“Did you find her?” Doc asks without even saying hello.
“Yes, we’re on our way back now. Are you at the clubhouse? I need you to check her out.”
“I came as soon as Raze called. I’m set up in your room. How badly is she injured? I might not be able to treat her here if her injuries are extensive. She might need a hospital, Hero.”
How can I explain to a hospital about her situation and the reason for her condition? She may not be wanted by the police, but she’s still considered a missing person. I just killed the one person who could have exonerated her from all suspicion should she be found and questioned about their killings. I hope to hell the guys find something in his hidey hole that will incriminate his involvement to set her free if that were to ever fucking happen. I won’t be letting her out of my sights for the rest of our lives if she’ll have me.
“Hero, you still there?” he asks.
“Sorry, Doc. Got lost in my own thoughts. You know as well as I do she can’t go to the hospital. It looks to be just cuts and bruises, but until I can get her cleaned up, I won’t know for sure. “
He clears his throat nervously, so I know what he’s about to ask.
“You know I don’t want to ask this, but I need to be prepared if the answer is yes. Did he rape her?”
“I put a bullet into his brain before he could.”
Doc sighs in relief. “Thank fuck for small miracles. Just get your girl home, and I’ll do my best to patch her up. I brought Nancy along in case she has an issue with a male doctor stitching her up.”
“Thanks, Doc,” I say as I hang up the phone. I think he said it best. Thank fuck she’s going to be okay physically. Emotionally, her healing will take much more time, but we have all the time in the world to let the emotional dust of her past settle. I turn on the radio and let Black Stone Cherry soothe my soul for the rest of the ride.
Just thirty minutes outside of Upland, my phone rings. Seeing Ratchet’s name scroll across the screen, I know I need to take this call. Not wanting to wake Dani, I pull over into a park-and-ride a few minutes later and return the call.
“Hey, boss man, just wanted to let you know that we cleaned the place up. All’s well here. Not a trace of us to be found. How’s Dani?” he asks cautiously.
“Good to hear, Ratch. Make sure that place burns to the ground, but try to avoid setting a wildfire this time,” I say with a chuckle. The last time the club had to take care of business in the mountains, pyromaniac Ratchet didn’t watch his handy work and caused about ten million dollars' worth of damage to a rich housing addition. He thought it was hilarious to watch those rich fuckers losing all their shit because he had to cover up a murder. He’s fucked in the head sometimes. “Dani fell asleep as soon as the rubber hit the pavement. Hasn’t woken up since. Doc’s gonna look at her as soon as we get back.”
“Sleep is what she needs. I’ll call ahead to the clubhouse and make some of the guys hit the road for a long ride so she isn’t overwhelmed when you get back. Don’t want her to bolt again.”
“No shit. We need to keep her calm and in the clubhouse. Her name hasn’t been cleared yet. I don’t want to get her back just to be shipped back off to Cleveland to be questioned about her parents.”
“Truth, man. Voodoo might be able to help with her missing person’s report. He found a computer and a bunch of shit you probably don’t want to see stashed in the bedroom of the cabin. He’s got it packed up in a cage and is already on the road. He said he’d let you know what he found later.” Relief flows over my body. We might still be able to clear her name so she can get back to living. Thank fuck.
“Sounds good, man. Have him text me instead of call. Once I get her back to the clubhouse, I want to get her checked out, fed, cleaned up, and tucked into my bed before the crew swarms her. I know they’ll mean well, but she needs to work through some shit.
“You got it, boss. I’ll let you get back to driving, but good luck once the hellcat wakes up. Watch out for her claws,” he says before hanging up. Jumping back into the truck, I look over to check on my sleeping angel. Two brown eyes stare back at me.
“Hi,” her faint voice whispers to me.
“Hey, angel face, did you have a good nap?” I ask gingerly.
“Yes,” she responds. Even though her answers are short, at least she’s talking.
Turning the key in the ignition, the truck rumbles. “We’re just outside Nealey’s Corner. Do you need anything to eat or drink before we get back, beautiful?” She quietly ponders the question before requesting a Coke and some French fries. “Anything you need, angel. And I mean anything. All you have to do is just ask.” She straightens up in her seat as I pull into the McDonald's just off 15. I order Dani’s request and get a sandwich combo and drink for me in the drive-thru. Once we get our food, I hand the bag to Dani and she passes out our orders between us.
She pulls her legs up off the floor into her chest and rests her carton of fries on her knees. She delicately picks up each fry, studying it before putting it into her mouth. Reaching into the drink tray sitting between us, I grab the chocolate milkshake out of the container. I thought she might want something frozen to ease her throat. Just as soon as the thought crosses my mind, I slam down the blast walls to block out the visions of her screaming my name for help; the; the rage I feel cannot be contained, and I punch the steering wheel. She jumps in her seat, sending her fries scattering on the seat between us. Fuck, why did I do that? She’s scared enough as it is. She tries to shovel them back into the box, but I offer her mine. “Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you. Eat mine.” She sheepishly looks at my outstretched hand before slowly taking them from me and moving back into her corner of the truck. She polishes off the rest of my fries and finishes both drinks.
“Thank you,” she mumbles. The food must satisfy her just enough as she drifts back off to sleep.
Pulling up into the dusty dirt road of the clubhouse, I notice Ratchet was true to his word as most of the bikes that typically line the front parking lot are missing. I pull my truck into the back lot behind the clubhouse and shut off the engine. I shoot a text off to Doc to let him know we got here when I realize I should probably tell Dani that he’s gonna check her over. “Baby, Raze called the club’s doctor to examine you. Are you okay with that? He brought his nurse, Nancy, along with him if you’d feel more comfortable with a woman present.” She meekly nods yes. She starts to unbuckle her seat-belt as I jump out of the driver’s seat to help her. She has the door open before I make it around the truck, and I catch her by her waist as she tries to jump from the truck. She tries to walk on her on but as she limps along, I can’t stand that she’s in pain. Picking her up off of her feet, I carry her in my arms into the clubhouse. She protests at first, trying to wiggle away, but soon gives up. Her body relaxes against mine as I carry her up the stairs into my room.
Doc is standing in my room looking through his a medical kit as Nancy spreads a sheet on my bed when I walk through the door. I carry Dani over to the bed and sit her down on the outstretched sheet. Nancy helps get her situated as I move out of the way for Doc.
“Dani, my name is Donny, but you can call me Doc. I met you before, but I doubt you remember me since they drugged you with enough tranquilizers to put a horse to sleep,” he says to introduce himself. “I need to examine you before you get cleaned up to see what I am working with. Are you okay with that? You likely already know that I may need to ask you some questions as I examine you that are quite personal. Would you rather I have Nancy handle that portion of the exam?”