Page 7 of Shiner's Light

“I can find my way, Shiner. You should stay with her in case she wakes up,” Rebecca states, waving my offer away.

Shrugging, I wait for her to leave the room, let out a heavy breath, and glance back to where Olive is now sleeping under the covers on her stomach, head resting on a pillow, face turned in my direction. She looks so innocent when she’s sleeping. So young. If I remember correctly, she’s probably twenty-two now. That’s still young compared to my thirty-one.

I let out a sigh and decided to get comfortable for the time being. Keys was working at finding any information he could on Olive, and Blow said we’d hold church in the morning. Give me a chance to look after Olive, and hope to get more out of her.

Toeing off my boots, I pull everything out of my pockets and set them on the nightstand next to the queen size bed. Olive’s small form might be in the middle of the bed, but there’s still room for me to stretch out.

I nab the TV remote, switch on the TV, and find something to watch. Rebecca’s right, someone needs to be here for when Olive wakes up, and it might as well be me. I lower the volume and set the remote to the side, close my eyes, and allow myself to feel for the first time since seeing Olive again what that means to me.

It shouldn’t mean anything, yet it does. Even my brothers recognized my reaction to her. I might have gotten my name for my fighting skills, always leaving my sparring partners with a shiner, but I’m not dumb by any means. I’ve also got a temper where I lose my shit quickly and say shit before thinking about it. Granted, it’s been a long damn time since I’ve lost it on anyone.

Well, that is unless it was someone that fucks with the club. Being the enforcer for my club, I don’t mind getting my hands bloody when needed. I relish doing so when I need to do so.

But never have I lost it on a woman the way I did Olive. She still has some explaining to do, and I’ll be sure to get the answers. I’ll also be ensuring she does every damn thing else I tell her to do even when it means making her mine.

Mine?

I don’t know where the hell the thought came from, but regardless, it’s what she is. Even back then, when I was with her sister, in a way, I’ve always seen Olive as mine in some shape or form.

CHAPTER FOUR

OLIVE

“I don’t give a fuck what we have to do. I want to find the bastards and put them down.”

That’s weird. Why do I hear Shiner’s voice? My mind feels fuzzy as I start waking, but a part of me wants to fall back into a deep sleep where nothing touches me. Where no nightmares haunt me. I’m not sure when the last time I slept so heavily, but it was nice not to have nightmares for a change. Not that I had them every night, but usually, I’m a very vivid dreamer, but never have I dreamed of Shiner.

Well, that’s a lie. What I hadn’t dreamed of was his voice being so harsh.

“Yeah, well, it’s been four fuckin’ days since she fell asleep because of pain meds and hasn’t woken up yet, I can’t get the answer from her. They need to be put down, and the only answer to finding out who they really are is through her, and she’s not waking the fuck up.”

Okay, that’s weird.

What am I doing . . . wait a minute, memory races to the front of my mind. A sharp gasp leaves my lips, eyes opening, and I jerk upright, only to meet the cold, steely eyes of Shiner.

“Call you back,” he says into the phone. “Yeah,” there’s another pause. “Yeah, she just woke up.” Pulling the phone away from his ear, he tosses it on the nightstand and moves to sit on the side of the bed, his leg cocked so he’s facing me. Without losing eye contact, he reaches out and lifts the covers. “You wanna cover the tits, honey?”

Another gasp leaves my lips, and I jerk my gaze downward to find I’m sitting there topless, and he’s holding the covers up to shield me. Slapping my arms over the comforter, I wince at the impact against my skin.

“You in any pain?”

“No,” I answer in a whisper, not looking back up.

“Need to use the bathroom?”

I draw my bottom lip in because I did need to, but I wasn’t going to tell him that. So to answer, I give him a shake of my head.

“Honey, you’ve been out of it for days, I’m sure you gotta do that,” Shiner remarks, his tone so soft and gentle.

“I’m okay,” I utter. I clear my throat, lick my lips, and slowly meet his gaze once more. “Why are you in here, and why am I not wearing anything?” I knew I wasn’t wearing anything below, either. “Did you take all of my clothes off?”

“No, my cousin, Rebecca, did when she treated you days ago,” he answers. “She’s a nurse practitioner, and since you didn’t want to go to a hospital, which you need to explain, I called her to come see you. The covers haven’t been off you except to change your back bandages and roll you to your back so you didn’t suffocate in your sleep.”

Blinking slowly, it’s all I can do to keep from gawking at Shiner. He took care of me, why? I’m not his responsibility. He hates me.

“Where was Milo?” The question slips past my lips before I can hold it back.

“He’s been around the clubhouse. I’ve seen my boy. He spent the first two nights at Lucky’s house. The last two, in one of the other rooms here at the clubhouse.”

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