Zero (19 page)

“Take him, get him away from here,” Lash said, dropping down beside Angel. “Baby, what the fuck did you do?”

The pain and anguish inside Lash were easy to hear.

“Zero, oh no, someone call an ambulance, quickly,” Prue said. She rolled him over, and he looked up at her. “You can’t die. Do you hear me? You can’t die.”

“Angel, fucking answer me,” Lash said, shouting.

He heard sirens coming. They had to get here to save Angel.

“I love you,” he said, looking up at Prue. Her beautiful face was a sight to behold. Reaching up, he touched her cheek and frowned. His fingers were covered in blood.

“No, you’re not going to die on me. You can’t. I’ll be all alone. I love you, Zero.” She dropped her head to his. “You promised me.”

Fuck, he needed to fight.

If Angel was dead, Lash would never survive it. He couldn’t believe the other woman had stepped in front of him. She’d taken a bullet.

Sending prayers, he hoped she survived.

****

Prue sat in the ambulance with Zero as they made their way to the hospital. Angel was with Lash in the other. Glancing out of the window she saw Tiny and the club was following. From what she heard the other man had organized for the prospects to stay in the clubhouse with the women.

Zero had passed out, but she held his hand tightly. When the ambulance came to a stop, she stayed out of the way, watching them take the cart inside.

Screams, yells, and the sound of destruction were coming from inside the hospital. Angel and Lash had arrived a few minutes before.

Entering the hospital she saw two security guards were slumped against the wall. Nurses were trying to reason with Lash. The cold fury on his face was clear to see.

“Sir, you’ve got to let us do our job.”

“No, she’s my fucking wife. I go with her.” Lash picked up a chair and threw it against the reception. People moved out of the way. Prue stayed well back knowing she was no match against Lash’s strength.

Tiny ran into the hospital followed by Nash and Killer. All three men grabbed Lash as the other man fought.

“You need to stand down,” Tiny said.

“No, she was shot three fucking times. Three times in the back, Tiny. I need to be in there with her.”

“Lash, you’re not a doctor. You can’t do anything to help her. You’re useless. How can you help when she needs a professional to take care of her wounds?” Nash asked.

None of their words were getting through. Lash was breaking apart, shattering before their eyes. His woman was hurt, and there was nothing he could do.

Tears filled Prue’s eyes at the pain.

The men hadn’t secured his feet. Lash kicked his brother in the nuts, and Nash fell. Next Killer was thrown off easily. Tiny held on tight while the other men scrambled to help. A doctor walked into the room holding a syringe. Placing a hand to her lips, she watched as he got close. While Lash was fighting, the doctor approached from behind and struck Lash. The other man tore away, ready to do damage.

Prue stayed still as Lash suddenly slumped on the ground calling Angel’s name. When he was out, Tiny and the others helped him onto a bed, and they wheeled him out.

“Fuck, this is bad,” Nash said.

She followed the men outside as Tiny cursed, kicking over his bike.

This was not good when Tiny lost his mind. It had to be Alan. He was the only one who could attack them like this.

“Lash will not come back from this if he loses Angel,” Nash said.

“I know.”

Biting her lip, she tucked some hair behind her ear seeing Zero’s blood on her hands. Fuck, when did she have his blood on her hands?

“She wasn’t moving, Tiny. Three bullets to the back, this is something she might not be coming back from.” Killer spoke up this time.

“I need to call Devil.”

Prue left them alone and went to the bathroom to try to clean the blood of her hands. She felt sick to her stomach at the sight of blood. Tears filled her eyes as she entered the bathroom, and she let them go. Staring in the mirror she saw them run down her cheeks. Soaping her hands, she placed them under the hot water trying to wash away the blood.

Over and over she scrubbed her hands.

The bathroom door opened, and Nash stood looking in. “We were worried about you,” Nash said.

“I’m washing blood off my hands. Zero’s blood.” She bit her lip, wiping the tears away with the back of her hand.

“He’s still in surgery.”

“I know. I didn’t imagine it would be quick.” She scrubbed her hands, trying her best to remove all evidence of Zero’s blood. Alan had won. This was going to ruin the club if either Zero or Angel died.

“Hey, don’t start losing it yet. We’re all still fighting here.”

“How can you be so calm?” she asked, drying her hands on some towel. “Your brother’s wife is in surgery. She was shot in the back three times by a maniac trying to ruin Zero. We’re in the hospital again. Tell me how you’re calm?”

“The battle is not over. Angel is in the hospital, and she went into that hospital room alive. Zero doesn’t have life threatening wounds. He will come out of this alive. The time for panicking is not now. My brother needs me to be strong.” Nash stepped into the bathroom. The tears were falling thick and fast down her cheeks.

“I saw it. I saw the car drive past. The bullets and I saw them hit Angel. They waited for her to fall before aiming for Zero. None of them had any intention of stopping.” She sobbed the words out as Nash wrapped his arms around her.

“He’s going to get through this. Zero is strong. Stronger than any of us realize,” Nash said.

“I can’t handle him dying on me.”

“No one is dying,” Tiny said, standing in the room. “Devil is calling me back. I need you to stay out here, Prue, and keep an eye on Lash and get word to me on Angel and Zero. Can you do that?”

She nodded. “Yes, I can do that.”

“Good, we need you. The club needs you.”

Stepping away from Nash, she followed Tiny out of the bathroom toward the waiting area. Taking a seat on one of the chairs, she watched the clear doors. Not long ago Zero had been waiting to hear news about her. Now their roles were reversed as she watched the doors like a mad woman. Lash would be out for a few hours. She hoped they had news by the time he woke up.

Killer sat beside her, groaning as he did. “I spend more time sitting on my ass in this fucking hospital than I do anything else.”

She smiled, even though she didn’t know what there was to be happy about.

“I know you’re freaking out over what’s happening and don’t want to know anything other than if Zero and Angel are going to be all right,” he said.

Turning toward him, she waited for him to finish.

“What I’m saying is I’ve been here a lot. I was here with Kelsey when she tried to kill herself and other times. Fuck, this doesn’t sound good at all.”

“Why don’t you just make your point?” she said, shaking.

“We’ve been to hell and back again, and yet we’re still here. Kelsey is my wife, and she’s pregnant with our first child. We’re all surviving.”

“What if this will be the one time they don’t?” she asked.

“I don’t allow myself to think or feel that way. Once you let the bad in, you can’t think of the good.” He tapped her hand. “Try to think positive about everything that is happening here.”

She nodded, watching him leave. Tiny was on the phone, and she watched him talking. Tears were streaking down his face.

After a couple of hours the doctor came out to tell her news. She listened, as did The Skulls as they were told Zero was fine. The bullets were easy to remove, and he’d be on his feet within the next forty-eight hours. Prue was thankful.

Angel was not doing as well. One of the bullets was next to her spine. Extracting the bullet with precision took time. Any wrong move and she might never walk again. Two of the bullets had been removed, and they didn’t know the extent of the damage. They were taking tests and observing the damage during surgery.

Prue sent up a prayer for the sweet woman. Alan was going to die, and she was going to make sure he hurt and would watch him die before she left his dead body. Running a hand down her face, she left the reception to go and see Lash.

He lay on the bed, which looked like it was going to collapse from his weight. The pain on his face was clear even in sleep.

Prue walked up to his bed side. She took his hand and couldn’t find the strength to smile.

“I’m sorry.”

The words were filled with much feeling, but she knew it didn’t matter to him what she said. If Angel didn’t make it out of this hospital alive, Lash would do everything in his power to hurt the one responsible.

Alan had won this round like he’d won the other two. Leaving Lash’s side, she made her way out of his room to wait for more news. Zero was going to survive, and now it was the wait to see about Angel.

****

Jumping up and down giddy at what he’d done, Alan stared at the room. Putting a cross through Angel’s picture and another through Lash, he giggled. The pain had been clear from that split second he got to see. Lurking in the shadows, he watched the car approach, his men fire and the ensuring chaos.

His plans were not over. He doubted Zero would stay in the hospital.

Circling Sophia’s head, he pocketed a knife

Lockdown was over, and the game could truly begin.

Chapter Twelve

“Devil has arrived in town. He’s at the clubhouse getting caught up with Alex, who made it back into town,” Tiny said.

Zero listened to his leader, his president, talk as he lay in bed with Prue sat beside him. The conversation being directed at him was not what he wanted to hear. Seeing Prue since waking up had been the highlight of his morning. The drugs they fed him kept him out of it for some time. He couldn’t feel a single thing. If it wasn’t for seeing the wounds covered by bandages, Zero wouldn’t believe he was actually shot.

“What happened to Angel?” he asked, cutting across Tiny.

The fact Lash wasn’t in his room and neither was Nash didn’t fill him with confidence.

Please, don’t let that woman, that angel, die for trying to protect me.

He closed his eyes, seeing her hands reaching up to push him out of the way. Before she even touched him, the bullets had hit her.

“What do you want to know?” Tiny asked.

Prue’s hand tightened inside his, locking their fingers together tightly.

“I want to know if she’s alive. She tried to protect me. I need to know that she’s okay,” he said, gritting his teeth. Tears filled his eyes, and he scrubbed them away.

“She’s alive,” Tiny said.

“Then what are you not telling me?”

He saw Tiny and Prue look at each other.

“Tell me, goddamn it. I need to know what else this bastard has done,” Zero said.

“She’s in a coma, and the doctors don’t know when she’s going to wake up.” Prue stopped, hesitating.

“What else? Give it all to me,” Zero said.

“They don’t know if she’ll be able to walk once she wakes up. They removed the bullet with minimal damage. We don’t know what will happen once she wakes up. She could walk again or need some physiotherapy to walk again or she may never walk again.”

He squeezed Prue’s hand. “Is Lash with her?” he asked.

“Yes.”

Zero tugged the wires out of him that hooked him up to the machines.

“You can’t leave your bed,” Prue said.

“I will do whatever the hell I want to do.” Zero sat up in bed, grunting with the movement. Several nurses ran into the room trying to stop him. Ignoring them, he stood up. “Tiny, I’m going to see Lash and the woman who tried to save my life. Tell them to back the fuck off before I end up in prison.”

Tiny shouted out for them to leave him alone. Standing tall, Zero held onto Prue and made his way out of the room. He felt a little dizzy and gripped onto the wall for stability.

“Your ass is showing,” she said.

“I don’t give a fuck. There will be no more fun until Alan is fucking dead.”

They walked down the long corridor, and he was starting to have doubts about going to thank Lash.

When they walked into a room he was more than thankful for the respite. Prue dumped him into the closest chair. The drugs they’d given him were a fucking strong combination. Lash was sitting beside Angel, who was hooked up to several machines. Nash stood in the corner of the room with Sophia beside him.

“Come on, baby. You need to wake up. I need you. Our son needs you.” Lash kept talking, stroking his fingers up her arm. “Wake up and I’ll take us away for a long summer vacation. You want to go to Italy, we’ll go.”

The pain in Lash’s voice tore at Zero.

“Come on, wake up.”

Sophia was sobbing in the corner.

“I’m sorry,” Zero said.

Lash jerked around to look at him. “Are you all right?”

“Yes, she will pull through.” Zero nodded toward Angel. He wouldn’t accept anything other than her making it through.

“She will. Tiny has agreed to let us go for the summer. I promised her on our honeymoon that I would take her to Italy. I’m going to make sure she gets everything her heart desires.” Lash was stroking her blonde hair off her head.

Silence fell in the room for several minutes.

“I don’t blame you,” Lash said, turning to look at him.

A lump formed in the back of his throat. “Why? If it wasn’t for me this wouldn’t be happening.”

“You did what you did. Blaming you will not change what’s happening.” Lash wiped the tears off his face. “The fucker will pay for what he’s done.”

Zero looked at Lash feeling the anger consume him. “I will bring you the bastard’s head.”

Alan had been controlling this game for so long. It was time to take a little back for themselves.

“Good.”

Zero stayed inside Lash and Angel’s room for several minutes. On his way out he saw Devil was making his way toward the room. As they passed each other the older man reached out, touching his shoulder. “We’ll kill the bastard. Tiny told me everything that happened. He will die.”

Nodding, Zero made his way back to his room with Prue by his side. She fussed around his bed, putting his wires back where they came. “I didn’t know you were a nurse.” She hooked up each machine to the pad. The needle he’d pulled out, stopping the morphine, Prue called the nurse to come and replace.