Deaths devotion, p.22
Death's Devotion, page 22
“Hey, Half Pint. Calm down. What’s goin’ through your head right now?” Death asks me as I whip my eyes to him.
“Death? You’re here?” I question him, trying to look at no one but him.
“Of course I’m here, Half Pint. Wouldn’t be anywhere else,” he says, his voice gruff as he leans over me.
“What happened? Where’s the baby and Brent? Did I lose the baby, Death? Do you hate me?” I rush out, needing to know what’s going on.
“I don’t hate you, Kels. I could never hate you, baby. You need to calm down. Nyx and Brent are right in the room with us. Brent is on the other side of you and Nyx is sleepin’ in the little cot thing they put babies in. I’ll bring Nyx over to you as soon as we figure out what’s goin’ on in your head right now. What do you remember?”
“I remember being in the kitchen at the clubhouse. I was baking and missing you. Wondering when you were gonna be able to come home. Jaelyn might have come in to see me. it’s kind of hazy though,” I say, trying to remember anything else that might have happened.
“You don’t remember goin’ to the store and bein’ hit on the way there?”
I lay back and try to think. My head pounds, and it only gets worse as I try to remember what happened. With a flash, all the memories come back to me. The shattering glass, spinning and tipping over, hearing my son screaming at the top of his lungs, and going into labor. I remember every damn thing. This was Vince. He’s the one who hit me and tried to kill all of us.
“Do you have him?” I ask, needing to make sure they got him and no one else will be able to hurt us.
“He’s at the clubhouse, Half Pint. I haven’t seen him yet, but Shank made sure he got there. He’s locked up in a cell and no one will be able to get at him until I do. You don’t have to worry about him again, baby. I’m goin’ to deal with him and he’ll never leave Braedon while still breathin’ again,” Death says, his voice full of promise and the reassurance I need right now.
“What’s wrong with Brent? Was he hurt really bad? He was screaming, Death. I couldn’t get to him and he was so loud. Sabotage came here with him and I haven’t seen him since I put him in the SUV to leave the clubhouse. I’m so sorry, Death. I wanted to make you a nice dinner when Lash told me you were coming home. The grocery order I made wouldn’t have been there in time. It was so damn stupid.”
“Stop, Half Pint. I don’t blame you and there’s nothin’ you could have done differently. Vince was gonna get to you one way or another. Even if you were behind the gates of the compound, he would have found a way to get to you. Besides, I know what it’s like to go fuckin’ stir crazy bein’ cooped up in the clubhouse and not bein’ able to go anywhere else. We’ve been on lockdown and it’s lasted for days. You wanted to run to the store, and that’s okay Kelsey. You weren’t alone and there was nothin’ you could do to prevent the accident from happenin’,” he tells me just before turning his back and taking a few steps away.
Death turns back around and is holding our son in his hands. He brings him over to me and lays him down on my chest. Taking the blanket he’s wrapped up in, I move it so I can get a good look at our boy. Nyx is so small. Much smaller than Brent was when I had him. I count all his little fingers and toes as he holds one of my fingers in his tiny hand. When I move the hat on his head, I find a headful of dark hair. There isn’t a single bald spot in sight. Taking in every inch of Nyx, I realize something very quickly. He looks exactly like his daddy. Our boy is going to be a miniature version of Death. And I couldn’t be happier about it.
“He looks just like you, Death,” I tell him as I cover him back up.
“I fed him just before you woke up and made sure to change his diaper. He’s gonna sleep for about an hour and a half before wantin’ to eat again,” he tells me as a knock sounds on the door.
Kathy pokes her head inside before making her way over to me. For a minute she looks down at Nyx in my arms before smiling at Death and me.
“How are you feeling, Kelsey?” she asks as I hand Nyx off to his daddy.
“I feel like I’ve been run over a hundred times before fighting in a cage a few rounds. Guess that’s normal after being in a car accident and giving birth,” I say, trying to smile even though there’s no reason to in this situation.
“It’s a little more complicated than that, Kelsey. Let’s start with Brent’s injuries first. He suffered a broken arm in the accident. We’ve got him in a cast right now. It will be on for the next six weeks at least. Other than that, he has cuts and bruising on his body. They’ll heal on their own and he won’t have any scarring or anything from them. You’re both really lucky if I’m being honest. Things could have been so much worse than what they were,” Kathy says, her voice gentle as she goes on to what happened to me. “Your injuries are more complicated. When the accident happened, a piece of metal sliced into the side of your abdomen. You were bleeding internally and also in labor. We took the baby and performed all the tests to rule out anything being wrong with him. Your son is healthy and there won’t be any complications with him. Unfortunately, because of the damage done from the accident and other complications, we had to perform a hysterectomy on you. We couldn’t stop the bleeding any other way.”
Laying back against the bed, I remain silent. I don’t even know what I’m feeling right now. My heart is breaking with the thought of never carrying another baby. Death and I certainly never talked about more babies in our future and I’m not saying I won’t be completely happy and overfilled with love with my boys. Vince took this from me and there was nothing I could do to stop it from happening.
“I know this is a lot to take in, Kelsey. I’m sorry I don’t have better news for you,” Kathy says as I start crying. “I’m going to check your incisions quick and if you need something for the pain, I’ll make sure you get it. I’m here no matter what you need. Both of you. Plus, you have an entire room filled with the club.”
Nodding my head, I don’t move as Kathy exams me and tells me everything looks good for having surgery a matter of hours ago. When I tell her I don’t want anything for the pain, she leaves us alone. Death places Nyx on my chest and holds the two of us until Brent wakes up. we can’t even get him out of the crib without someone helping us because of the IV and other things hooked up to him. Death does bring him over closer to me though. I reach through the bars of his crib and hold his little hand the best I can.
“It’s gonna be okay, Half Pint. If we decide we want more kids later on, we’ll adopt them. There’s always a child who needs a home filled with love and the patience you’ll give them. This doesn’t mean anythin’ in the grand scheme of things. I love you and it’s okay if you don’t say it back. I heard when you were brought in from recovery and that’s enough for me. Don’t cry, baby. I hate seein’ you in tears,” he tells me, his voice gentle as he simply holds me.
“What do you mean I said the words when I was brought in?” I ask him, confusion filling me.
“When you were brought in here, you told me you loved me even though I hated you for the accident and everythin’. Judge and Gramps were in here with us and heard it,” he informs me, a smile lighting up his face.
“I do love you, Death. I know our relationship isn’t gonna be easy, but it’s true.”
“Now, why don’t we let our family in so they can finally see the three of you. None of them have left since you were brought in,” Death suggests.
Nodding my head, I try to wipe the tears from my eyes so they don’t see me crying. It’s going to take time to process what I’ve learned from Kathy. Something Death and I will have to process together. Right now, I can’t seem to wrap my head around never having another child of ours.
Everyone has been in our room all day. Most of them have left to go back to the clubhouse but a few remain. Sabotage, Jaelyn, Zeus, Talon, Bronwan, Judge, and Gramps are still with us. I don’t think they’ll be leaving anytime soon either. Jae and Bronwan haven’t left my side since they come in the room. The three of us shed some tears and hugged one another as gently as we could because of my injuries. Having the hysterectomy is the worst of my injuries. Other than that, everything is essentially surface wounds and nothing more. To be on the safe side, Brent and I are both on antibiotics to prevent any kind of infection from starting.
“Kels, are you gonna be okay?” Jae asks me.
“Eventually. Right now, I can’t even begin to think about never having kids again. It’s something you don’t realize you want until it can’t happen again. Vince took this from us. He chose to hit me and cause the accident. I blame him and will have to deal with the feelings filling me. I just can’t do it right now. Right now, I need to be here for my boys and Death. I need to heal and get out of this hospital,” I answer her.
“You take all the time you need, Kels,” Bronwan adds in, taking my hand in hers. “We’ll all do what we can to help you. Death and you aren’t alone in this.”
“No, you’re not. You’re my damn sister-in-law and I feel guilty as fuck for this. If we didn’t go out, he wouldn’t have caused the accident,” Talon admits, looking down at Nyx in his arms.
“It’s not your fault. I knew Vince was out there and would do anything to get to me. If I had been thinking about anything other than Death finally coming home, I would have realized how stupid my need to go to the store was. I could have easily taken something from the clubhouse to cook and replaced it at a later time,” I say, looking around the room. “I’m just glad I didn’t hurt one of you guys since you were all so close to me.”
“I’m gonna deal with Vince, Half Pint. Don’t you fuckin’ worry about that. I’ll make sure he feels every fuckin’ ounce of pain you and the boys felt,” Death promises me.
“Kelsey, when you get out of here, I want you to come over for dinner. I ain’t much of a cook, but it’s time we all spent time together. I want to get to know you and my great grandsons,” Gramps tells me, not wanting me to call him anything else.
“I will definitely make it happen, Gramps. What if I bring dinner and dessert with us? I’ve got a ton of frozen meals I’ve already prepared and it won’t take me long to make something good for us to have once we’re done with our meal,” I ask him, loving Gramps already.
It’s easy to see why Judge, Talon, and Death are the way they are. He’s rough and doesn’t give a shit what comes out of his mouth. When he thought a nurse was being too rough with Brent earlier, he ripped her a new ass. Made her run out of here in tears as everyone from the club laughed their asses off. He’s been nothing but kind and gentle with me and the boys though. Bronwan told me he’s the same way with her and their kids. Can’t help but love a man like that.
When a nurse finally comes to kick everyone out of the room, Judge and Sabotage let us know they aren’t leaving. They’re going to stand guard and make sure no one else gets close to us. Vince might be locked in a cell at the clubhouse, but it doesn’t mean his dad isn’t going to try and pull some shit to get to me. I’m not going to take a full breath until I know for sure Vince is no longer alive and I have nothing to fear from him. The club will deal with LaRusso if he tries to come after me for any reason. I’m not worried about him. He’s more of a bitch than Vince is.
“Are you happy, Death?” I ask him once everyone is gone and it’s just us and the boys in the room.
“I’m happier than I’ve ever been in my life, Half Pint. You’ve given me two sons, have let me in your life despite my hot and cold attitude toward you, and we will be makin’ a ton of memories movin’ forward. One day you’re gonna have my last name, Brent will have my last name, and we’ll be the family we should have been from the day I fuckin’ met you. I don’t want or need anythin’ else in my life except for the club,” he tells me, resting his head against my arm. “The real question is; are you happy, Kelsey?”
“I’m happy, Death. As happy as I can be knowing I won’t ever give you another baby and that Vince is still alive,” I answer him, my eyes filling with tears once again.
“We don’t need more kids, Half Pint. If all we ever have is Nyx and Brent, then I’ll be as happy as I am right now. However, if we decide we want more kids, then we’ll adopt them. There’s nothin’ wrong with givin’ a child in need a home. It doesn’t even matter if our blood and DNA don’t fill them. All that matters to me are you and these two boys. Any other child we have, we’ll count ourselves lucky for. Everythin’ always works out the way it’s meant to. If it didn’t, I wouldn’t be here with you three right now,” he says, pressing a kiss against my lips and looking at me as if I’m the most beautiful woman in the world.
I feed Nyx and Death changes him before putting him to bed in the cot we have for him. Everything is taking a toll on me as my eyes slide closed and sleep claims me. The last thing I feel is Death pressing his lips against my temple before holding my hand. Right now, I’m choosing to count what I have in my life and not worry about having kids or not. Death and I will figure it all out in our own time.
Chapter Twenty-Five
KELSEY HAS BEEN sleeping for a few minutes when Judge comes in the room. Lash is here and needs to talk to me. After checking on the boys and my ol’ lady, I head out of the room we’re in to find Lash talking to Sabotage. He looks at me when I step out and make sure the door is closed behind me. When I’m far enough away that we won’t wake up any of my family, I turn to find out what my President wants. He wouldn’t be here for no reason. Not after seeing how upset Kelsey is about everything.
“Death, it’s time. I don’t want him in the clubhouse for long. If we take care of Vince now, Kelsey won’t have to worry about him bein’ close when you bring them home,” he says, his voice a whisper so no one can overhear us.
“It’s not gonna be drawn out like I want it to,” I say, looking back at the room where my family rests. “Nyx will be up in about an hour and a half and I need to be back here for it. Kels can’t lift him out of the cot thing they have him in and these bitches aren’t gonna touch him unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Do what you gotta do. I’m gonna stay behind with Sabotage. We’ll make sure no one gets close and none of the nurses do somethin’ they’re not supposed to,” Lash assures me as I nod my head and leave with Judge.
We make our way out to our bikes in silence. Judge knows I’m getting lost in my head about what I’m going to be doing to Vince. How I can make him feel every fucking ounce of pain my girl has ever felt. Make him pay for almost taking my boys from me. All because he can’t handle someone telling his bitch ass no. What a fucking douche canoe. I’m going to rip him limb from limb and make sure he knows I’ll be the last face he ever fucking sees. No one else will ever see him or feel the pain he likes to dole out because he’s a spoiled asshat.
Judge follows me as I race through town and straight for the clubhouse. There’s no traffic thanks to how late it is. Everyone is already home or at the bar and strip club for the next few hours. I don’t stop for any reason as we make our way across town and finally pull into the parking lot of the clubhouse. Parking our bikes, I wait for my brother before heading inside. I’m met with all the men here as they stand as one and follow me down to the basement.
The bitchy Rebel is crying and whining about being released as I bypass her cell without stopping. I don’t have time to deal with her ass right now. Once I know Vince is no longer breathing, I’ll have a few words with her. Vince is more important and she’ll get to hear everything I do to him. Maybe it will make her think twice about fucking with the club. I doubt it, but it really won’t matter either. She’s about to be eliminated as much as Vince is.
A Prospect opens up Vince’s cell and we’re all immediately hit with the stench of piss and shit. This fucker has been here a day and couldn’t contain his bodily functions. What a fucking bitch. Entering the cell, I slide off my cut and hand it to Judge. He hangs it on a hook as I step right up to Vince, who’s hanging from the beam of the ceiling with his hands chained up and wrapped in metal, and let my fist fly into his face. I rip off the tape that’s been placed over his mouth. It’s not because I want to hear his fucking voice though. I want to hear his fucking screams without them being muffled by anything.
“It’s good to finally meet you face-to-face,” I say, a smile covering my face. “I’ve got a lot to say and you’re gonna fuckin’ listen to me. I hear one fuckin’ word out of your mouth and you lose a limb. Not playin’ fuckin’ games with your pathetic ass.”
Vince looks at me with pure defiance in his eyes. I watch his mouth work and already know what’s coming as I step out of his way. The twatwaffle spits in my direction but misses me by a mile. Stupid fuck!
“You must think you’re a real tough man. Beatin’ on a fuckin’ woman. A woman you were stealin’ from, usin’, and rapin’ on a regular basis. Kelsey went through pure fuckin’ hell at your hands and I’m about to make you feel everythin’ you ever did to her. See, I’m the only one here who knows what a bitch you are. Tellin’ your dad she’s an addict and blew through the insurance money from her parent’s death. You’re the one with the fuckin’ drug problem. Tryin’ to demand she give you her trust funds so you can buy more drugs and beat the fuck outta more prostitutes and underage girls. We’ve got proof of all your dirty little secrets. Kels isn’t the reason your father cut you off. I. Am,” I grit out, landing punch after punch against his body as Vince grunts out in pain and tries to pull away from me.
His toes barely touch the floor as he sways from the chains holding him up. Once I’ve hit him enough to ensure I’ve bruised and broken his ribs, I step back and grab the knife Boxer is holding out for me. I place multiple cuts all over Vince’s body. Brent and Kelsey have cuts all over their bodies. Vince now has a matching set. Though, I believe most of his are a little bit deeper than what happened in the car accident. Oh well.
