Page 6 of Falling for Fang

“Hey Prez. Everything okay?” I asked as I reached the bar and tossed his empties and started a pot of coffee. He looked up at me and then back down at his wallet. I glanced over and noticed it was a picture of Bear’s sister. Valkyrie had been taken by a rival gang, brutally raped and beaten then left for dead. Axle had been in love with her. It dawned on me that it was the anniversary of her death.

“Just thinking about Kelly and what she would be doing if she was still with us.” He slurred as he stared blankly at the picture, likely remembering things. “I kind of like the waitress at the Diner, but I feel like I’d be cheating on Kelly and that it’s wrong.”

“You know Kelly would want you to move on and be happy. Would you have wanted her to mourn you this long and never be happy or take a chance again?” I took the beer he had in front of him and poured it down the drain. I handed him a bottle of water. “Drink this and go crash in the breakroom. I’ll be in my office doing payroll.”

Axle scowled at me, downed the water and headed to the back. He knew he wasn’t in any shape to ride at the moment, and I wasn’t about to let him keep drinking. I watched him until he closed the door. Axle was a handsome bastard, but he could be mean as a snake when he was crossed. Luckily, I had known him his whole life, so he knew not to start any shit with me. I poured myself a large cup of coffee and headed to my office.

I had finished up payroll and was about to call to confirm interviews when my phone rang. I saw Remy’s name on the caller ID.

“This is Fang?” I answered in a clipped tone. I was still irritated about his brother’s stunt at the wedding.

“Man, you need to get over to Liberty Memorial now. There was a fire at the shelter, and I found the little vet passed out by the back door with smoke inhalation animals running around everywhere. I called some volunteers to get crates for them and round them up. The ambulance took Dr. Daniels to the emergency room, she is going to need oxygen and to be monitored for a few days. Two of the dogs had collars with her name and number on them. I had Blade come get them and take them to the clubhouse.” Remy said calmly.

“FUCK! Thanks for calling me. I’m heading there now.” I said as I left and headed to the hospital. I passed the shelter on the way, and it was in really bad shape. She was going to be crushed. I didn’t stop to assess the damage, but I would be checking with Remy and Luke later to find out what started it. She was very careful, and I couldn’t imagine what could accidentally start a fire there. I was walking into the emergency room when I saw my sister coming over to me.

“Where is she? How is she?” I demanded looking at Katie. She put her hand on my arm and led me over to the chairs.

“They are working on her now. They are having to insert a tube down her throat to keep her airway open. She will be on oxygen until she regains consciousness. We will monitor her closely. Remy got her here very quickly so she should make a full recovery, but she will need to be under observation for the next 24-48 hours. She had a little bump on her head, likely from where she fell. I’ll let you know as soon as I have more information.” Katherine looked at me and hugged me. “Stay here and I’ll let you know when you can see her. I called Gears and he will tell Sophie.”

“I’m not going anywhere until I see her.” My sister nodded and went back to work. I was sitting there with my head in my hands when Sophie came in with Gears arm around her.

“Where is she?” Sophie asked, crying. “Where are her dogs?”

“Spock and Kirk were taken to the clubhouse. Fury will make sure they get taken care of and settled. The firefighters called volunteers to get the rest of the animals in carriers and moved them somewhere temporarily. I can’t think about that until I know she’s okay.” I said as I glanced at my brother’s girl. I knew that she and Cara were super close. “I’m sure she will be fine. She is strong and Remy found her quickly.”

“We need to figure out how to help her. I don’t know that she has much insurance. I think it mostly covered the clinical side. She opened the shelter a few years ago when she found out the other one was a kill shelter.” Sophie said. “She can barely afford her apartment because everything she makes aside from her basics goes to that shelter and her clinic.”

We were all sitting around the waiting room hoping for some news on Cara’s condition when I saw Doc and Katherine walk up. I jumped up out of my chair and walked over to my sister and my friend.

“Fang, she is stable, but she hasn’t woken up yet. You can go sit with her and talk to her.” Doc said as he looked around and saw Gears with Sophie laying across his lap.

“Any idea why she hasn’t woken up yet?” I asked him, my stomach was tight, and my heart hurt thinking about the fact that I could have lost her today.

“She works too much. Her body is just taking this time to rest. Go sit with her and just page a nurse if she wakes up. I’ll be in to check on her later.” Doc said as he headed back to the trauma room.

“Gears, why don’t you take Sophie home and I’ll call you when Cara wakes up.” I suggested. “I also need you to see if Hawk can do the interviews for me tonight. I’m not leaving.”

“Sure, I’ll wake her in a few minutes and get her home. Let us know if you need anything. We will go get the dogs and look after them at our place. They know Sophie so they will do better with us. I’ll also see what I can find out about the other animals that have been displaced.”

“Thanks, I want to do what I can to help. I’m waiting to hear from Remy and Luke about what caused the fire and what is left of her building. Call me later.” I turned and walked down the hall to where Katherine said her room was. She looked so pale lying in the hospital bed. Her hair was a dirty mess, and she had a bruise on the side of her face where she fell. I picked up a chair and put it beside the bed and sat down. Placing her hand in mine, I stroked her hand and prayed she would wake up soon. I wish I had asked her out sooner. She meant so much to me already.

“Baby, I need you to wake up. I need to see those pretty brown eyes.” I talked softly to her. Gently running his other hand through her hair. She still didn’t move. I brought her hand to my lips and held it. I felt her move a little and looked up to see her trying to open her eyes. She started trying to talk. “Baby be calm, I’ll get the doctor to come take out the tube. I pushed the call button for a nurse. A few minutes later I saw Doc come into the room. Cara looked panicked.

“Hey there, we were wondering when you would wake up. Hang on and I’ll get that out of your throat.” Doc said as he worked to remove the tubing. When he had it out, he checked her throat and her airways. “Looks much better. Your throat will be sore so try not to talk too much. Text if you can mostly. I’ll get you some water and some Jello.”

“My animals?” she croaked out, tears in her eyes. “Where…”

“I’m pretty sure all the animals got out. We have them in a safe location for now and your volunteers are checking on them. Spock and Kirk are with Gears and Sophie until you get out. I need you to rest. We will figure this out together.” I told her. I put her cell phone in her hand. “Text, don’t talk. Let your throat rest so it can heal. You had a lot of smoke inhalation.”

What are we going to do with the animals? How bad is the damage?

“I don’t know yet. We are waiting for the report from the fire chief. I’m going to talk to Axle about hosting an adoption day on Ripper’s property this coming weekend.

I’m not sure what supplies I have left to work with for vaccinations.

Cara looked so lost and upset. I was going to take care of this as soon as I could get her back to sleep.

“Baby, I don’t want you to worry about that. You text me what you need, and we will get it.” I could tell she wanted to argue with me but suddenly she was holding her throat. “Are you hurting?”

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