CHAPTER FOUR
Harper
Two Months Later
A phone ringing in the middle of the night was never good news. Never. When my phone rang at 4:30 am, I was already awake. I’d been waiting for the phone to ring, hoping for good news, but expecting the worst. I got what I expected. It was the hospital calling to tell me my brother was knocking on death’s door and being taken into emergency surgery.
I called Phoenix, the president of the motorcycle club my brother belonged to, and told him what I knew. I was a mess and could barely get the words out. He offered to pick me up and take me to the hospital as I was in no shape to drive myself. I was grateful for his offer, but I didn’t want to be around all of those big, burly men without my brother by my side. Over the years, I managed to overcome most of my issues, but when I was under a lot of stress or feeling vulnerable, it only took the slightest of triggers to send me into a tailspin. With that in mind, I agreed to allow Phoenix and my brother’s best friend, Dash, to pick me up and take me to the hospital as long as Phoenix promised no one else would be there for the time being.
I don’t remember much of the first few days at the hospital with Duke other than I never left his side during that time. My aunt and cousin tried numerous times to get me to take a break, just for a few hours to get some rest, but I refused. He had been attacked resulting in a skull fracture, brain trauma, and the associated complications from being stabbed eight times. EIGHT! I was a hot mess, frequently crying, getting very little sleep, and barely eating.
Finally, after Duke had been moved out of ICU, Phoenix put his foot down and ordered me to take a break from the hospital. He reminded me I could stay in Duke’s room at the clubhouse where he promised I would be safe. He even offered to have one of his officers stand guard at the door while I slept. He wasn’t giving me much of a choice, but I didn’t try to argue with him. I knew I wouldn’t be able to keep going much longer in my current state and I needed to be able to take care of Duke when he woke up. My only concern was that I didn’t want Duke to be alone, especially if he woke up when I wasn’t there. He promised to have someone stay by Duke’s side while I was gone.
He must have already had his plan laid out because not even five minutes passed before a beautiful girl, who appeared to be a few years younger than me, came through the door with a grief-stricken face. “Reese, this is Harper, Duke’s sister. Harper, this is Reese, Carbon’s sister,” Phoenix said. I remembered hearing Duke talk about Carbon and knew he was a member of the club, though I’d never met him.
“Hi, Harper. I’m so sorry about your brother. Is there anything I can do to help?” Reese asked. I wasn’t sure if she was being polite or if she genuinely wanted to help, but I accepted her offer anyway.
“Actually, there is something you could do for me. Phoenix said you might be willing to stay with Duke while I go to the clubhouse for a shower and a few hours of sleep. I’m exhausted and I stink, but I don’t want him to wake up with no one here. Would that be okay?”
Her words didn’t match her expression. “That’s fine with me as long as it’s okay with Phoenix.”
“That’s fine, just make sure you stay in the room. You can ride back to the clubhouse with whoever brings Harper back. I’m going to walk Harper down and then I have a few errands to run,” Phoenix said.
I assumed Phoenix was going to take me back to the clubhouse. He knew a little about my past and knew I wasn’t comfortable around men I didn’t know. So, when he told me Reese’s brother was driving me back to the clubhouse, I started shaking my head in protest. “Harper, do you trust me?”
“Yes,” I said, my voice shaky.
“I would never do anything to hurt you, and I would never knowingly put you in harm’s way. The man giving you a ride back to the clubhouse is a man I trust with my life. Your brother trusts him with his life. He’s one of my officers. He will keep you safe and stand guard outside Duke’s door while you get some rest. I promise,” he told me.
I reluctantly agreed and allowed him to lead me to the waiting car. When Phoenix opened the door, I slid into the front seat and froze. Sitting in the driver’s seat of a beautiful black Mustang was none other than Boe himself. He didn’t turn his head to look at me, just kept his eyes on the road. I settled into the seat and fastened my seatbelt while Phoenix thanked him for giving me a ride and reminded him to post up outside my door. He responded with, “No problem,” and then we were moving.
He remained silent the entire way to the clubhouse. I tried to appear calm, but my insides were in complete turmoil. Boe’s a member of my brother’s motorcycle club. No, he’s not just a member, Phoenix said he was an officer. Why didn’t he wear a cut like my brother did? And why’s he not talking? Did he not recognize me? I did look like shit. My hair was tucked up into a baseball cap, sunglasses covered my eyes, and I was wearing a very unflattering hoodie paired with ratty yoga pants. It was then I realized I didn’t want him to recognize me.
We arrived at the clubhouse and he silently led me to what I assumed was my brother’s room. I entered and closed the door without a word. It was rude not to at least thank him, but I didn’t want him to recognize my voice if he hadn’t figured out who I was already. I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide from him forever, but I couldn’t handle dealing with him on top of everything else that was going on.
After taking a long shower, I climbed into my brother’s bed and prayed the sheets were clean. Despite being in a biker clubhouse filled with overgrown men, none of which were my brother, I fell asleep almost immediately. And it had nothing to do with the fact that it was Boe guarding my door. Nope, nothing at all. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a dreamless sleep. My dreams featured Boe, aka Carbon, doing all sorts of filthy things to me.
I woke suddenly, covered in a light sheen of sweat and throbbing between my legs. The loud knock on the door startled me, and I realized that must have been what woke me. “Just a second,” I called out.
I straightened my clothes and ran my hands over my hair before I opened the door. There he was, standing in the doorway, holding a plate of food. “Thought you might be hungry,” he said and thrust the plate at me.
I took the plate and continued to stare at him, my mouth agape. I needed to say something, but I couldn’t make my mouth work. “Eat and do whatever you need to do to be ready in an hour. Got shit to do so I’m taking you back to the hospital.” He pulled the door closed and left me standing there wondering what in the hell was going on. Surely, he recognized me. He had to. My hair was a different color, but I didn’t look that different.
He knocked on the door exactly one hour later. I silently followed him to the same car and climbed in. After 10 minutes of uncomfortable silence, I couldn’t take it anymore. “Do you not recognize me?” I asked, my voice sounding shriller than I intended.
He kept his eyes on the road. “I do.”
“You don’t have anything to say?”
“If I did, I would’ve said it.”
What an asshole! I couldn’t believe how cold he was being. This man, Carbon, was nothing like the man I knew as Boe. The one I spent many Friday nights and countless fantasies with. Tears started to form in my eyes, but I would not let them fall, not in front of him.
When we pulled up to the hospital, I got out of his car as fast as I could and ran inside. I was barely holding it together. I dealt with his rejection reasonably well when I thought I would never see him again. To see him again and have him completely dismiss me, that hurt more than I ever could’ve imagined.
CHAPTER FIVE
Carbon