Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Looking at her, I wanted to feel sympathy. But I couldn’t. I agreed with her. She had let Tink down. She’d allowed her to suffer abuse I still didn’t know the details of. I wasn’t sure I could forgive the woman for that. Tink had deserved more as a child. She’d needed protection, and her mother had failed her. It was a momma’s job to protect their children. Tink had no one.
The image of her bloody thigh and the knife on the kitchen table felt like its own raw blade ripping at my soul. Dolly had been through so much. She’d survived. She had been strong and overcome more than anyone should have to. Now, she was in there, fighting for her life, and the last thing I’d said to her was cruel. I hadn’t reassured her like she needed. I hadn’t told her what she had been asking with those amber eyes of hers.
I had been too fucking scared to say it. She needed to hear it, and I hadn’t been able to say it. The realization that I might never get the chance destroyed me.
I leaned back against the wall and stared at the door, willing a doctor to walk through and tell me she was going to be okay. That I could go see her.
“Liam just texted,” Jars said to me.
I looked in his direction.
“He and Hughes took some men and are headed to find Canyon now. He said to tell you to stay here. Keep him updated, and they’ll handle the rest.”
I wanted to be the one to face Canyon. I wanted it to be me who tortured him, but I wasn’t leaving Tink.
“Tell him to hold Acree until I can deal with him.”
34
Micah
The doors opened after what felt like a fucking eternity, and a doctor walked inside the room.
He paused for a moment, then cleared his throat. “Is the immediate family of Dolly Dixon present?”
I didn’t wait for her mother to speak before walking across the room to the man who looked barely old enough to be out of college. “How is she?” I demanded.
He blinked and took a step back as he stared up at me. “And you are immediate family?” he asked, his tone giving away his nervousness.
“Yes,” I barked. “How is she?”
He cleared his throat and looked around the room.
“I’m her mother,” Mrs. Dixon said, stepping up beside me. “Is my daughter going to be okay?”
The doctor glanced back at me, then turned his gaze back to Mrs. Dixon. If he didn’t start talking, I was going to pin him to the goddamn wall with my hand around his throat.
“The most serious injury is the punctured lung,” he said, shifting his attention to me only briefly. “We have her sedated, and the chest tube has been put in place. The good news is, there is no brain bleed, which had been a major concern since her head was hit and the amount of blood she lost. The fracture to her tibia is an open one. Meaning it broke through the skin and surgery was required to set it.” The doctor smiled at Mrs. Dixon. “It was touch and go for a minute, but Dolly is going to be fine. She came through everything perfectly. You should be able to go back and see her in the next couple of hours. A nurse will come get you.” He paused and took in the room of bikers again, then looked at me. “It will be limited visitation at first with just immediate family.”
“I understand,” Mrs. Dixon replied, then let out a sob. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
The doctor nodded, then turned and got out of the room as quickly as he could.
Mrs. Dixon turned to Pepper and threw her arms around her neck. “She’s gonna be okay. Thank you, Lord!”
Pepper patted her back and looked at me as she held Dolly’s mother. Her eyes were damp with tears of pure relief.
I leaned back against the nearest wall and closed my eyes. Dolly was okay. She had some bad fucking injuries, but she would heal. I’d take care of her. She’d be fine.
I sucked in a deep breath and hung my head. I could have lost her. The best thing that had ever happened to me, and I’d almost lost her.
“You okay?” Pepper asked, and I lifted my head to see my sister standing in front of me. Her eyes glistening with unshed tears.
“I am now,” I said hoarsely.
She let out a shaky sigh. “Yeah, me too.”
I rested my head back on the wall. “I love her, Pep.”
She smirked. “I know. I just wasn’t sure you did.”
“I’ve known. I should have told her already.”
Pepper reached out and squeezed my hand. “Yeah, you should have. But lucky for us, you get to tell her now.”
I nodded. “We fought this morning. Or rather, she questioned me about a text that Calista had sent, and I didn’t handle it right. I should have told her the truth. Trusted her with it. I’m just not used to sharing things. I’d never had to before. And Calista went and said something to her. Upset her.” I closed my eyes. “Fuck, Pep. She was hurt. Because of me.”