Page 49 of JoJo

Chapter 16

The ride back to the S.H.E. compound from the hospital was mostly silent. I was uncomfortable, mostly due to the fact that I rejected the pain meds they’d offered me at the hospital. I had been assured that they were safe to take with the baby, but I refused. A little bit of pain and discomfort were a small price to pay to make sure my little guy didn’t have any more problems along the way. Yesterday had been a close call, and it helped to put things in perspective for me. There was nothing – and I mean nothing – that would cause me to take chances again while he was still dependent on me to care for him.

“What’s going on in your head over there?” I finally asked Steel before we pulled into the compound.

He turned his head so he could see me for a moment and then put his eyes back on the road so he could turn in. “I’m just worried about what’s to come. This guys doesn’t seem like the type to stop until he gets what he wants or gets put down,” he admitted.

“Then we just have to make sure we find him and put him down,” I told him. It was something I’d been thinking about a lot lately. Reardon was becoming a worse pain in our ass the longer he was out there. He’d been able to slip through our fingers too many times already.

“I’m guessing since your guys at Redemption Inc., Keys, Quickshot, and all the others we’ve put on him can’t find the bastard that it might be easier said than done.” He had a point there. I was just tired and cranky because I hurt all over. “Sit tight,” Steel commanded as he hopped out of the truck. I wasn’t about to argue. I’d need help getting out of it since my right leg would be the one to have to bear my weight when I got out. Plus, the truck was so high I’d literally have to jump down to get out of it. He opened my door and reached in to pick me up and then place me gently on my feet beside him so I could lean against his body and have him take the weight from my injured leg.

“I still think we should have brought a wheelchair home with you for now.”

I scoffed at the suggestion again, just as I had the first time he’d made it. “No,” I told him as I turned gingerly in an attempt to try to walk to the clubhouse myself. I had a cane that they sent me home with since I couldn’t use crutches due to my shoulder being messed up.

“Jo,” he called out before stooping and picking me up bridal style. “Let me help you.” His voice held so much frustration that I stopped and really took a look at his face and the worry I now noticed there. “I almost lost you yesterday. Humor me while I baby you until you’re better, okay?”

How could I argue that? “Fine, but no wheelchair.”

“Fine, but you will get help when you need it. You heard what the doc said when you were discharged. If you try to overdo it you can set your recovery time back, especially with you being pregnant.”

“I know.” I traced my fingertip down his jawline to his neck and then leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. “Thank you for taking care of me.”

“Damn it, Jo,” he hissed out and then continued to walk with me in his arms until we were in the clubhouse and headed downstairs, where I had claimed one of the newer rooms that had been renovated the last year. I figured if worse came to worse I could stay at the clubhouse and sell my house before I was finished flipping it. That was before Steel though, when I thought I was about to lose everything. I hadn’t actually been back here or to my room since before we all went to Vegas and I got hitched.

“My room might not be the freshest place,” I let him know as he hauled me down the stairs carefully.

“Jo, you’re one of the neatest people I know.”

“Yeah, but I haven’t been here since before we were married so it’s just a room that’s been kept shut up. You know how places get when they aren’t used.”

“I see,” he told me before opening my door. It hit me then that I hadn’t directed him down the stairs, he’d simply known where to go. I glared in his general direction then. He just grinned at me as he walked me inside and set me down on the bed that had a freshly laundered down comforter on it and what looked like brand new sheets too. “What did you do?”

“I might have stopped by last night while Keys and Quick sat with you. I asked the girls here if they would get everything ready for you since the club is on lockdown.”

“They did this?” I asked in wonder.

“Yeah, babe. They did this for you.”

“We owed you a debt and this is barely even a repayment,” Angel Girl called out from the doorway. The room was mostly the way I had left it. Simple, understated, and comfortable. It was also fresh and clean.

“Thank you,” I told her, meaning it.

“Don’t worry about it.” Angel Girl turned to Steel then. “Sweet is letting the guys know that we have space for them here if any of the men without rooms need a place to crash for now. We could use the extra bodies coming and going while we have our women on lockdown. It will make Reardon think twice about a direct attack on us.”

“What about the guys from Redemption, Inc.?” I asked.

“Paul will be staying here since his sister is too. Dane is headed to go pull security detail for six weeks with Valhalla Rising, and Aaron is just ending the tour with The Infinite Everything and taking some time off to visit family.”

“Lucky Dane,” I commented, since Valhalla Rising was one of my favorite bands.

“I don’t think he would agree with you,” Angel confided. “He tried to get out of it. He didn’t want to leave MiMi here unprotected.”

“She’ll have Paul though.”

“Yeah, they were both requested for this tour. Seems the lead singer has a teenage son he didn’t know about until recently that will be coming along on the tour. They wanted extra men this time in case word got out and it became an issue. Dane is taking some of the other guys with him and then he’s swapping out with Paul in six weeks since it’s a three month tour. They’re each be doing half of it in order to make sure MiMi is covered, along with the club and business side.”

“Who set up another concert security gig this close to the last one?”

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