Biker Born: The Lost Souls MC Series (The Lost Souls Series Book 4) (17 page)

Much to my horror, she begins pushing again.

“You having twins or something?” I ask.

I get my answer when she digs her nails in and pierces the skin.

“It’s the after birth, jackass,” she screams.

The baby in my arms is crying, Rayna is crying, there’s blood everywhere and no fucker on the road to stop and help. Never before have I ever felt so out of my depth.

The minutes must be passing, but to me time is standing still. Once again, she starts pushing but this time nothing is coming out.

“Ray, you must be wrong.”

“I’m not,” she calls out in a feral bite my fucking head off tone and releases her grip on my hand.

Her body falls slack against the door she was leaning against and pants with exhaustion. Fuck this, she needs help far beyond just me on the road side.

Leaning over, I lay the baby wrapped in my tee in between her arm and her chest against the back seat and cover them with the old blanket.

“Hold on, Ray. Don’t let go of that baby,” I tell her, climbing out of the truck.

Running around, I jump in the driver’s seat and start the truck. As soon as it’s ready, I tailspin onto the road and put my foot down on the gas until I feel like it can’t go any faster.

The city lights come into view and I breathe slightly easier knowing she will have the help she needs very soon.

“Not long, darlin’,” I say over my shoulder.

“I need Mark, I knew this would happen when he went away,” Rayna cries.

“He’ll meet us at the hospital, Micky’s getting word to him now,” I promise her.

A fresh set of screams fill the truck.

“Talk to me, Ray, what’s going on darlin’?” I beg, pushing the truck as fast as it can go.

“Pain, Michael. Pain everywhere.”

“Hold on, please, Ray. Just fucking hold on five more minutes.”

The first set of lights we come to are red. It’s too busy, even at this time of night to risk running them. I’d put her in more danger.

Turning in my seat, I don’t realize Rayna and the baby aren’t crying until I see Rayna dozing in and out of consciousness and the baby slipping out of her arms.

Reaching round, I slap Rayna harder than I intended to.

“Wake up, we’re nearly there,” I shout at her.

“Hold that baby, Ray. You’ll end up squashing her.”

This brings her around and I turn back around in my seat to find company has just arrived. As if this night couldn’t get any fucking worse, Chase Carson pulls up next to the truck. In slow fucking motion I watch his head turn in my direction and the moment it registers on his face who he is looking at.

He gets over it quickly and looks in the back of the truck. With Rayna slumped down on the back seat it looks like I’m on my own and in this heap of junk the smirk that covers his face tells me he knows I can’t out run him.

Glancing in the rear view mirror I see he is with two of his brothers. Any other time I would love to be in this situation. My chance to take out Hunter’s VP and brother by blood, not tonight though. Tonight, Rayna needs me.

“Michael, I don’t think she’s breathing,” Rayna cries out.

Breaking eye contact with Chase, I quickly turn to look at Rayna and the baby.

Fuck. Shit. Fuck.

Looking back to Chase, he is reaching into his side. I know what’s coming next. My hand itches to do the same but Mark’s voice stops me.

‘Know your fights.’

Slamming my fist against the wheel, I push my foot down and pull out into traffic before Chase manages to get his gun out.

Cars honk and swerve to get out of my way leaving me free to speed up and clear the junction. Chase soon catches up and is right behind us.

“Rayna, are you still lying down?” I shout, keeping my eyes on the road.

She doesn’t answer.

“Ray, fuckin’ answer me.”

Still nothing.

“Rayna Blake, wake the fuck up and talk to me,” I shout, glancing in the rear view mirror keeping an eye on Chase at the same time.

Turning onto the road leading up to the hospital, shots are fired and the back window smashes in.

Never has running away burnt me so bad. Flickers of already plots of revenge course through me. Rayna doesn’t make a sound at the noise and it scares the shit out me.

The hospital comes into sight but I take a left turn. If I stop outside the hospital, Chase will no doubt shoot wherever the fuck he wants and Rayna and the baby wouldn’t stand a chance. The Raging Riders have no standards when it comes to their own women, I can’t bring myself to think about how they would treat our women, especially Rayna and my niece.

I take turn after turn and I pray I’m not heading too far away from the hospital. After making another turn, the sound of motorcycle engines fade away. I don’t give myself time to think if they’re planning to trap me in these web of back streets. I head for the hospital at the fastest speed the truck can manage and skid to a stop right outside the doors.

Security come running out.

“Get help, there’s a woman and baby who needs help now,” I yell to them both.

Jumping out of the truck, I head around and climb back in with Rayna.

Shaking her shoulders, I scream for her to open her eyes.

Lazily, she does and she becomes more alert when she hears the baby makes a muffled sound.

“The nurses are coming, darlin’,” I smile.

“Save my baby girl, Michael,” Rayna whispers, closing her eyes again.

Oh no.

“Nothing is going to happen to her, Ray. Open your eyes,” I plead.

“Alannah.”

“Huh?”

“That’s her name, tell Mark her name.”

“You can tell him yourself,” I shout, angry at her for thinking she won’t be here herself to tell him.

“Move out of the way, sir.”

Hands grapple at my back and I let them pull me out so they can help her.

The baby makes an awful choking sound causing Rayna to yell with everything she has to get the nurses to help her first.

The cord is still connected to the baby and within seconds one of the nurses has it cut and both nurses try to get both Rayna and Alannah out of the truck together. Rayna pushes them away and thrusts the baby at them.

“Help her first, she wasn’t breathing at all. Help her, now.”

“Ray, let them help you,” I shout, stunned.

“Save her,” she cries, weakly, “She’s turning blue.”

“We’ll send help straight out.”

The nurses disappear with the baby and Rayna slumps down, having used up her energy getting the nurses to save the baby.

Fuck this, I’m not waiting for the doctors to come out. I open the door she is leaning against and carry her in myself.

The stark lighting illuminates her pale face and I frantically call out for help. Three doctors running along with a gurney comes towards us and I lay Rayna on it.

“She had a baby about twenty minutes ago, she was bleeding before and after,” I manage to tell them before they are wheeling her through two large double doors and one doctor stays behind to stop me from following.

One brief image of her arm sliding off the bed and hanging limply will forever be etched into my mind. The doors swing closed, leaving me standing alone with her blood covering me.

“Wait here and I’ll come back out when we know more.”

The doctor goes to leave me standing alone when I grab her arm.

“Make her better.”

She nods once and then disappears through the double doors too.

Moving to the side of the corridor, I don’t stop moving until my back hits the cold wall and I remember I took my tee off to wrap the baby up.

They better fucking save her or there is going to be a whole storm of revenge savaged upon everyone in this hospital until it rains blood.

MICHAEL

I’ve never been good at waiting. My tolerance for waiting around, well, I don’t have any. I always have and always will live at my own pace and will wait for nothing. Waiting hurts for something you want and that has never been truer than right now. Waiting on news for Rayna hurts beyond reason. It’s agonizing.

She’s been gone for three hours and no one has been back through the double doors to let me know how she is.

Finally, after another hour has passed the nurse that stopped me from following earlier comes out and pulls down her mask.

“I have some good news,” she smiles, “The baby is fine. We had to help clear her airways, but she is doing well now and is in neonatal intensive care. Are you the father?”

I shake my head, “No, I’m the uncle. My brother, her dad, should be here soon.”

“Okay, good.”

“How’s Rayna?” I ask, wanting to know more than anything.

Her smile disappears and my heart plummets to the floor.

“She’s still in surgery. Mrs Blake suffered from a ruptured uterus, the bleeding led to haemorrhage. If you would have only got here sooner, we could’ve been there to stop the bleeding…”

I tune out to what else she is saying.

This could’ve been avoided. All that messing around could have been avoided. If anything happens to her many people are going to die. This is Chase’s fault.

Another hour passes and she is still not out of surgery. The longer I don’t hear anything the worse I think she is.

Echoes bouncing of the white, sterile walls begin to hum with loud, urgent, demanding voices and by the time I drag myself to my feet. Mark and the others are rounding the corner and rushing towards me.

“Where is she? Micky said to get here as soon as I could,” Mark demands.

I swear to God I’m going to punch that motherfucker so hard when I see him. I told him not to let him worry. He can never do anything he is told to do.

Mark looks me over and finally sees the blood on my bare chest.

“And where’s your shirt?”

From the corner of my eye I see Pope taking his hoodie off and pass it along to me. Throwing it over my head, I brace myself to say out loud what’s going on.

“She had the baby on the side of the road and was bleeding out quite bad. By the time I got her here the baby wasn’t breathing and I had to wrap her in my shirt to keep her warm.”

He stops me there and steps closer.

“She? I have a daughter?”

“Yeah, man,” I smile.

His happiness is short lived.

“What about Ray? Where is she?”

Before I can answer him, the double doors swing open and the doctors I saw take Rayna in come back out and while they begin to walk in the other direction, one holds back and walks towards us.

“Mr Blake?” he asks, looking around our group.

Mark shifts beside me and moves closer to the doc.

“That’s me. How’s my wife?” he asks.

The doctor, meant to be trained to deliver news in an apathetic manner pales in front of us and takes us all in before speaking.

“I’m afraid your wife passed away, she…”

My legs go numb, before I fall I slump onto the plastic, cold chair and bang my head back on the wall.

Dead.

Rayna is dead.

My vision blurs and my hearing muffles.

Nothing exists around me.

She doesn’t exist anymore.

MARK

“Mr Blake.”

The doctor is talking but I can’t hear a word he is saying. All I heard was Rayna is dead, too much blood, haemorrhage, they couldn’t stop the bleeding.

I can’t speak.

I can’t move.

I can’t fucking breathe.

It’s like I’ve been submerged slowly into water and then it started to freeze around me. Everything has stopped on the outside, but on the inside, thoughts are rushing around at an impossible speed and I can’t slow them down enough to comprehend them. I don’t want to because this can’t be happening. When I left she was alive, breathing, carrying our child and smiling at me.

Now I’m being told I’m never going to see that smile again.

My brothers are silent behind me, listening to the words I can’t let in. They close around me and I feel their support.

The only thing I hear is that I can see Rayna if I would wish too.

Numbly, I follow the doctor through a door and down a corridor that’s lit too brightly. He stops briefly before opening the door we stopped outside of.

A heavy hand lands on my shoulder and I don’t have to look to see it is Michael. In fact, Oak, Pope and Micky have followed too.

The door opens and in the middle of the room lays one bed. There she is. A blue blanket covers her up to her neck and her blonde hair I love so much is sprayed around her head.

One step.

Two steps.

Three than four.

One more step and I’ll be beside her yet I can’t bring myself to move.

“It’s okay, brother.”

I don’t know who says it, but they’re wrong. It’s not okay, nothing is going to be okay again.

I’ve watched her sleep over a thousand times, her peaceful slumber becoming my peace. I would watch her sleep after a long day, sometimes violent and waves of harmony would transfer to me. She was my saviour without ever knowing it. Now she looks like she’s sleeping but she’s never going to wake up. I squeeze my eyes shut and take the last step beside my wife.

Her skin is still warm, still soft.

“Tell me again what happened,” I ask the doc.

“When she was brought in, she was bleeding excessively. Your brother informed us that she had been bleeding for some time before she arrived and when we took her into surgery, the surgeon discovered her Uterus had ruptured. It’s rare but it does happen.”

I bend over the bed and lay my last kiss on Ray’s lips. She must have been in terrible pain and I wasn’t there to help her through it.

Sleep tight my Rayna.

I inhale deeply and stand straight.

“Take me to my daughter.”