Taste me, p.18
Taste Me, page 18
“You’ve been warned about this before, Miranda. Go to the nurse’s station and I’ll be there soon to talk to you,” the doctor says, his voice full of authority as I watch her turn and leave the room. “I’m sorry about that, Miss Parker. I’m Dr. Long and I’ve been overseeing your care since you were brought in early this morning. Am I okay to talk in front of them?”
“Of course,” I whisper, pain still shooting through my throat.
“Your throat will be sore for a few days. Drink plenty of fluids and don’t eat anything too rough. Your eyes might start to bother you and your lungs will also take a few days before you’ll stop feeling pain and having difficulty breathing. You can suck on some hard candy or cough drops to help soothe your throat if you’d like. There’s also ice chips we can get you. While I won’t put you on a liquid diet, I’m going to ask that you’re only given soft foods while you’re in here. I’d like to keep you until tomorrow at least,” the doctor informs me and it makes me wonder why Adam is out of a hospital bed and standing next to me. “There is one thing we found when you were brought in. A pregnancy test was performed and it came back positive. I’m unsure if you knew you were pregnant or not before now.”
“What?” I ask him, not sure I just heard him right. “I’m on birth control. How can I be pregnant?”
“No form of birth control is fail proof. There’s always a slim chance you can get pregnant. We can perform an ultrasound if you’d like to check on the baby and get a determination of how far along you are,” the doctor says as he looks at the machine beeping away next to me while jotting notes down on the paper in front of him.
“Please,” I say, fear filling me as I look up at Adam.
Adam’s face is covered in shock for a minute before the largest smile takes its place. He looks down at me and I can see the happiness and excitement flashing in his eyes. Adam lowers his head down to press a soft kiss against my cheek. He can’t get to my lips with the oxygen mask on. It’s a pain in the ass to remove every time I want to take a sip of water.
“Can she remove the oxygen mask when she eats and drinks?” my dad asks the doctor as if he’s reading my mind.
“Yes. I’ll see about getting you switched to a nasal cannula now that you’re awake. I’d like to keep you on oxygen for the remainder of your stay here. With you pregnant, I want to make sure we get a good start on helping your oxygen levels come back up. The smoke inhalation could have been worse, but any at all can cause damage. Once we get you switched, if you have any difficulty breathing, I need you to let someone know immediately. You’ll have to be put back on the mask because that’s been effective in helping you so far. I’m going to go put the orders for the ultrasound in. They’ll come right to the room. I’d prefer them to do an internal one because we don’t know how far along you are,” the doctor says, looking between the three of us to make sure we have no further questions before telling me he’ll be back after lunch to talk to us again.
“Get some rest, Sweet Girl. That’s the best thing you can do right now,” Adam says, covering me up more before taking a seat next to my dad and grabbing my hand again.
I close my eyes and let sleep take me. It feels as if only seconds pass before I’m sucked back down into nothing and I can forget all the shit going on around us.
The technician has been in and performed the ultrasound. She didn’t say much as she was doing her job despite Adam asking a million questions. We did get to hear the baby’s heartbeat and it sounded strong and steady. Tears filled my eyes as Adam and I sat and listened to it for a minute. I’m pretty sure he recorded the sound on his phone so we have it. When the screen switched over to show the baby, I have no clue what the hell we were looking at. I’ve only ever seen images for animals and I never understood them either. I actually plan to hire someone for the clinic who will be able to read them. Emmie is honestly better at that shit than I am. She handed us some pictures when she was done and then left us alone in the room.
It took several hours for the doctor to make his way back in. He assured us the baby was fine and he didn’t foresee any problems happening through the pregnancy. Dr. Long also told us I’m a little over seven weeks pregnant. For now, Adam and I are going to keep this a secret between us and my dad. He knows I don’t want anyone to know about the baby just yet. It’s not because I don’t want to celebrate with the members and ol’ ladies of the club. My decision for this is simply because I don’t want this stupid fucker after me to find out since we have no clue how he found the safehouse.
Now that I know the baby’s okay, I can start to process the information. I don’t know how to feel about this because Adam and I really haven’t talked about kids. Yeah, he said he wanted to have a family with me. We just never talked about when we’d take that step. There’s just been so much going on and we still haven’t gotten this Norbert fucker out of the pictures. I won’t truly be safe until he’s gone and has been dealt with once and for all. So, I’m not sure if now is the right time to add a baby to our family. This is a conversation Adam and I need to have once we’re alone and can truly talk through everything.
As soon as the doctor left once again, my dad went out to get Emmie. I love the girl, but she’d tell everyone about the baby if she had been in here and heard the news. Emmie’s actually really good at keeping secrets until she’s excited about something. Then, all bets are off and she’ll spill the news before you’re ready for her to do so. Tripp would be the first one told followed by the rest of the club. Like Adam says, the men gossip worse than the women. Before a half hour was up, everyone in the hospital would know I’m pregnant. It’s the simple truth and one of the many reasons why I love Emmie. She lets her excitement be known to everyone around her.
“Bitch! I haven’t seen you for weeks and then I get woken up out of a dead sleep with your cats and rabbit on my body to be told that you’re being rushed to the hospital and something about a fire,” Emmie says, rushing into my hospital room with tears sliding down her pale face.
“I’m sorry,” I rasp out as a different nurse makes her way in the room.
She takes the oxygen mask off of me and switches it out for one of those nasal cannula things. I hate this worse than the mask, but it means I can drink and eat without having to take the damn mask off and on. So, in a way I guess it’s better even if I hate it all. But, knowing I have to heal and get as much oxygen in my body as possible, I won’t fight anything they do. Now I have to think about the baby I carry and I refuse to do anything to harm him or her.
“Are you okay?” Emmie asks me, taking the seat that’s been empty since I woke up.
“I’m okay. They’re gonna keep me until tomorrow and then I should be able to go home. I’m not going back to the safehouse, obviously. I’ll be coming back to the clubhouse. Did everything get installed at the clinic?” I ask Emmie, wanting the attention off of me and onto something else.
“Everything has been taken care of. Hawk made sure the men not only delivered it, but installed the equipment like they were supposed to. When they thought I was the only one at the clinic, the fuckers were gonna drop it all in the waiting room and leave it there for me to move on my own somehow. The second Hawk walked out of the back from doing a walkthrough of the clinic, they changed their tune immediately,” she tells me, laughter filling her voice as she goes into detail about how Hawk threatened them and made one of the guys almost piss his pants. I wish I would’ve been there to see it.
As the day goes on, I’m visited by all the members and ol’ ladies who made the trip here. They all mainly just want to check on us before they head to the hotel just down the road for the night. Reaper even convinced my dad to go get a room and get some rest before the ride home tomorrow. Adam and I will be riding in my dad’s car with him instead of the van this time so we’re not laying on the hard floor despite the blankets and pillows they added to it for me. Danger will ride home with Jay in the van. Between the club members and my dad’s security team, we’ll be completely surrounded and safe for the trip back to Clinton City.
Emmie promises me she’ll get me a clean change of clothes to have tomorrow when I get discharged so that’s one less thing I have to worry about. I don’t want to put the clothes back on from last night and be even more covered in the smell of smoke than I already am. Tripp says the same to Adam before they leave. My dad, Emmie, and Tripp are the last to leave. Jay and Savage remain at the hospital outside my door to make sure no one gets inside who shouldn’t be here. When the nurses come in at all hours, Adam remains awake and vigilant, asking questions if they give me medicine or anything like that. Nothing will be done to me without his knowledge.
Adam climbs into the small hospital bed with me once everyone has gone. I really haven’t been able to rest today because of all the visitors. I’m not complaining though. It’s nice of them to want to check up on us. Though, I did get upset when Adam told me he made Dr. Long discharge him against orders so that he could be in my room with me. If he’d been admitted like me, he’d have been in his own room and that’s not something Adam was willing to do. So, he got discharged and has been in my room with me ever since. Dr. Long was checking on him the entire time, I just didn’t realize it before because I was sleeping.
With Adam’s large body wrapped around mine, it doesn’t take long for sleep to once again claim me. I dream of our baby and the life we’re going to build together. Of the animals I want to get and how successful my clinic will be once we open the doors again. For now, I’m going to take some time off and try not to worry about anything regarding the clinic because there’s so many other things I have to focus on.
Chapter Eighteen
Titan
THE RIDE BACK to Clinton City and the clubhouse was long as fuck. I wanted to be out on my bike with the rest of the guys, protecting my ol’ lady. However, the doctor told me I’d need to wait until I could breathe without pain and shit before he wanted me back on a bike. Knowing how upset Dallas got when I told her I forced Dr. Long to discharge me, I wasn’t about to upset her even more knowing that I was on my bike instead of in a car with her. For some reason, we got the smoke inhalation worse than anyone else in the house. The only reason Tripp can think of is because our room was at the back of the house and that’s where the fire was started so we had longer to inhale the smoke until Danger woke me up. All the guys got checked out when we pulled up to the hospital. The only two who didn’t show up were Cash and Kidd. But, they had Doc check them out once they got back to the clubhouse with the Prospect’s body. There was no way Cash could remain with us having the kid in the back of the van, and Kidd wasn’t about to let him ride alone with all the bullshit going on.
Dallas slept for a good portion of the trip and I was happy for her to do that. Dr. Long stressed the importance of her getting rest and as much sleep as she can to help her body heal. If it gets harder to breathe or anything like that, we’re to get her right back to the hospital to make sure something else isn’t going on with her. We’ve also got to find her a baby doctor. I’m sure my girl already knows someone since she grew up in Clinton City, but we need to get her an appointment so she can get a continued script for the vitamins Dr. Long already started her on. He's not concerned as much about the morning sickness, but we’re to keep an eye on it in case it gets any worse.
The mayor and I didn’t talk on the ride home. He feels fucking horrible that we could’ve been hurt in the fire at the safehouse and is also wondering how the fucking stalker found us. None of us have the first clue how we were tracked down when we took every precaution possible to prevent anyone from following us or finding out where we were. I’m gonna have to get Hawk to check Dallas, her belongings, and Danger again to see if there’s a tracker or something that we’ve missed somewhere. Danger wasn’t checked thoroughly before because we didn’t figure he’d let anyone close to him so they could put some kind of tracking device on his body. Now, I’m not sure that’s the case any longer. Desperate people are willing to do almost anything to get what they want.
When we finally pull up to the clubhouse, everyone who wasn’t at the hospital with us is outside waiting. One of the guys must have let them know we were close. Rebel is among the group waiting as she waits with Cash. They’re standing close, but not touching. He’s looking down at her while she watches Eagle pull in and park his bike next to Reaper’s in front of the clubhouse. No one’s gonna believe there’s nothing going on between the three of them for too much longer. It’s written all over their faces that they’ve got something going on. Maybe Rebel doesn’t want anyone to know because she’s turned down every guy who’s wanted her before now. I can see where she’d feel that’s a concern, but she has nothing to worry about. Not a single one of us would ever force a woman to have sex with us or make her feel bad for choosing one of the other guys instead. It’s not how we work as men or a club.
I managed to get Dallas up to our room without having to wait for everyone to stop and talk to her. It helps that she didn’t wake up once the car came to a stop and I lifted her from the seat next to her dad. Tripp went ahead of me with Danger so he could unlock my door and let us in. I didn’t want to jostle her around too much. After letting me know they’d get us something to eat and the rest of her babies, Tripp left us alone in the room so I could tuck my girl into bed and climb in next to her. Technically, I still need my rest so it’s not a big deal to take a nap with Dallas and hold her in my arms.
“Adam, your phone keeps going off,” Dallas says, waking me up as she pushes her body off of mine and I listen to her raspy voice.
Opening my eyes, I pull Dallas back over my body and grab my phone from the stand where I put it before climbing into bed with her. Tripp is calling me and I know it’s gotta be important so I answer it.
“Yeah,” I ask, my voice even deeper and raspier than normal with my throat dry as hell and sore.
“Reaper’s callin’ church, Titan. Gonna need you down here for the meetin’. Hawk found somethin’ and you’re not gonna be happy about it,” my best friend informs me as I growl and sit up in bed with Dallas in my arms.
“Give me a minute to wake up and I’ll be down,” I tell him, hanging up the phone and looking down at my Sweet Girl.
“Gotta go?” she asks me, her eyes slowly sliding closed once again.
“Yeah, Sweet Girl. Reaper called church. Hawk found somethin’. The sooner I learn what it is, the quicker we can get this shit dealt with,” I tell her, leaning over her body to press a soft kiss against her lips.
“I’m gonna sleep for a while longer. Danger can take your spot and be my pillow. He’s used to that from me,” she murmurs almost back asleep once again.
I lay her back on the bed and climb out before motioning for Danger to take my spot. Honestly, it doesn’t bother me if he gets in our bed. As long as we’re not in the middle of anything, Danger can sleep with Dallas every fucking night if that’s what she wants. But, I know he’s got his own large bed and that’s where he sleeps for the most part. It’s only when Dallas doesn’t feel good or want to be alone that she has him get in bed with her. I know Emmie is more than ready to come spend time with my girl, but Dallas really needs her sleep. So, unfortunately, she’s gonna need to wait a little longer before they can spend time together. Emmie will understand because she wants her best friend to get better and heal as fast as she can.
After changing quickly and putting on my cut, I leave the room and lock the door behind me. Tripp and Kidd meet me in the hallway as we head down to church. Jay is standing at the door and he takes all of our stuff before we leave him behind. Regardless of what Hawk has found, Jay getting patched in needs to be voted on today. It’s past time and he deserves it more than anyone else we’ve had in a long time. With the exception of Rubber. Those two are the best Prospects we’ve had in a long time and it’s going to take a lot for our newest Prospects to live up to Jay and Rubber. Hell, I don’t even know the new Prospects’ names. I’ll have to fix that and start paying more attention to them.
Taking my seat, Tripp sits next to me and we wait for Reaper to get the meeting started. It doesn’t take him long considering we were the last ones in the room.
“As you all know, the fucker found everyone at the safehouse and burned it to the fuckin’ ground. I’ve been in touch with the fire department there. The chief has told me that the fire was deliberately started at the back of the house and an accelerant was used. He’s gonna keep lookin’ into the fire and will stay in constant contact with me. While it’s concernin’ that he was able to find them and get close to Dallas, it’s not as concernin’ as what Hawk found when we all returned once Dallas was released from the hospital. Titan, how is she doin’?” Reaper asks, giving everyone a brief run-down of what’s happened.
“She’s sleepin’ right now. Dr. Long told us she needs plenty of rest and sleep. That’s only gonna aid in helpin’ her heal and that’s definitely needed right now,” I tell him, being careful of what I say because I don’t want to let it slip about the baby.
“Okay. If you guys need anythin’, let us know. We’ll help in any way we can. Alex and the girls are gonna make sure they make food that is easy for you two to eat. I think they’re plannin’ on some kind of soup and bread tonight for the two of you,” Reaper informs me before turning the meeting over to Hawk.
“When Dallas first got to the clubhouse and agreed to stay here for protection, I checked everythin’ she brought with her. I didn’t find a single trackin’ device on her at all. There were no hidden apps installed on her phone or other electronic devices, and I even checked the animals. Danger wouldn’t let me get close enough at that point to give him a thorough check, but that’s not the case now. I checked him again the second he was brought back in the clubhouse and found a trackin’ device on his collar. I don’t know how long it’s been there, but I’m gonna trace the IP address I found on it. Hopefully that will tell me exactly where this stupid fuck is hidin’ out,” Hawk states as everyone at the table explodes because Danger is never on his own for any reason.
