Page 15 of Saber's Surrender

Saber

“What did you do?”Roxy hisses at me as we head back to the doctor’s lounge to grab our belongings and hang up our coats in our closets since our shift is over. Thankfully, I had enough time to finish my notes and charts after seeing each patient during my free period in between. Other than Canyon, Egypt, and their grandfather, and with ambulances being rerouted to other facilities, things were slow.

And if I weren’t headed home, I’d be knocking on some wood because those words are a no-no when you work in the department we do. We don’t refer to the slowness of the day because then, as if the gates of hell have swung open and released all of the menace, we’ll see an influx of incoming emergencies.

In the parking lot, I notice how dark it is and decide to do the right thing and walk her to her vehicle. “I’ll follow you back,” I tell her as I stand back and watch her get her keys out of her satchel and unlock it using her fob.

“Okay,” she tells me without any argument.

I halfway expected her to toss some venom my way. I thought she’d argue about the fact that she’s not a child and doesn’t need an escort which has me wondering if she’s having issues wrapping her head around the fact that she’ll soon be married and a mother. Not that I give a shit, she can sign the marriage certificate, complete the classes and go before the judge for the hearing, and go on about her business if she chooses. Either way, she’s stuck to me and won’t be getting rid of me until those things are done.

Once the ignition is turned over, and her headlights are switched on, I turn on the heels of my feet and sprint over to my bike and hitch my leg over the saddle. When the vibration of my machine rumbles a smile breaks out across my face. This is the best feeling in the world. A man has a special place in his life for a beast such as mine.

Kicking back the kickstand, I throttle the handle and put it in gear as I pull out of my space and follow Roxy back to the clubhouse.

When I park my bike in the garage, I head toward the back of the property and directly toward the blazing bonfire. Wrecker, Dragon, Butcher, and Cuda are circling it as they toss back beers and watch the flames spark into the night, lighting the surrounding area. Even though my feet are throbbing and my legs are numb, I decide to join them.

“Brothers,” I say as I bend over and reach into the cooler, pulling out a bottle for myself. “Did I miss anything good while I was on shift?”

“Seems to me like the only one seeing a lot of action tonight was you,” Dragon points out as he aims the neck of his bottle in my direction. “Care to explain why you kept that pertinent information to yourself instead of sharing it with your brothers?”

“Uh oh, have I hurt the mighty dragon’s feelings?” I ask in a whiny tone.

“Watch it, jackass,” he grumbles. “I’m the president of you band of misfits, if anyone should’ve known this information, it should’ve been me. There are no secrets between us, Saber. Out of any of us, you should know that better than most.”

Popping the cap from my beer, I take a long swallow before saying, “I understand where you’re coming from, but it happened before I joined the club. The whole fucked-up situationstillpisses me off so I do what I can to avoid thinking about it if I’m being honest.”

“So, say those fundamentalist fuckers had gotten a hold of your son,” Wrecker states, “and we didn’t know about him. We could’ve overlooked someone who’sfamily, Saber. Regardless of whether or not y’all put him up for adoption!”

Shit. Fuck. I never looked at it from that angle. I was so busy being livid with Roxy, it never dawned on me that regardless of whether or not our son was with us, he could’ve been in danger simply because of who I am and what the club’s been dealing with.

“I fucked up,” I admit.

“Ya think?” Wrecker retorts. “Now, how are you going to fix this and better yet, when are you gonna realize that everything didn’t happen the way you remember it. You and Roxy have been at cross-purposes and gotta say, brother, I’m kind of disappointed in you, because you’ve put her through hell.”

Wait, what? Has he been peeking in on our memories and shit? Ihatewhen he does that, especially when he doesn’t utter a fucking word. Glaring at him, I decide to wait to see what else he plans to share.

“Seems you got that wrong,” I decide to say when he doesn’t jump in to fill any gaps in my so-called knowledge ofmyfucking life. “Sheputmethrough hell, brother.”

Dragon tsks, his arms now crossed over his chest, while Butcher has a contemplative expression on his face. Why does it feel as though I’ve been called in front of the whole school board or something? The back of my neck itches and it takes everything in me not to squirm at the glares directed at me.

“Nothing we can do about the past,” Dragon muses. “I wish we could get through your thick head so you’d realize that she was doing what she thought was best for not only you two, but for your boy. Y’all were young and needed to get your life in order before bringing children into the mix. But as of now, that’s neither here nor there. What I want to know is what you’re going to do to fix it now.”

“I already talked to her and we’re going to get married. It’ll be on paper only and we’ll use it to get our boy back. We’re going to have to legally adopt him and we’re going to do that for his sister, Egypt, as well. Neither of us are keen on separating them after the tragedy they just suffered,” I explain, taking another pull of my beer.

“Does that mean you’re going to make her your old lady? Are you in it for the long haul?” Butcher asks, a bit of a bite to his question because I’m sure he’s already figured out that no, I’m not in it for any longer length of time than it’ll take to get through all of the legal red tape.

“Not interested in an old lady,” I lie. I would like to have a partner for life like they do, but Roxy, she’s not that woman and I’m not sure if the chip I carry on my shoulder would lift long enough to let another woman seep into my life. “She’ll be my citizen wife for however long she wants to be. I’m not going to kick her out, divorce her, and I’m not going to displace her from the hospital or the club. She’s important at both places and I’ll help her monetarily.”

Dragon looks at Wrecker and they communicate using their mind shit without speaking any words before Wrecker nods his head and says, “Yep, I agree. I think some lessons need to be learned here.”

Fuck. Me. I don’t like the mutinous gleam in his eyes or the evident laughter in Dragon’s. Somehow, I suspect whatever they’re planning is gonna hurt me, but not physically No, they’re gonna go for the mental aspect. The biggest thing is, they’ll strike when I least expect them to, right now they’re simply putting me on notice.

“I don’t know what the two of you are planning, but I don’t like that look that’s being shared between the two of you. Cut it out. Not long ago, you tried to use your mind voodoo on Roxy, Dragon.”

“That’s because I only had a portion of the picture, Saber. Wonder who’s fault that is?” Dragon asks, placing the tip of his finger on his chin as if he’s having to think it over.

Asshole.

---