Trusting Thorn (Miami Saints MC #5)

Chapter Eleven

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Thorn

“You ready for this, baby?” I squeeze Oakland’s hand as we walk through the hospital's sliding doors.

She takes a deep breath, her blue eyes meeting mine. “Yes.”

I nod, pride swelling in my chest at her strength.

After everything that fucker put her through yesterday, she's still here, ready to face this head-on and it only makes me love her more.

We step onto the elevator, ride three floors up, step off, and make our way into an office reception area.

When I hear Oakland pull in a breath, I give her hand another reassuring squeeze. “I’ll be right here waiting for you, okay?”

She nods, an unsure look on her face. “Thanks, honey.”

Releasing her hand, I watch as she disappears behind an office door and I have to fight every instinct that’s screaming at me to go in there with her. If she hadn't been so adamant this was something she had to do on her own, I'd say fuck it and charge in there.

Unhappy about it, I know that's not what she needs from me right now.

Instead, I plant my ass in one of the uncomfortable chairs in the waiting area and keep my eyes on the door she walked through, waiting for her to come back out.

I fumble with the magazines beside me, watch the clock on the wall tick, and scroll through the emails on my phone before finally deciding I’ve waited long enough. Climbing to my feet, I take a step towards the closed door but come up short when it opens, and out steps my girl.

Thank fuck.

I was ready to kick that fucker in.

“How'd it go?” I ask, going straight to her and pulling her into my arms.

She lets out a shaky breath against my chest. “Honestly? It scared the crap out of me, but I’m glad I did it.”

“So… now what?”

She leans back and looks up at me. “They're going to investigate my claims and pending the results, he'll be suspended.”

“Suspended? That's it? Fuck that, baby. That's not good enough.” That’s some bull shit. The guy gets to harass my old lady and all that is going to happen is a slap on the wrist. That’s not going to fucking work for me at all.

“Thorn, please. Let this play out.”

Pulling in a deep breath, I set my eyes on hers and can tell this is something she needs me to back off on.

“Fine.” The lie tastes like ashes in my mouth, but I’ve done things her way for long enough. In my world, men like him won’t stop until someone puts them down like the rabid dog they are.

“Thank you.”

“Let's get out of here and grab some breakfast.” Thankfully, today is one of Oakland's scheduled days off and she won't have to face the asshole while HR is starting their investigation.

Wrapping my arm around her waist, I lead her into the elevator, and we ride back down to the lobby.

As we step out into the bright Florida sunshine, I feel Oakland tense beside me.

“Thorn,” she whispers, her voice tight with fear.

I look down at her and follow her gaze to a car speeding towards us.

“What the fuck?” As I say the words, time feels like it slows down.

“Oak...land!” I yell, the words feeling like they're coming out of my mouth in slow motion.

I shift my body to shield her, my arm going around her middle as I use every ounce of my strength to throw us away from the car as it whizzes past.

With a hard thud, we hit the pavement, and a sharp pain shoots through my shoulder as I take the brunt of the fall.

“Baby! Baby, are you okay?" I ask frantically, my heart pounding in my chest as I run my hands all over her body, checking for injuries.

I pull at her arm that she has pulled close to her chest, and she flinches away.

“My arm,” she hisses.

“We need some help out here!” I shout over my shoulder then quickly turn in the direction of the car.

The black sedan that almost hit my woman is hauling ass, but I manage to catch the last four digits of the license plate.

63JM

63JM

63JM

I repeat it three more times, committing it to memory. It’s not much but it’s enough for Dex to work his magic.

“Thorn,” Oakland whimpers.

“Shit. Sorry, babe.” Scrambling to my feet, I help Oakland up and tuck her close as chaos erupts around us.

Nurses and doctors come rushing through the sliding doors. “Her arm,” I rush out when they seem more focused on me. “I think it's broken.”

“Thorn, please. Let them look at you, too. You're bleeding,” she pleads, her voice shaky.

Looking down, I notice my arm has some pretty gnarly road rash from the fall. It’s a little sore, but I can wait. “I’m fine, baby. It's just a scratch.”

“Please, honey.”

“Pulling out the big guns, woman,” I tell her before placing a soft kiss on her lips.

“Let me clean that up for you while they take Oak for an X-ray,” Harley insists.

“Fine,” I give in.

Ten minutes later, sporting a bandage wrap on my arm, I pull out my phone and his call.

“Need you to get Dex to run a plate for me. ASAP.”

Knox’s reply comes almost instantly. “What's going on?”

I glance at Oakland, who's listening to Harley give her instructions about her cast. I’d find the whole thing funny if the circumstances were different.

“Someone just tried to run us down at the hospital. I'm thinking it might be the doctor Oakland reported today.”

“Fuck,” comes Knox’s reply. “You both okay?”

“Oakland has a broken arm.” I grind my teeth. “Just get me that info.”

Hanging up, I pocket my phone and try to calm down as Oakland walks over to me. “Can we go home now?” she asks, her voice small.

“Yeah, baby. Let's get you home.” With my arm around her shoulders, I lead her out to my truck.

The drive home is silent, Oakland staring out the window lost in her thoughts.

“Hey,” I say softly, reaching over to take her hand. “I’m going to find who did this and take care of it.”

She turns to look at me, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I know. That’s what I’m afraid of.”

When we pull up to the house, I'm relieved to see Easy's bike in the driveway. He must have come straight over after I texted him from the hospital.

“Come on,” I say, helping Oakland out of the truck. “You need to rest.”

She's putting on a brave face, but I can tell that her arm is hurting.

When we step inside the house, Easy jumps up from the sofa. His eyes go to Oakland’s pink new cast and narrow. None of us like to see a woman hurt. “You two, okay?”

I nod, guiding Oakland towards the stairs. “She needs to rest.”

When I get to the top of the stairs I can hear the sound of motorcycles in the distance.

The calvary has arrived.

“Stand still.” Oakland stops in the middle of our room, and I lift her shirt over her head. I move to the dresser, pull out one of my tees, and situate it over her body. Dropping to my knees, I untie her shoes and pull them off.

“Thorn,” she whispers. “What are you going to do?”

I ignore her question as I pull off her jeans. Climbing back to my feet, I move her towards our bed and pull down the covers.

“Climb in, baby.”

She does as I ask without any pushback.

“Honey?” I know she wants answers, but she won’t get any. I tried to do things her way and look how it’s played out.

“Go to sleep, baby.” With that, I place a kiss on her lips and leave her to rest.

When I step outside, Knox pulls out his phone and starts scrolling. “The car's registered to Dr. James Reynolds. He’s?—”

“The head of Emergency Medicine at Oakland's hospital,” I finish for him, feeling a fiery hot rage start to burn in my gut.

“This will have to go to the table, brother. This guy… he owes a hundred G's to the Kings.”

I nod, turning to Easy. “Can you stay with Oakland for a bit?”

“Of course.”

An hour later I'm strolling into church and can tell by the look on Viper's face that I'm not going to like whatever it is he has to say. “What?”

“We can't do shit about the doctor, Thorn.”

My head jerks back like I've been slapped. “What the fuck do you mean we can't do anything? If this was anyone else's woman, nobody would blink an eye about taking the asshole out!”

Sparrow's hand lands on my shoulder, his voice calm. “Thorn. Hear them out.”

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to listen as Viper explains. “The Kings are going to take care of Reynolds.”

“Why would they take him out?” It doesn’t make sense. Why throw away a debt that large?

“For a marker.”

The weight of his words hit me like a punch to the gut. A marker means the Kings can call in a favor whenever they need one, and we can't refuse.

It's a big fucking deal.

“Shit,” I mutter, running a hand across my hair.

Viper nods. “She's family now, brother. We protect our own.”

The realization of how far my club has gone to ensure Oakland's safety feels like it’s going to swallow me whole. But— “When are the Kings handling it?”

“It's already done.”

“That fast?”

“That fucking fast.” I feel an instant wave of relief, followed quickly by a slight shudder of fear. The implication of how far the Kings reach goes would be troubling if they weren’t a support club.

Thank the Gods for that.

Sparrow clears his throat, breaking the tension. “Hate to change the subject, but don’t forget George is leaving in a few days. Kierra has insisted we throw him a party before he goes.”

“Fuck,” Viper groans, banging the gavel on the table, making us all laugh.

His woman is hell on heels, but he loves it.

With the weight off my shoulders, I hop on my bike and start home.

Making the fifteen-minute ride in ten, I pull into my drive and find Easy sitting out on my porch. “You could have gone inside.”

He shrugs. “Didn't want to spook her if she woke up.”

“Thanks, Easy. You can head out now,” I say, not waiting for a reply as I rush inside and go straight for the stairs.

I take them two at a time and approach our door quietly. When I push it open, there, lying in the same spot I left her, is the woman I’d give my life for.

Needing to feel her skin on mine, I strip down to my boxers and climb in behind her.

Carefully, I slip my arm around her waist and pull her close.

“You're safe now,” I whisper, even though I know she can't hear me.

With Oakland in my arms and the knowledge that Reynolds is no longer a threat, I close my eyes and drift off to sleep.