Page 82 of Obliterate

Stepping up to the curtain, I hear Hurricane’s gruff tone on the other side, so I know I’m in the right place. Carefully, I pull the curtain back to see Aubree working on Kaia’s hand. Hurricane glances over and gestures for me to come inside.

“As I was sayin’, doc, tell me in fuckin’ English. I’m not a goddamn doctor. I don’t speak medical shit,” Hurricane grunts out.

Aubree is wrapping tape around Kaia’s bright purple and swollen fingers as she winces, but it’s Hurricane who’s making more noise than Kaia at this point. Aubree continues with what she’s doing, completely unfazed by the brute of a man harassing her. “In layman’s terms, her three middle fingers are broken and must be kept strapped together for support to induce healing. Her pinky was lucky, and they didn’t get that far. It is just badly sprained and bruised.”

Kaia huffs out her annoyance. “So does this mean, with my fingers out of action, that my tattoo career is in jeopardy?”

Aubree continues strapping Kaia’s hand and shakes her head. “No, I don’t think so. The injuries are minor fractures, and you should be okay with about six to eight weeks of healing time. But you may not have the same strength you had in them before. You will probably need occupational therapy to help regain full strength and to teach you how to do tasks like dressing yourself and writing.”

“What about picking up and holding Immy?” she asks with a little more panic in her tone.

Aubree shakes her head. “Not for the next six to eight weeks, I’m afraid… I’m sorry, Kaia. If you want to regain full functionality of your hand, you can’t lift with that hand.”

“How the hell am I meant to tell a seven-month-old that I can’t pick her up?”

Hurricane places his hands on Kaia’s shoulders and gently squeezes. “I can take over Immy duty for a while. We’ll figure it out. Plus, we have plenty of people at the clubhouse who can help. It’s only temporary, Sha.”

Kaia’s eyes water, and she sniffles back her frustration. “I can’t hold my daughter for eight weeks because of thatfucking bastard.My sister is still unresponsive from a seizure caused by watching me be tortured in front of her, and God only knows what’s happening with Novah.”

Aubree side-eyes me, and I step forward. “Novah lost the girl. The boy baby is doing okay, though. We heard his heartbeat, and he’s going strong.”

Hurricane rubs the back of his neck as Kaia’s tears finally fall. “See, see the trauma this has caused, Hurricane? This warhasto end! An innocent child died before it was even born. Do younotsee how fucked up this is? Wecan’tdrag this on any longer. Once we’re all back at the clubhouse and settled, I don’t care who you have to call for help, you get themthe fuckinto New Awlins, and you finish this, once and for all. Obliterate those fuckers!”

Hurricane and I stare at Kaia in shock.

Aubree finishes wrapping her hand. “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that. But I might get some extra blood supplies and bandage stocks ordered in. I have a feeling I will need them in the coming days. I’ll leave you to discuss. Remember, Kaia, don’t use your hand unless you have to. I want you to come back in two weeks for a checkup. You’re good to go. You can go see Lani if you like. She’s in room six.”

“Thanks, Aubree, appreciate everything you do for us,” I tell her as she walks out, throwing her gloves in the trash.

Kaia hops down from the gurney, not waiting a second before heading for the exit. “Kaia… Sha, you need to take it easy, for fuck’s sake!” Hurricane grunts out, taking off after her.

We both follow quickly as she pulls the curtain back with her good hand, rushing out into the emergency ward, looking for room six as we chase after her. “I’m not waiting for the Bratva to come after us while we’re sitting ducks. I need to go and make sure Lani is okay!”

I turn to Hurricane, the tension clear on his face.

Kaia is pissed.

And rightly so.

The Bratva came at us, and they are a clear threat. They attacked at the heart of Defiance. We need to strike, but we’re not in a position to do that just yet.

Kaia’s feet pound through the emergency ward like she’s on a mission, even though the pain in her broken hand must be killing her. I hope Aubree gave her some relief or numbed her fingers before I came in. Either way, Kaia is on a war path, which is why she makes a great First Lady of the club.

Kaia makes it to room six and doesn’t hesitate. She grabs the curtain, yanking it back. “Lani?”

The pulled-back curtain reveals Grit standing beside her bed, holding her hand, with tears in his eyes. Kaia stops dead still as she spots her sister lying on the bed.

Lani has machines hooked up to her everywhere, and we approach with a lot less force, trying to ascertain what’s happening.

Kaia steps up to the side of her sister’s bed, tears dripping down her face as she uses her good hand to gently stroke Lani’s cheek. “Oh, Lani, what have you gone and done to yourself?”

Kaia glances up at Grit, and he clears his throat. “The seizure was long, and although her brainwaves appear normal, she’s not waking up on her own. It’s a waiting game at this point.”

My chest squeezes as Hurricane moves in behind Kaia, wrapping his arm around his wife and holding her to him for support.

Kaia shakes her head. “Jesus… all this time, I’ve tried to protect her from her seizures. Tried to help her the best I could, but the reason she had the worst one of her life was because she was stressed about me.”

I step forward, placing my hand on Kaia’s shoulder supportively. “Kaia, what happened in that bunker was stressful for all of us. So much was happening in there. There were a lot of factors that contributed to this. She saw what happened to Novah. She saw the Baroness take a bullet. And, of course, what happened to you. But it wasn’t only seeing you tortured that tipped her over the edge. The entire shit show was too much for her. Bayou is blaming himself for Novah, and you’re blaming yourself for Lani, but what you both have to realize is the only person you should blame is Anton fucking Novikov.”

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