Breaking Dragon (23 page)

“True, but think how much fun it’ll be to deliver both. Just do your job and be quick about it.”

“You got it.”

With that, the other guy leaves out the way he came. Irish walks around in front of us and I want to kill him. He seems so calm, so detached while Dani lays here bleeding out. How could I have ever thought he was a good guy?

“Aw Nic girl don’t look at me like that. This is just business. You just picked the wrong dick to hang onto. I was actually planning on giving you a go, but I’m sick of Dragon’s leftovers. So you pretty much sealed your own fate.”

“I wouldn’t fuck you if you were the last man on Earth.”

“Don’t make me prove you a liar girl. We both know I can. I’m tempted actually, but I don’t have the time and
unlike Dragon, I like to enjoy my women.”  He says walking closer to me.

He grabs my hair and pulls me away from Dani. She’s not talking at all; she passed out. At least I hope that is all. I feel the panic begin to overwhelm me. I try to strike out at him, hit him, claw him anything but he takes the butt of his gun and slams it into the side of my face.

He must not have done it full strength because it doesn’t knock me out, but I am literally
seeing stars. I fall back to the ground looking up at Irish, or rather a couple of him.  My vision is blurry and he swims in front of me. I register that he’s aiming his gun at me and I realize that it’s over. I’m half laying on Dani and she didn’t even move, so I figure I’ve already lost her. I close my eyes and picture Dragon’s face one more time. The way he looked before I fell asleep last night when he told me that I had him. I don’t know what comes after this world, but I pray whatever it is I’ll find Dragon in it. 

“Nic baby! Mama, where are you?” I hear Dragon call out in the distance.

I want to speak up, but I can’t. I figure I’m dreaming, but I shake my head to try and figure out exactly what is going on.

“Fuck.” That came from Irish. He sounds panicked, so maybe I’m not dreaming.

Irish starts to back away towards the rock where Dani and I first hid. I try and steady myself and lurch up to stand, I sway dangerously almost falling back down, but at least my vision seems to be clearing a little.

“Dragon,” I call out or whisper, I can’t be sure, so I try again. “Dragon!” Shit, was that any louder?

I hear Dragon running towards us now. I look back at Irish and he’s still pointing the gun. I know instantly what he has planned.

Dragon just makes it into my vision before I run towards him, trying to shield him.

Chapter 24

Dragon

My world stops, it fucking stops. I see Nicole falling towards me, she’s covered in blood, she doesn’t have a shirt on, there are scratches all over her body and her face is swollen and red. She’s saying my name, but it’s garbled and I try to catch her before she falls. She’s in my arms, but before my heart can calm….

Two shots, two fucking shots--the report of the gun rings out as if in slow motion. Bang…bang…and with each horrendous noise my woman’s body jerks. I scream out in agony because it feels as if my fucking heart is being ripped from my chest.

I hear more gun shots but they are coming from behind me. My men are here, but I can’t feel relief.

I fall to the ground holding my woman. I look up to see my Irish. My FUCKING BROTHER holding the gun that just shot my woman. He’s on his knees now, bleeding himself, since one of Crush’s shots hit him in the arm. Bull has him down and slams his fist into the side of his head.

I look back at Nicole afraid to move. I can feel the blood at my hands where I’m holding her. I lean back to look at her face and her blue eyes are watching me. They’re dazed and dilated, but she’s staring at me with a smile. She has a fucking smile on her lips.

I bring my hand up and shakily hold the side of her face. The blood instantly smears on her hair and I hate it. It looks wrong. An obscenity on the only beautiful thing I’ve ever known.

“I knew you’d come.” She whispers weakly and it’s all I can do to keep from screaming out at the pain gathering inside of me.

“I’m here Mama. You have to hold on for me.” I say petting her hair gently. I look over at Crush. “Get the ATV here NOW! Use the two-way and have Doc meet us at the bottom.”

“Dragon…I love you.”

“Mama, stop that shit. You’re going to be fine. Just hold on and I’ll have you fixed up in no time.”

“Love you…”

“If you do then you promise me you’ll fight to stay with me. Do you hear me Nicole? You fight that shit and hold on. You got me?”

She grimaces and it guts me all over again to know that she’s hurting, but I will my strength into her.

“I…don’t think…I…”

“Fuck that shit, you listen to me Mama. I told you that you were mine. You aren’t getting away this easy. You asked for me and you got me. Now you have to stick around for the ride. Promise me Mama, we got a fucking life together to live. If you love me, you don’t give up on that.”

“Okay Dragon.” She says and I reach down and kiss her on the forehead.

“Shit hurry.” I look up at Bull and the pity in his eyes almost does me in. Nicole’s head falls to the side at a weird angle. Her eyes are closed and for a second my heart stops.

She’s slipping away from me. Tears fall from my own eyes. I don’t think I’ve fucking cried in my life. Yet, before Nicole I had nothing I really gave a fuck about. If she’s gone I don’t want to keep going either. She made the world bearable, when I didn’t even know how damned miserable it really was.

“Oh God Mama, don’t leave me. Don’t leave me here without you.” I say into her ear holding her closer.

I hear Crush and he somehow has got the ATV up here. I don’t fucking know how, but I’m glad he did it. Somehow Bull and I make it to the bottom of the hill. Crush and Frog took a separate vehicle and collected Dani. I couldn’t worry about any of that. Nicole was still breathing, but there was so much blood. I used my shirt to hold pressure, but it was soaked by the time we made it to the bottom. Doc took over and I’m not sure what he did, but somehow it slowed down. He had portable oxygen he also put on her. My heart wouldn’t stop jumping.

I’m standing, watching Doc work on her and she looks so pale and lifeless. Her words replay in my head.

I love you Dragon. I love you Dragon.

It’s like some fucked up song I have to keep listening too and can’t turn off. I’m holding her hand and kissing the top of her head. My coat is covering her as best it can--while still allowing Doc room to work. There’s so much blood, on her, me and Doc. I’m losing her. I had her and I didn’t take care of her. I didn’t keep her safe. She was precious and I let her be torn away from me. I should have known there were traitors in my club, I should have protected her.

The ambulance pulls up and the medics come over to put her on the gurney. They put her in the ambulance and I’m just about to get in when the monitor they hook her up to flat lines. IT FUCKING FLAT LINES!

I try to get
into the ambulance and my men grab me to hold me back. The medics are working furiously on her and one is holding paddles above her heart. 

“Mama you hold the fuck on! You promised
me! Don’t you leave me woman or I swear to fucking Christ I will find a way to follow you and drag your fucking ass back here! NICOLE!!” 

My body is shaking, I know I’m crying and I don’t give one good fuck if that makes me a pussy to my men. I don’t even fucking want them around right now. It’s because of my mother fucking club my woman…Jesus Christ she can’t die. I reach up and grab my head and pull my neck down so I’m staring at the ground and the tears fall and hit on my muddy boots. How the fuck did this happen? How did I not know that Irish was involved? How could I trust him with my woman?

Chapter 25

Dragon

We made it to St. Lutheran’s Hospital. We had been here for three fucking hours. Three hours of the most perverse hell I had ever been in. Crusher, Gunner, Freak and Striker were all here with me the whole time. Bull had just made it in, after delivering Irish to the Shed and having Frog and Nailer watching over him. I couldn’t deal with that motherfucker yet, but I would soon enough.

My woman had barely been hanging onto life when we got her to the hospital. I lied and told them I was her fiancé and only living relative, I had to give them permission to do emergency surgery.

They rolled her away from me and I haven’t seen her since. If she died…fuck I couldn’t even think that word.

“Mr. West?” A doctor comes out into the waiting area, and looks around.

I stand up immediately, my damn legs felt like rubber. I hear my brothers all come to a stand behind me. I’m not sure how I feel about that right now. Can I trust them? Are there more like Irish? I can’t let my mind go there, not right now. My focus has to be on my woman.

“I’m Dra.. Mr. West.”

“Mr. West your fiancé is still holding on. The next forty-eight hours are critical. She went into shock and she’s lost a lot of blood. A weaker person wouldn’t have survived that. She was shot twice on top of that. The one in her side hip will cause her some discomfort from here out, but all things considered not much else. The real damage and blood loss came from the shot she received in her kidney. The organ was hit and with the blood loss and the trajectory of the bullet, the damage was massive. The kidney was a total loss.”

I want to sink to my knees, but I don’t. I wait for more from him, and try to concentrate on the fact that my woman is still holding on.

“Will she…,
” I clear my throat. “Will she live?” 

“She has a good chance, yes. As I said, the next forty-eight hours are critical. We’ll monitor her and watch her closely. She’ll be getting plasma and fluids through the night. Her vitals are weak but steady.”

“I want to see her.” He looks around at me and my brothers. “She’s in intensive care. I’m sorry, but we only allow certain visiting hours on that floor.”

“Listen Doctor, I can appreciate rules, but that is my woman lying in there by herself. You told me the next forty-eight hours are critical and there is no way in hell that I am not going to be by her side every damn one of those hours. She’s my woman and no one will keep me from her. Are we clear?”

The doctor swallowed and his eyes moved over the men behind me and finally rested back on mine.

“I will not allow any disruption. The first commotion, I will have security escort you out and bar you from the premises.”

“Fair enough.” Like fuck he would. 

He nodded and reluctantly said with his back to me, “Follow me.”

She looks so weak lying in the bed. Her skin is pale and washed out. She blends in with the stark white of the hospital sheets. I sit in the chair beside her and immediately wrap my hand around hers.

I have always enjoyed the differences of our color when we are together. The deep contrast is like something we shared, polar opposites attracting and clinging tight. Tonight her color is way too pale. She’s still beautiful, but she is so cold to the touch.

I bring my hand up and shakily touch her hair. A nurse had obviously cleaned her hair and body. Even so, the horrible sight of her blood is engrained in my brain I still see it.

“I’m here Mama. I told you, you got me now. I’ll always be here for you. You just got to live up to your end of the deal woman and wake up. I need you Mama. I fucking need you,” I whisper close to her ear.

“I need you, Mama.” I repeat that on and off willing her to listen to it. I need her to know it, because I know if she hears it, she will do whatever she has to do, to come back to me. Eventually, I lay my forehead down on our hands and just soak in being close to her.

Chapter 26

Nicole

I feel so cold and it’s dark. I can’t seem to pull myself out. Did I fall into a hole? Everything just seems so hazy and I can’t grasp anything around me. I hear him though, off in the background, I hear Dragon telling me he needs me and I panic. What’s wrong? I doubt Dragon has ever admitted to anyone that he needed them. My lips feel so dry and I lick them to try and speak.

“Dragon?” I croak. I seriously croaked, I don’t know what’s wrong with my voice, but my whole body feels weird.

“Nicole?” Dragon speaks back in a voice I had never heard from him before.

“Need you too.” I try to tell him, because I can feel the darkness begin to pull me back under.

When I come back through, I manage to open my eyes this time. My head feels like it has been hit over and over by a sledge hammer, my body feels just as bad. I look around the dark room and see Dragon lying asleep in the chair beside my bed.

“Dragon?”

His body jerks awake instantly.

“Mama,” he said as his mouth comes down and he kisses my forehead gently.

“Thirsty…” I croak and he immediately reaches over to a table and gets me a drink from a glass there. It seems to take all my energy just to suck out of the straw.

“What happened?”