“Of course. This goes beyond you and Max, Kane was dealing with our enemy, his men shot our president, the Iron Serpents must retaliate,” Mason agrees instantly.

“Hell yeah, I’m in,” Jax enthusiastically adds without hesitation.

“That fucker has to pay,” Ty interjects darkly.

With Mason, Jax, and Ty by my side, I’m feeling more powerful than I’ve ever felt. I will not let this get me down. I will not let Kane destroy my family while I stand idly by like the pathetic woman he thinks I am. It’s time to take action.

He messed with the wrong chick.

Chapter 28

Emma

The eight hours we were sitting in the waiting room seemed like a lifetime. Every time we heard footsteps, we all looked up hoping for news. Finally, we all stand to attention as the doctor enters the waiting room and calls my name. We jump up from our seats, our muscles stiff from the uncomfortable chairs we’ve been sitting in for hours, anxiously awaiting news while we try to devise a plan of action.

“Ms. Miller, I’m pleased to report that your brother’s surgery was a success,” the doctor says.

He has dark kind eyes and a professional bedside manner, exactly the kind of person you want caring for your loved ones.

“Can we go see him?” I immediately ask.

He nods, “You may,” he says hesitantly before cautioning, “However, because he had some seizures and our concern about any potential swelling on his brain from where he fell and hit his head after being shot, we’ve had to put him into an induced coma for him to properly heal. You can see him, but he won’t be able to talk to you.”

“But he’s going to live?” Mason asks, as anxious as I feel to hear the response.

“He’s not completely out of the woods just yet, but his chances of recovery are significantly improved now that the surgery was completed successfully,” the doctor says calmly.

“Thank you,” I reply, my eyes filling with tears of gratitude.

I don’t care how long it takes as long as I get my brother back. He’s a fighter, if he survived the surgery, I just know he will wake up.

“Please follow me, I’ll take you to him,” the doctor says, leading the way to a private room in the ICU where Jacob is.

He looks so small and vulnerable in the bed, lying there hooked up to countless machines that slowly beep and whir, keeping him alive. His eyes are closed, face slack, but he looks peaceful, and other than the bandages, otherwise unharmed. I go over to his bedside and take his hand in mine, it's large and warm but his solid presence is absent.

“I’m here J-Bird, Emmy’s here,” I say softly. “You’re going to make it through this do you hear me?” I add though I’m not sure if he can hear me at all.

I can see the confusion on the guys’ faces as to why I called him J-Bird, they’ve never heard me do so before. I look to them, answering their unspoken question.

“He’ll kill me for telling you guys this, but maybe if he can hear me, it might make him wake up to tell me off,” I say with a sad smile, looking at my brother and stroking his face softly before turning my gaze back to the others. “I’m the one who came up with the nickname J-Bird when I was a little girl.He used to sing so beautifully to me when I was small, I said he sounded like a Jaybird.”

Jax smiles at Jacob. “If you wake up now, I promise I won’t even tease you about that one, buddy.”

As much as we will it, Jacob doesn’t stir. We sit by Jacob’s side talking to him and filling him in on everything that’s happened since the fated raid.

According to Bess, Kane and the majority of his men got away. But there’s a manhunt out for Kane for the murder of Venom. Breaker and several other key players of the Iron Serpents have been arrested and are likely to serve lengthy jail times for several crimes that Venom managed to uncover before his untimely demise. The police still want to speak with Mason and Jax, convinced about their involvement, but for now, they’re sticking to their story. Fortunately, no cops saw any of the Iron Serpents there. However, Bess is trying to convince Mason that he and Jax would be an integral witness for the murder case when they catch Victor Kane.

For now, the guys are choosing to try to get to Kane themselves first. They don’t have much faith in the cops since they fucked this up and people died. If we miss our shot to get at Kane there won’t be another.

“I’m going to call Jessica and speak to Max. Now that we know Jacob is going to be okay, I should let them know that he’s in the hospital,” I tell the guys who nod in agreement.

The phone rings out and I feel a flare of terror that Kane has already managed to get to Max. I dial again and after an agonizingly long time, Jessica finally picks up.

“Emma, this isn’t your scheduled time to call,” she says sounding a little perturbed, in the background I can hear the sounds of children’s happy voices.

“I know, I’m sorry, but something happened to Jacob. He’s in the hospital,” I say, feeling annoyed that I need an appointment to speak to my son but trying to remain calm.

“Oh my goodness, what happened? Is he okay?”