Rush - Blue Devils MC Book 2 (Book 1 Included FREE for a short time only!) (3 page)

Chapter Three

Rush

Rush stared down at her as she let out an impossibly adorable snore. Her pink lips were parted slightly and he wanted to reach out and stroke them. Stroke her. Her hair and her cheek and her arms. He wanted to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. Never let her go. Never let anyone harm her ever again.

But he knew that Lain would be waiting ever so
im
patiently by the phone for an update, and if Rush didn’t call him soon, Lain would make the drive to Tucson to find out what the hell was going on. Lain was not only the president of the Blue Devils, he was Rush’s best friend, and if Rush didn’t call him soon, there are no telling what he’d do. Patience wasn’t Lain’s middle name. Or first or last name, for that matter.

Reluctantly, Rush stepped out into the hallway and called Lain.

“What’s going on??” Lain shouted as soon as the phone call connected.

“It’s worse than I thought,” Rush said with a growl. “Fucking idiot police are leaving her completely unguarded. There’s reporters everywhere - I’m expecting them to climb up the drain pipe so they can sneak into her room. The nurses are trying to keep Blue isolated from everyone so she can recuperate but they’re not trained to fight off
Chupacabras
. We have to protect her.”

“What’s this ‘we’ business??” Lain shouted, his volume increasing at Rush’s explanation, not decreasing.
Dammit
. “Hannah is nothing but trouble for you. She’s the one who left you after high school. She’s the one who broke your goddamn heart. Do you remember the drinking bouts? Do you remember the endless string of hookers? Do you expect me to pick up the pieces after she leaves you
again
?”

“I can’t worry about that right now. Her life is on the line,” Rush said stubbornly. He knew, in some back, dusty corner of his mind that Lain was right. That the last time Blue had walked out of his life had almost killed him. But…

Lain wasn’t here, looking at her. Lain didn’t know how much Blue needed Rush to protect her. He didn’t understand.

“She’s not our problem,” Lain argued. “We did the right thing. We didn’t sell the guns to the
Chupas
. I was even willing to go after the little girls to try to save them. But Hannah is nothing but trouble. I was there, brother. I was there when she left the first time. I don’t think you can survive a second time.”

“We
have
to,” Rush insisted. “We helped create this mess - we need to fix it.” He couldn’t remember the last time he’d argued with Lain. He couldn’t remember the last time they weren’t in perfect agreement. His stomach muscles clenched in panic.
Lain
has
to understand
…

Lain heaved a giant sigh, and Rush could see him in his mind - jaw clenched tight, running his hand through his hair. Next step - a fist through the wall. For Ella’s sake, he hoped Lain would switch to punching pillows.

“Fine,” Lain spit out. “Watch her overnight and then we can go to the police tomorrow and talk to them about doing their goddamned job.”

“Fine!” Rush spat out in return. “I’ll call you in the morning.”

He stalked back into the hospital room but as soon as his eyes fell on Blue, his heart rate slowed down and he felt a sort of peace wash over him. He closed the door behind him gently, then took a seat next to her hospital bed so he could hold her hand.
Grip
her hand and never let go, if he was being honest with himself.

The Wright and the Blackburn families had been friends and work associates for almost a century. Both families had moved to Copper Lode in the late 1800s to stake a claim in the mining country and make their fortune. Over the years, both families had diversified into other industries, and both had managed to keep their fortune, which was nothing short of a bloody miracle in some ways.

But Rush and Blue were also the first match between the two families, which was truly nothing short of a bloody miracle.

His parents, the high and mighty Blackburn socialites of the county, had been so goddamn happy and proud when he’d officially asked Blue out. For obvious reasons, he’d skipped telling them about their drunken encounter at Bob’s failed second attempt at matrimonial bliss. Here, finally, was a match between these two prestigious families, which was all his parents needed to know.

Despite the fact that his family wanted this match (and God only knows, Rush often chose to do something simply because it
wasn’t
something they wanted him to do), he’d fallen truly and totally in love with Hannah Blue Wright. His parents had been thrilled, and her dad had been thrilled. Blue and Rush had been thrilled. Everyone was thrilled…until they weren’t.

Until Blue wanted to leave after high school and attend a university far away from Copper Lode. Until Rush had wanted to stay right there and patch into the Blue Devils and never leave his hometown. Until his parents realized that their dreams of him becoming a businessman and continuing their tradition of “Making shit tons of money just so they could claim they made shit tons of money” wasn’t going to happen. They had
wanted
him to leave Copper Lode and get a business degree and
then
come back. He wasn’t just supposed to stay. He wasn’t just supposed to become a motorcycle gang member.

As he sat and stroked Blue’s hand, watching her luscious pink lips move with every breath she exhaled, he confronted the reality once again that he’d given up so goddamn much for this club. And once again, it was going to come between Blue and him. If she ever found out the truth about the Blue Devils being involved in
any
way with this kidnapping, even if they’d backed out in the end, she’d never forgive him. The MC was already the reason why he hadn’t left Copper Lode in the first place and they’d broken up. And that was
before
they went illegal. Blue had always been the upright one - the one who believed in a better world than really existed. She was goddamn naïve sometimes.

And look at where that got her - in a hospital bed with a head wound. I have to protect her from this world and its shit.

He closed his eyes and settled back into his chair, still clinging to her hand.
Blue, laughing. Smiling up at him as if he held the keys to all of the happiness in all of the world. A look that said, “I trust you. I want you. I love you.”

His breath became even and deep as he settled into sleep, still holding on, as he joined her in dreamland.

***

He awoke at 3 a.m. and stirred, a serious crick in his neck from sleeping in the chair. He moved her hand onto her body, placing it gently onto her chest, and then stood and stretched. His neck popped and he sighed happily.
That’s better
. He gazed down at Blue for a moment, his mind fuzzy with sleep and pure happiness.

After all these years, I can’t believe she’s here.
The years had matured her, no longer the leggy high school senior she’d once been. She was, in his estimation, even more gorgeous. Her dark brown hair was splayed out over the pillow, large curls sticking out with abandon. He couldn't see the startling blue-green shade of her eyes, of course, but he knew them well. They changed to match her mood, or her clothes, or the lighting, and their brilliance made them unforgettable.

His eyes drifted down her body, covered by the hospital blanket, but he could still imagine her strong tanned legs, impossibly long, perfect to wrap themselves around his waist. At 6’3”, it was hard to find a woman who he didn’t dwarf, but Blue was perfect there too. At 5’10”, she towered over most women, especially when she wore heels that made her impossibly long legs even longer.

But she was perfect for him. She always had been.

With a deep sigh, Rush rolled his neck side to side, trying to relieve the tension in his shoulders, and decided to go for a stroll through the hospital. Maybe walking around for a bit would help clear his mind and he could figure out what to do with his Blue.

He walked out into the hallway, pulling the doorway shut behind him quietly, when he saw him.

Oh fucking fuck
.

One quick glance took it all in - the ill-fitting tan scrubs. The tats covering his arms. His scuffed black boots. And the
Chupa
tat on his neck that was part of the patching process for that club.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Rush pulled his Desert Eagle from the small of his back and steadied it in front of him. “Don’t. Move,” he hissed, and the
Chupacabra
froze, his hand on the door knob of the hospital room next door to Blue’s, about to walk in. Looking for Blue.

Rush had spied him first which gave him the advantage, but he had to be careful. “Turn slowly towards me,” he said in a low voice, and the
Chupa
turned towards him, syringe in his right hand, pointing at the ceiling.

“Drop the syringe and kick it towards me,” Rush demanded, and the
Chupa’s
eyes darted from side to side, clearly trying to decide whether he could escape or not. “
Don’t
test me,” Rush warned, and the
Chupa
dropped the syringe to the floor where it clattered loudly. Rush winced from the sound.
Goddamn asshole!

Keeping his piece trained on the
Chupa
, Rush walked forward and kicked the syringe behind him, further down the hallway. Away from the piece of shit who wanted to kill his Blue. Keeping the gun in his right hand, he felt around behind him until he could find the door handle and pull down. The sign next to the door had stated “Supply Closet,” which seemed like as good of a place as any to store an unwanted
Chupa
. Who knew when a hospital employee might need a worthless goddamn son-of-a-bitch bastard, right?

The door swung open silently behind him and Rush stepped to the side, out of the way, back into the hallway. “Walk forward slowly. Hands in the air. Any sudden moves and I shoot your pathetic black heart out.” The
Chupa
gave one jerk of the head to show his acknowledgement and then walked forward, past Rush, and into the closet. Rush shoved the gun against the man’s skull and he stiffened.

“You’re part of the
Chupacabra
gang from Mexico, right?” The man hesitated for a moment and then gave an abrupt nod. “You’re here to kill Hannah Wright?” The
Chupa
didn’t respond, and Rush realized that he probably had no idea who Blue was. “You’re here to kill the schoolteacher who lived?” he asked, amending his question. This time, the
Chupa
nodded reluctantly. After Rush shoved the gun a little harder into his skull to give him a little incentive, of course.

Rush looked around the closet.
Goddamn motherfuckers, I can’t shoot a gun in a hospital. I don’t care what the movies portray - pillows don’t do a goddamn thing to muffle the sound. I’d have the police and the nurses and half the free world breathing down my neck in roughly 1.5 seconds if I were to try that stunt.

Finally, his eyes settled on a shelf of bandages and a smile spread across his face. With a sharp jerk of his arm, he brought the butt of the gun down onto the
Chupa’s
skull and the asshole crumpled to the ground. Rush tucked the handgun back into his waistband and then began grabbing boxes of long white bandages off the shelf. Exactly the kind of bandage that Blue currently had wrapped around her head because of these assholes. It was a poetic kind of justice, really.

Minutes later, he stood back to admire his handiwork. The unconscious
Chupa
had the stretchy white bandages wrapped around his wrists, knees, and ankles, and quite a few more wrapped around his head. Like Blue’s, but lower. More in, say, the mouth region. He’d stuffed some gauze in the guy’s mouth before beginning the wrapping project, and he was fairly damn sure that when this man woke up, he’d regret his choice to be a
Chupa
. Or to be alive, for that matter.

He dragged the thug over to the corner, pulling dirty laundry out of the way, shoved him into a ball, and piled the dirty laundry back on top of him. Perfect. No one would discover him for a while, at least not until Blue and he were long gone.

Rush grabbed boxes of bandages and gauze, then left the supply closet, closing the door behind him quietly. No reason to wake up the bastard before he had to. The longer that guy stayed quiet and still in the corner, the better. Rush picked up the syringe from the hallway floor and then, juggling the items, managed to open Blue’s door. He dumped his armload into her giant purse -
some things never change
- and then pulled out his phone. 3:32 a.m. Lain was going to appreciate a phone call at this time of night like he’d appreciate a
Chupa
showing up on his front doorstep, but Rush didn’t really care. Couldn’t really care. He had to protect Blue.

He slipped his phone back into his pocket and then reached over and shook Blue’s shoulder. “Hey darlin’,” he said softly as her eyes fluttered open. She looked at him through bleary eyes and he felt a stab of pain go through him. Goddammit, the very last thing he wanted to do right now was wake her up. She deserved to sleep. She
needed
to sleep.