodbye. I took this situation to heart being that I to have a son and a very much pregnant daughter-in-law. I wanted to extend to you the same courtesy I would want if I was facing this predicament. Hospital rules state that only immediate families are to be allowed in but as you have already informed me Mr. Manning has a very large family so I will make the nurses aware of this.” I stepped up to the doctor to ask about my sister. The old man must have sensed what I was about to ask because he looked right at me as he began to speak again.

  “I'm sorry I do not have any news on his young bride or unborn child at this time. I hope her doctor will be out to speak with you shortly. At this time, I would advise any of you wishing to see Brookes to do so soon. I’ll make sure the nurses show you to his room, but please know that I'm going against policy by extending a twenty-four-hour period for visitation in hopes that you, his family, and Mrs. Manning will be able to visit him before he passes. Please know that your family will be in my prayers this evening. I will be back to check in at the end of my shift."

  "Thank you, doctor. You have done our family a great service today," I stated while everyone else sat in silence.

  I watched the doctor disappear out of the same swinging doors he entered when the sounds of a raw scream followed by a loud crash got my attention. Before I could tune into the situation Axle had Happy against the wall with his forearm at his throat. I couldn’t hear what the president was saying to him but after a few minutes I saw Happy's rage deflate. Axle let up on his hold of Happy and turned to address the group.

  "Izzy I need you to put a call out to the surrounding charters that knew Brookes explaining the urgency for a visit if they would like to say goodbye tonight instead of paying respects later. Blaze I need you on the phone with anyone we weren't able to get in touch with earlier. Madison, I need you calling in drivers to cover the loads for our patch members so they can be here with the rest of us," Axle said out loud to the group.

  Before Axle had a chance to speak again I spoke up. Looking at Happy I addressed him alone, "Happy you should go see him first. Take as long as you need brother. We'll be right here for you".

  I could see Happy fighting back tears as he looked up to question me. "Can’t we wait until we get news on Carrin and the baby. If the roles were reversed and that was me in there I would want to know how my old lady and my kid were before I had some asshole blubbering on about goodbye".

  As if like clockwork the doors to the waiting room swung open again revealing a woman dressed in those same colored scrubs as the doctor before. In her arms, she held a tightly wrapped pink bundle that looked no bigger than my half shell helmet. I wanted to move towards her but my gut had me rooted in place. My head screamed to me that something wasn't right. That she was bringing the baby to see us because something had happened to Carrin. It wasn't until the woman started talking that I finally blew out the fucking breath I was holding.

  "As some of you know, I'm Carrin's OBGYN Dr. Collins. I'm sorry I wasn't out here sooner but Carrin made me promise I would bring this precious little girl out to meet everyone".

  "Please don't take this the wrong way Doc but how's my sister," I started moving towards her, trying to take a peek at my niece. "I'm assuming that by you bringing the little one out to meet us that she wasn't able to do it herself".

  "When Carrin was brought in she had only suffered slight bruising from the seat belt and a concussion from the air bag deployment that was caused when her head hit the B pillar of the car. She was fading in and out of consciousness before receiving the epidural for the cesarean section I performed. Before she dosed off in the operating room she made me promise to stay with this beautiful little girl until I could bring her to Madison to watch over. I also wanted to speak to Dr. Clendanial before making my way out here. I'm not sure how much Carrin will remember about the accident one she’s awake but from the mumbles I could make out she had a conversation with Brookes before they were pulled out of the wreckage. I would advise you to not bring this up to her until she speaks to you about it. I cannot prepare you for the emotions she will have once she is fully awake. In my few years in this profession, I myself have never been faced with a patient giving birth the same day her husband passed. There was no telling what level of peace, if any, that little conversation might have instilled in her".

  Madison was the first to speak, "I assume that you are only telling us all this because of the friendship you shared with Brookes during your childhood. I know you cared for both of them. Both Brookes and Carrin seemed to think a great deal of you and spoke very highly of you. I want to thank you for tending to Carrin and our little diva today. I know Brookes would appreciate it as much as we do. Anyone who knew them knew that she was his heart and would stop at nothing to protect her from anything". Madison paused only for a moment before continuing. "I'm sure Dr. Clendanial has informed you of Brookes prognosis. I speak for Carrin and the rest of us by saying please don't hesitate to stop in and say goodbye to him". I was so glad Madison was here. She always knew how to handle someone no matter what the situation.

  "When will we be able to see Carrin doc? As much as I want to hold my niece I think her mother should have the first honor," I said in a non-threatening authoritative voice.

  "Honestly Jacoby,” the doctor started. "Wall," I interrupted her. "Okay, Wall, honestly I will do whatever you wish, however, Carrin was adamant that I bring her to Madison. I think she didn’t want this little girl out of anyone’s sight or feeling alone for any reason. So until Carrin wakes up she’s all yours Madison,” Dr. Collins stated while placing my niece in her arms as she continued talking to the rest of us. “Normally it's only a matter of an hour, however giving the traumatic circumstances of today's events it will probably longer. Other than being sore from the accident and the surgery Carrin will make a full recovery physically. The emotional status is what I fear we will need to worry about. Post postpartum on top of grieving the loss of a husband is enough to make any woman crack".

  "Carrin's not most women doc. She's one of the strongest women I've ever met. Whatever the emotional status ends up being she has a whole lot of family to see her through it,” I let the doctor know.

  I turned to see Happy moving across the room where he stopped in front of Madison. "I know she was to be brought to you to look after and I know Carrin was only worrying about the rest of us having to watch over Brookes on top of looking after my niece, but with your help, I wanna take the newest brat of the Dominant Devils to see her daddy,” Happy said before carefully taking the little bundle from Madison. After situating the baby in his arm he held his hand out for Madison to take. Together hand in hand they followed Dr. Collins through the swinging doors.

  As I watched Madison walk through the door holding my brother's hand a pang of jealousy rushed through me. I turned and rushed out of the room for some much needed fresh air. Even though I knew better, the thought of them together had me seeing red. What the fuck is wrong with me? This ain’t the damn place or time for this shit. I made a beeline for the parking lot to get my head straight.

  Once outside I drew in several deep breaths trying to calm the rage boiling inside me. I had no reason to be jealous. Not only is it being unreasonable given the situation we all were facing, but I’ve never even told her how the fuck I felt. Sure there was some shameless flirting between the two of us but we never crossed that line past being friends. If I was honest with myself that knockout brunette was my best friend. Growing up together as club brats you have no choice but to be close, however, the t
wo of us were so much more than that. I can't remember a time when Madison hasn't been there for me. That girl has been my shoulder to lean on, my counselor and my rock getting me through some of the hardest times in my life and in return I do my best to protect her from life and assholes like myself that come with it. Maybe I'm being selfish, but every day it gets harder and harder not to claim her in front of all our family and tell her just how much she means to me. That’ll never happen, though. That goddess deserves so much more than an asshole like me!

  Holy shit I sound like a lovesick pussy. What the hell is wrong with me? When this day is done and I make it back to the clubhouse I'm on a mission to drown my sorrows the only way I know how, whiskey and pussy. Anything to get my mind off her and thoughts of this fucked up day.

  Chapter 3

  Romy

  As I rounded the sidewalk to the hospital I froze when I saw Wall pacing with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth puffing away. I saw the look of confusion all over his face as I made my way closer to him. I had just gotten off the phone with my brother Blaze. He informed me that one of my closest friends had just brought the club's newest brat into the world and that her husband would be leaving this world on the same day. I walked stealthily up behind Wall placing my tiny tattooed fingers on his shoulder. I was careful to stay far enough back until he realized it was me. Wall was like any of the brothers in the club, they didn't like people sneaking up on them. Wall though was exceptionally worse. I saw that first hand as a teenager when my brother nursed a black eye after trying to spook him.

  So when I touched his broad shoulder I spoke. "How are you holding up tall, dark and broody? I figured you would have been in there with everyone else," I quickly stated.

  "Needed some air. Felt like the walls were closing in on me. You just getting here"?

  "Yeah, I was in the middle of starting another glorified tramp stamp on one of Marley's friends when the first call came in. I swear once most women hit forty they turn bat shit crazy!"

  Wall snickered before replying like the true smartass he was. "I thought all women are born bat shit crazy. Of course, some are most definitely worse than others," he stated while laughing at his choice of words.

  "Your one to talk, you've had a hard on for years for the craziest one of us all. You’re the one who nicknamed her CB and it wasn't because she knows how to work that CB radio in the office either. Although I must say once her daddy and those hot ass brothers of hers find out that it stands for Crazy Bitch you might not find it as funny," I said laughing loudly.

  Wall's body stiffened at the thought but then seemed to relax as he looked down at me, being he's probably close to a foot taller than me, and grinned. "I might not have explained why I gave her the nickname but I’m sure they know. I mean you've seen how she flies off at the mouth at them. Hell if I didn't know any better I would think those, as you called them, hot ass brothers are a tad bit afraid of her at times. Even her dad doesn't have a problem telling anybody who will listen she's got bigger balls than any three of those guys".

  "Yeah I'll give ya that. Madison or CB, as you like to call her, is definitely one woman you don't want to cross. I've seen her beat the hell out of a grown ass man before. At a Slayer concert at that and you know Slayer isn't for the weaker man". As soon as the words left my mouth I knew I had said too much by the look in his eye. O shit he must not know about that little adventure of ours. Fuck me! I stood in silence as I watched Wall’s face turn blood red before he started flipping the fuck out on me.

  "Are you fucking kidding me Munchkin? You know the guys went out on a limb letting you girls go to that festival by yourselves. Don't think that when all this settles down we all won't be having a little pow wow about your concert experience! Damn it all to fucking hell," he grinded out!

  Me and my big mouth have done it again. I'll have to find a way to give the girls a heads up before Wall spills my little input to the guys. This shit isn’t going to go over well for any of the girls that were in attendance that night. Hell if it wasn't for the fact we used Carrin's bachelorette party as an excuse to go, we would never have gotten them to agree to us going. Fuck it! It was over a year ago now. There wasn't anything the guys could do about it now. Madison took care of business like a fucking boss. To be honest I feel just as safe with her crazy ass as I do with one of the guys.

  "Oh come one Wall that shit was over two years ago. There was no blowback or repercussions brought on the club. Hell, we even made sure none of us wore anything regarding the club when we went. That was the point of going by ourselves. We were trying not to draw any attention to the club. We all just wanted to be a bunch of regular women banging our heads to live metal without a shit ton of moody looking dudes watching our every move. Hell, it was nice just to be able to go to the damn bathroom without an escort."

  Wall seemed to relax a little as we yelled back and forth. I stood there waiting for his next comeback but his next words had me shell shocked. "Thanks for getting me out of my head for a bit Munchkin. I know what you were doing by not bringing up the shit storm going on inside that building behind us. I won’t forget it. Let's head in and check on the fam. All of us in cramped quarters could turn catastrophic."

  Yay me! Hopefully this means my little slip of the mouth won’t be made an issue and forgotten. Maybe he’ll just keep that tidbit of info to himself or even deal with Madison on his own. If anyone of us knows Madison, it's Wall. He knows that she can mess up a dude just like one of the brothers. I think that shit turns them both on. Seriously those two just need to fuck and get it over with. Maybe then they would know whether its love or lust.

  As I turned to head into the hospital with Wall by my side he spoke. "Just because I'm feeling less edgy from our conversation doesn't mean your asses aren't in for it when we get through this." I stood still in the middle of the parking lot while Wall continued his track across the parking lot. Well goddamn; so much for wishful fucking thinking. Now I’m the one who’s probably gonna wear an ass whippin’ from Madison.

  "You coming or not Munchkin" he yelled back to me as he stopped at the door and turned towards me. Well hell, I guess that was my cue to pull up my big girl panties and head in.

  Happy

  Stopping outside the door of my brother's hospital room I turned to Madison looking for some encouragement to walk in the room. Out of all the club brats, she was the one I was closest to. She was the first one to reach out to me and make me feel like I belonged. Me being what the club brats refer to as a straggler, it took a while for most of them to warm up to me. Madison was the one to strike up the first conversation with the lost seventeen-year-old boy I was when I first started hanging around. That coming from one of the "club princesses" said a lot. When our former president's daughter included me that first night it opened the door to a world I didn't know I needed at the time. At that time, it was just me and Brookes against the world. Brookes became my legal guardian when he was only nineteen years old after he fought fiercely to keep me. It was a rough time of my life, to say the least. He was labeled as active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps, and that was our biggest hurdle. We moved around a bit for a little over two years but when I was sixteen he landed a permanent spot as a drill Sargent for the notorious boot camp on Paris Island. The little road trip we took while on leave before he took the position was what would eventually lead us to settling down in Great Falls South Carolina a little over a year later after he completed the remainder of his enlistment. With his time in the service completed we packed up what little we had and moved to the old mill town of Great Falls. It was that move that got me where I am today and for that I will always be grateful to my older brother.

  I was so lost in thought as I cuddled my beautiful niece I didn't hear Madison at first.

  "Happy...Happy...Hey, Happy... There you are. You kind of zoned out on me for a second. Wanna share where your head went," Madison asked?

  "I was just thinking about what brought me to this point in my life. I'm not d
welling on this particular moment if that's what you’re thinking. I'm just thinking about mom and dad passing leaving Brookes as my only living relative and the shit he gave up to keep me, even if it did lead us to Great Falls. Then how you took one look at me the first time I grew enough balls to walk onto the compound for the Halloween party and welcomed me with open arms. Remember the one threw for half the town? That’s the night your sassy ass accepted me for the straggler I am. It was like you picked me out of a sea of people and took me under your wing. I owe you just as much for this life as I do Brookes. My life has always thrown me some fucking curve balls, but Brookes always had my back. If I didn't have the club, I don't know what I would be after this.”

  "I never knew you felt that way Hap. I just saw a young guy who looked like he needed a friend, just like I'm looking at a man now who needs that same friend to help him through what will most likely be the hardest time he has to get through. We all grieve differently but before you have a chance to shut down and try to distance yourself while you grieve, I want you to look at that beautiful little girl in your arms and reconsider. That little brat is going to need you no matter what. The rest of us can only share things about Brookes from the last seven years or so, where you can give her the details of her father's entire life. You’re the one who can share the family photos and memories of your parents, her grandparents that she’ll never get to meet. Carrin and the rest of the family can't do that without you. Let that precious little diva be your lifeline to get you through this with the help of your family."

  Although, Madison could be one of the meanest women I knew, she is also one of the most compassionate. I knew just from her words, that with her help and the backing of my club I would get through this and be able to help Carrin and my niece through this too.