Page 75 of Ghost's Obsession

She pauses just past the threshold. Looks back at me.

“I’ll be right back,” she says. “Don’t go far.”

“I won’t,” I assure her.

And I am careful to keep my word. I stand right there, staring through the glass. I still have blood on my shirt. I feel like they took her away from me, separated us. My fists clench and heart pound with all the things I don’t say.

Chapter 24

Heather

The moment they pull me away from Ghost, I feel the loss. I’m used to him hovering over me, worrying about me, radiating protectiveness and just being extra in general. My world goes too quiet without him.

The sliding glass doors shut behind me with a soft hiss, and it’s like I’ve been separated in more ways than one. There is no more engine noise. No more Ghost’s deep voice rumbling in my ear. Instead, it’s just fluorescent lights, a cold emergency bay, and tests. As well as nurses who move too fast, speak too loudly, and ask enough questions to boggle my mind.

I feel strangely detached from my surroundings, like I’m watching it happen from outside myself.

They take my vitals. Ask questions that I struggle to answer. My name. My date of birth. How far along I am.

“Twelve, maybe fourteen weeks,” I say.

The nurse frowns gently, glancing at the cut on my neck. “We’ll do a scan to be safe, alright? You had some blood loss. It could be minor stress trauma.”

The word trauma sticks in my throat. I know the detached feeling I’m experiencing is trauma-related. It has to be, because I’ve never felt that way before.

They clean the cut with something that stings worse than it should. It’s a shallow, surface nick, they confirm. The nurse tells me gently, “It could’ve been worse,” like that’s supposed to make me feel better. I tell them that Ghost is my partner, it’s notreally a lie because he is, and finally they let him join me in the examination room.

After having my wound dressed, I’m allowed to leave. But before I head back to the clubhouse, I need to see how Brittany is.

They give us her room number and Ghost leads me down two hallways and into a quiet recovery wing. We go to the nurses’ station, introduce ourselves, and ask about Brittany. The nurse walks us to her room. She warns me before opening the door. “Your friend is still in some pain. She had lots of sutures. But she’s awake. And has been asking for you by name.”

When I hesitate outside the door, my mind fills with a bunch of questions, like why did this have to happen to Brittany of all people? She’s such a nice person and I hate this for her.

Something deep in my soul doesn’t want to see what Carnage did to her, but another part needs to know what happened to her, to see it with my own eyes.

Brittany’s looking really rough, but she’s propped up in the bed, eating and drinking. That’s more than I would have expected after getting so seriously injured.

An older woman is with her, she’s wearing a leather vest and looks like she’s had a hard life. She’s accompanied by a large man who’s wearing a Sons of Rage cut. I’ve never met her grandmother, but I’m guessing this is the indomitable Queenie and the man is probably one of Brittany’s relatives.

Her hair is still matted with blood and her face is bruised around the cheekbone and jawline. But she’s awake. Her eyes are sharp and, best of all, she’s smiling.

She grins when she sees me. “You’re just in time for fries. Queenie had Uncle Onyx buy me a whole bag. It’s an embarrassment of riches that you can help me with.”

I come over and kiss her on the forehead because it looks like the only place not bruised. “I can’t believe you’re eating fries and drinking a milkshake.”

Brittany snorts a laugh. “I’m injured, not dead.” She glances over at her grandmother and says, “This is my friend, Heather. The one I told you about.”

“It’s nice to meet you,” she beams. “My granddaughter told me all about how the two of you snuck out of a lockdown at the clubhouse and ran into trouble at a local lab.”

I automatically begin to tear up. “I’m really sorry that Brittany got injured. It was all my fault. I should have waited for one of the brothers to escort me to the lab.”

Queenie just shrugs, “We all live and learn.”

“My grandmother wouldn’t be mad at you. She knows we were just trying to do the right thing.”

Queenie shoots Ghost a meaningful look before saying, “All’s well that ends well, I heard.”

My eyes get big, and I begin nodding like a bobblehead doll.

---