Sweet Revenge (Sinners MC Book 1), page 5
“Come on, I’ll walk you up.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said quickly before dropping my eyes back to the bar top.
“Maggie,” he called. “Look at me.”
I’d been trained well by Snake to always look up when he uttered those words, so my head snapped up, and my eyes met his. Gunner stared at me briefly before he sighed and dropped his head. When he lifted it again, I saw in his expression that he was frustrated. “Nothing will happen to you if you tell me no, Maggie.”
I didn’t believe him. I’d experienced years of that not being true, but I nodded anyway. “Okay.”
“You don’t believe me, I know that, but you will Maggie. I promise, you will learn you can trust me.”
He backed away and came around to stand next to me until I stood and walked beside him across the room. I saw his head turn a few times toward some people, but I kept my eyes forward, needing some time alone. This was nice of them, but I didn’t know what to do with that. He stopped at the mouth of the hallway and motioned for me to go ahead of him up the stairs, which I did. I moved slowly and realized my pain medication must be wearing off because everything was starting to ache again. I turned the knob and pushed open the door to my room, smiling to myself when I saw the pretty comforter Becs had brought me months ago, trying to make the room look nicer, she’d said. I didn’t shut the door, sensing Gunner was still behind me, and instead just moved to sit on the side of the bed. Gunner walked past me into the bathroom, and I heard the water running for a minute before it shut off, and he was once again standing in front of me with a glass of water and pills in his outstretched hand.
“While you were talking to Bull, Becs told me she put your meds and a glass up here for you.”
I held out my hand, and he dumped the few pills into it. I put them in my mouth and reached for the glass, took a drink of the cool water, and swallowed, closing my eyes when my throat still burned.
“Thank you.” I whispered and put the half-full glass on the small table beside my bed.
He stood there for a moment, but I kept my eyes down and waited. Finally, he spoke. “Get some rest, Maggie.”
I nodded and kicked off my shoes, pushing my body back against the stack of pillows. He moved toward the door and glanced back while I sank further into the soft fabric on the pillows, the warmth of the comforter against my back. I thought he might say something, but he just stood quietly while I situated myself, my eyes already heavy from exhaustion.
When I could no longer hold my eyes open, I let them fall, and only then did I hear the click of the door being closed.
CHAPTER EIGHT
MAGGIE
I slept on and off for days, waking to find Becs sitting in my room more often than not, ready to help me do whatever I needed, like wrapping my casted arm in a garbage bag so I could shower. I wasn’t supposed to take off my sling, but after a few days, I wanted a shower, so I held my arm tight to my side, and she helped me wash my hair and get dressed after. I’d never really had someone like her in my life who wasn’t my mom, but I needed someone, and I found I was too damn tired to do it alone anymore.
It had been two weeks since the attack, and I was starting to feel somewhat human again. My ribs still ached, but it was a dull ache. My cast was a nuisance, but I was learning to work around it, and today, I had a doctor’s appointment to check my shoulder and remove the staples from my head. Hopefully, I would leave the appointment with only a cast left to deal with.
Becs had helped me shower and get dressed once again this morning. I told her I’d meet her downstairs in a few minutes, but I was stalling. I hadn’t been downstairs since I came home, choosing instead to be alone. I did sleep a lot, and it seemed every time I woke up, food was sitting on the table beside my bed. I had no idea who brought it, but I’d eat some of it and usually fall back to sleep. I found the medicine made me tired, and I was planning to tell the doctor today that I didn’t want to take it anymore.
I walked across the room and stopped in front of the mirror attached to the long dresser against the wall to look at my reflection. My skin, already pale, was even more so, and I’d noticed I lost even more weight than I’d feared. The clothes I’d been wearing before the attack that Becs had gotten for me were hanging loosely from my narrow shoulders and hips. Becs had braided my light blond hair and it was hanging over my shoulder, but it had lost its shine. However, even with all of that, my blue eyes were what caught my attention and made me cringe the hardest. They were dull and empty. There wasn’t a hint of emotion staring back at me. My appearance had never been anything special, nothing that would make people stop and take notice, but now it was almost hard to look at. If I didn’t know myself, if I saw someone on the street who looked like me, I’d think she was sick or maybe even an addict.
I turned quickly from the mirror, the person looking back at me too depressing to focus on and opened the door to leave my room. I stopped abruptly when I saw Gunner leaning against the wall across from my doorway. His eyes started at the top of my head and skimmed down my body before coming back to my face. It felt like he was looking for something, I just had no idea what that was.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
“I thought Becs was taking me.” I said quietly.
He pushed off the wall, standing to his full height. “Can’t go alone. I’m gonna take you both.”
“Don’t you have to work?”
I hadn’t seen Gunner since the day I came home, but Becs was always telling me the guys were working. She’d talk the whole time when she visited, about anything, probably just to fill the silence.
He cocked his head to the side. “I make my own hours.”
“Oh.” I stepped out of my room and closed the door behind me. He gestured for me to go first and followed me down the stairs. I crossed the empty bar, which made sense since it was early in the afternoon, and stopped when he stepped in front of me.
“Wait here.”
I nodded, and he opened the big door, stepping out to talk to someone before he pulled open the back door to the SUV and motioned for me to get in. I did quickly because I had the feeling that he was trying to be very cautious. He shut the door behind me and walked around the front, got into the driver’s seat, and pulled out.
Becs turned from her spot in the other front seat and smiled. “Are you ready to get that sling off?”
I nodded. “I can’t wait.”
“I’ll bet.” She agreed. “Plus, it’ll be nice to have those staples out too.”
“Too bad I can’t get the cast off today,” I stated.
“Soon.” Becs replied excitedly.
It really wasn’t all that soon because I had to wear it for a total of six weeks, but I was already two weeks in. Another month wouldn’t be so bad. We were quiet the rest of the way until we got to the doctor’s office. Gunner pulled around to the back, which I thought was odd, but I figured maybe he knew someone who worked here and wanted to avoid the stares of strangers in the front lobby. He jumped out and opened my door just as the back door to the office opened, and a really pretty woman wearing a white coat poked her head out.
“Hey, Gunner.”
“Kat.” He answered before he reached up to help me out. He held his hand still, and I only stared at it for a moment before I took it in my casted one and let him help me down. I didn’t know what to think of that, he’d never done it before. He closed the door behind me and followed me, Kat, and Becs into the office building.
We continued down a hallway until Kat opened a door and ushered me in. “Would you like Becs to come in too?”
I nodded, a little confused as to what was happening, and Kat smiled. “Sit up on the exam table for me, and I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay.” I watched her close the door and looked over to where Becs had sat on a chair in the corner. “What’s going on?”
She chuckled. “Kat is actually, Dr. Katrina Evans. Bear pays her to be ‘on call’ for members of the club so they can just come to her when they need to.”
“In case they get shot or something?” I guessed.
She tilted her head, but understanding lit her face. “The Sinners are not like the Black Widows, Maggie. Yes, they’ve had trouble here and there, but they try to avoid violence. That’s not the kind of club they want to have.”
“I thought all MCs were violent.” I admitted.
Becs shook her head. “Not anymore and some, like the Sinners, are just about being a team. A group of people who like the same things and want to live as free as they can in this world. They keep to themselves, keep their noses clean, and give back to the community. They’re good people, Maggie.”
She stopped talking just as the door opened and Kat walked through with a nurse behind her. “Okay, Maggie, let me look at that shoulder.”
She went through the process of checking my shoulder and agreed that I no longer needed to wear the sling, but I did need to take it easy. She instructed me to use it, but stay mindful that it’s still healing. She then proceeded to take out my staples and commented that my cut had healed nicely, but said I would have a small white scar. I only shrugged when she told me that because I didn’t care about having another scar.
She excused the nurse and asked Becs to give us a few moments and closed the door when they left, leaving us alone. She sat down on a stool with wheels and rolled it until it was positioned right in front of where I still sat. I wrung my hands together, nervous as to why she wanted to talk to me alone.
“How are you feeling, Maggie?”
“Okay.” I answered automatically.
“Okay.” She smiled sweetly. “I’ve had the automatic answer, now I’ll ask you again, and I want the real answer.” She laid her hand on my knee. “How are you feeling?”
My eyes met her warm brown eyes, and I relaxed my shoulders. “I feel lost.”
She smiled sadly. “I can understand that. Are you happy staying with the club?”
I shrugged. “It’s fine.”
She searched my face, for what I didn’t know so I waited. “Do you feel safe?”
I thought about that, but I realized I didn’t really have an answer, so I gave her the only response I could. “I don’t know what safe feels like.”
She closed her eyes briefly before opening them again. “Maggie, how do you feel your depression is?”
I flinched when there was a knock on the door. Kat pursed her lips, but stood and made her way to the door, pulling it open to Gunner. His eyes flicked between us. “Done?”
“No, Gunner, we’re not done,” Kat said sternly. “You’ll be the first to know when we are.”
He narrowed his eyes. “We need to get moving.”
“And you will as soon as we’re finished.”
He opened his mouth to answer, and I knew I needed to speak up. The truth was, I wanted to hear what she would say about how I was feeling. So, I took a deep breath and spoke up. “Gunner.” I spoke quietly. “Can I have a little more time?”
His eyes snapped to mine, surprise evident in his, and after a short moment, he nodded. “Yeah baby, take what you need. I’ll be right outside the door if you need me.”
“Thank you.” I whispered, his term of endearment causing a warm sensation to envelop me. He’d done it before, called me baby, the day I came home from the hospital, but I thought it was a slip, maybe a term he used often and he just said it out of habit. But now I wasn’t so sure. I watched and waited while Kat closed the door and made her way back over to the stool.
“He’s protective of you.” she commented.
I frowned. “He feels guilty for the attack, that’s all, but it wasn’t his fault, it was mine.”
“Why was it yours?”
“Because they told me to stay safe, I needed to stay inside and I didn’t.” I admitted.
She tilted her head. “What do you mean?”
I picked at a piece of lint on my black pants while I spoke. “I snuck out to watch someone get married. Someone I thought I had feelings for. I needed to.” I paused and exhaled slowly. “That’s where Snake grabbed me.”
“Who got married?”
“His name is Luke. He was the detective who tried to get me to leave Snake over the years.”
She smiled softly. “It makes sense you would develop feelings for someone who represented safety to you, someone who had cared for you over the years.”
“It was stupid.” I said, embarrassed.
She reached out and grabbed my hand, holding it gently in hers. “Maggie, caring for someone is not stupid. Luke sounds like a good man, an honest man, a safe man, and from what I can gather, you haven’t had that with a man in your life before him.”
“No.” I admitted.
She sat back on her stool and repeated her words from before. “How is your depression?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Well, do you feel like being around people, feel like talking, socializing? Do you have an interest in things?”
“No.”
“No to what?”
“All of it.”
She smiled sadly again. “Okay, I’d like to try a different medication than the one initially prescribed by the physician at the hospital. Would that be all right with you?”
I shrugged. “Sure.”
She grabbed her laptop and started typing. “I can send the prescription electronically to the pharmacy the club uses, and I’ll have Becs pick it up for you. I also want to see you back here in two weeks unless you start feeling worse.” She put down her laptop and pulled a card from the pocket of her lab coat. “I want you to call me with anything, okay? Even if you think whatever you’re experiencing isn’t a big deal, I want you to let me be the judge of that.”
I nodded and took the card. “Okay.”
“Maggie, I read through the notes from your hospital stay, and I know that you were assaulted sexually.” I swallowed hard when she squeezed my hand. “I know there are no physical scars from that, and all tests for STDs came back clear, but I’m concerned about you emotionally. I’d like to encourage you to see a therapist to talk about it.”
“I don’t remember it.”
“I read that, but something tells me it wasn’t the first time it happened with this man. Am I wrong?”
“No, you’re not wrong, but that’s just how it always was with him.”
“That’s not the way it’s supposed to be, Maggie.” I remained quiet, and she pulled another card from her pocket with a different name on it. “Call this number, Maggie. She’s a friend of mine and a fantastic therapist. She’ll even come to you so you don’t have to fear going outside, and the club doesn’t have to stress that you’re out in the open too much until they catch this man.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“Please consider it, Maggie. Do this for you.” She squeezed my hand one more time before standing and going to the door. She pulled it open and stepped out, maybe to talk to Gunner, but he walked past her into the room. I heard her voice, though, and assumed she was talking to Becs.
“Everything okay?”
I met his dark blue eyes and smiled a small smile. “Yeah, everything’s okay.”
CHAPTER NINE
GUNNER
“Any news?” Bear inquired, and I shook my head, causing a stir of grumbles through the bar.
Bear turned toward Luke. “Anything?”
“Not a damn thing. I have eyes everywhere watching for him to pop up, but so far, nobody’s seen anything,” Luke admitted. “If Maggie could remember anything that implicates him in her attack, I could involve a hell of a lot more people.”
Bear nodded and looked at me. “Still nothing?”
I shook my head. “She still can’t remember.”
“Do you think she’d at least testify what she overheard about the fire he set at Kate’s house?” Bear asked.
“She won’t.” Luke placed his palms flat on the bar top and leaned forward, dropping his head. “She’s afraid.”
“You asked her?”
His head popped up and he looked at me. “In the hospital. She didn’t answer, which was all the answer I needed. I’ve known Maggie a long time, and when she’s afraid, she clams up and won’t talk.”
“Brother,” Bear said, and Luke stood straight again to face him. “We all know how bad you want him for the fire and for the assaults on Maggie, but Maggie testifying about the fire will not keep him locked up. We need more.”
“We need to prove he’s the one who shot you.” I thought about the shooting a few years ago and what it did to the Dimarco family. They’re all close, and Luke was shot in front of all of his brothers. They saved him just by being there that night and acting quickly, but I knew them well enough to know it changed every one of them, and they’d been trying their hardest ever since to prove Snake was the shooter.
Luke’s gaze hardened on me. “No way to do that. No one’s talking. My brothers got the plate number, but it’s licensed as a commercial vehicle to a lumber company who actually reported it missing earlier that day, which means Snake stole it. It’s never been recovered, so we can’t get prints or fibers from it.” He motioned back and forth between himself and Cam. “Our hands are tied. Our department can’t waste any more resources on this shit, so anything we’re doing is off the clock. If Maggie could remember something and agree to testify, then we’d have somewhere to start and could officially be working the case again.”
“Did she know about the shooting?” I asked.
“If she did, she never mentioned it.” Luke frowned. “Snake’s hated me for years for attempting to lock him up for assault, and even though he trusts Maggie not to file charges, I think even he’s too smart to admit to attempted murder.”
“You ready to bring us in?”
My eyes shifted and landed on Jax Dimarco, immediately seeing what I always saw with Luke and all six of his brothers, and it was that they all held themselves the same way. Luke and his brother Cam both work for the police department, while Jax, Brody, and Chris own and operate the private security company, Elite Securities. His last two brothers, Jake and Ben, run their father’s construction company.
