More Than Miles (A Lost Kings MC Novel) (38 page)

Even though there were times in our lives where I tried to keep some distance between us, these last three months, having her so far away, have hurt in ways I never imagined.

“So, he’s awake?”

“In and out.”

“What’s going on? Hope said they were giving him steroids?”

“I don’t understand all the medical jargon, but he’s lost feeling from his lower back down. There’s fluid or something?”

“Spinal shock?”

“I think so. They gave him steroids for the first twenty-four hours.”

“Jesus, that can have some nasty side-effects.”

“I know. They explained.”

“What happened?”

I grip the steering wheel so hard, I’m afraid I’ll snap it off. “He took Mariella out. He asked me to go with them. I should have gone.”

Her hand settles on my leg, trying to reassure me. “It’s not your fault.” Somehow her words only make me feel worse.

I choose my words carefully. “It looks like someone might have run him off the road.”

“Do you know who?”

“No.” My jaw tightens from the lie. Marcel was adamant that it was Killa, the enforcer for the Vipers MC, a rival club we have a long and bloody history with. But that’s club business I can’t share with Heidi. Nor should I.

“Don’t lie to me, Murphy. Is it another MC? Did something happen?”

Of course, Heidi’s not stupid. “Heidi—”

“Don’t give me
club business
bullshit today, Murphy! Did someone try to kill my brother?”

“Maybe.”

“Mariella?”

Christ. Poor Mariella. That sweet girl lived through fucking hell only to be rescued by us and then killed a few months later anyway. “She didn’t make it. We haven’t told him yet.”

A frightened silence fills the inside of the truck. “Jesus Christ, Murphy. I’m fucking scared to be here now.”

I slow down and catch the next red light, so I can face Heidi. “Look at me. You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you or Alexa. I promise.”

“Yeah, I’m sure my brother told Mariella the same thing.”

I flinch at her words, because they’re true.

“He’s not in trouble, is he?”

“No. From what I understand it was pretty clear he was run off the road.”

“Did they catch the person?”

“Not yet.” Wrath and Z are hunting down Killa and Ransom, the Vipers’ president, so they won’t be on the loose for long. But again, not something I can share with Heidi.

“Mariella doesn’t have any family,” Heidi says.

“I know. We’re taking care of everything.”

“Is everyone else okay?”

“Yeah. They’re all taking turns at the hospital. Hope’s been there since we first found out. I actually need her to go home, so if you can help me with that later, I’d appreciate it.”

She huffs out a laugh. “Sure. No one’s probably told her it was club-related either, I bet.”

“I don’t know what Rock shares with her. Not my business. Right now, she’s just worried about your brother.”

“The light’s green,” she says softly.

The hospital waiting room is full of Lost Kings who are here both for support for their injured brother and for protection. Hope and Trinity are both here, and there’s no way they’re going anywhere without escorts.

Hope rushes over when she sees us. She grabs Heidi, pulling her into a hug. “He’s okay. The doctor’s reviewing his CT now.”

“Can we see him?”

“I’ll ask.”

No road can take us back to the way we were.

D
on’t cry. Don’t cry.

Oh, but it’s a struggle to see my big brother so…banged up and not burst into tears.

Murphy’s standing behind me quietly, offering support by holding Alexa for me while I speak to my brother.

“Marcel?”

They have him immobilized in a rigid brace, but the fact that he’s breathing on his own gives me a small sliver of relief.

“Hey,” he says, his voice a shadow of what I’m used to. He lifts his hand to motion me closer.

“Don’t move,” I warn him and he huffs out a brief laugh.

“When’d you get here?”

“Just now.”

His eyes close and he seems to slip back into sleep. Murphy’s hand rests on my shoulder. “He’s been in and out.”

“Is there a doctor around?”

Murphy takes me into the hallway where one of the doctors treating my brother stops to talk to me.

“We won’t know the severity of the damage for a few days. Methylprednisolone was administered within a few hours of the trauma, but there’s still some inflammation at the base of the spine. As far as we can tell, he landed on something hard that caused some trauma. We stabilized the spine to prevent any additional damage, but the swelling hasn’t gone down as much as we’d like.”

“Will he be able to walk?”

“I can’t say this early. Right now, we need to keep him calm and as immobile as possible. We may schedule surgery to go in and remove any debris that could be causing the swelling.”

The doctor walks in to check on Marcel, and I turn to Murphy. “What are we going to do? What’s he going to do? Oh my God.”

His free arm wraps around my shoulder and he pulls me up against him. “Shh. Your brother’s a tough son of a bitch. He’s gonna be fine.”

“I know,” I mumble, but I can’t stop myself from clinging to his shirt and weeping all over him.

My crying makes Alexa cry so I gather her in my arms, rocking her back and forth until we both calm down.

“Hey, Heidi-girl,” Rock calls out, entering the room with Hope. He gives me a kiss on the cheek. “You must be tired.”

“I’m not leaving.”

The corner of Rock’s mouth quirks up, and he slides his gaze to Murphy. “Heidi, it’s late. They’re not going to let you stay in his room overnight.”

Hope settles her arm around my shoulder. “He’s stable now. I’ve got a room at our house all set up for you and the baby.”

“You do?” I end up crying again.

Somehow, they talk me into leaving with them. Murphy stays behind at the hospital and some of the guilt for leaving my brother lessens.

I’m so exhausted, I barely notice the room Hope set up for us. After taking care of Alexa, I fall into a sleep full of dreams where I’m falling and burning at the same time.

The next morning, I wake completely disoriented. My phone rings at the same time Alexa starts screaming.

“Heidi?” Axel’s voice sounds so distant.

“I’m here. Alexa just woke up and I’m trying to calm her down.”

“How’d she do on the flight?”

“Okay.”

“How’s your brother?”

“Bad. It’s really bad, Axel.”

“Shit. I’m so sorry, baby.”

“Thanks. I’m headed back there in a bit.”

“Where’d you stay?”

“Rock and Hope set up a room for us at their place.”

“Oh. That was nice of them.” I can hear the relief in his voice that I didn’t sleep under the same roof as Murphy.

We talk a little longer. He doesn’t mention coming down on his week off, and I don’t bring it up.

I’m too tired to fight about it or to have my feelings hurt when he says he’s not coming.

Hope and Rock are in the kitchen talking softly at the counter when Alexa and I join them.

“Sleep okay, hon?” Rock asks.

“Like the dead.” I cringe at my choice of words but neither of them say anything.

I don’t have much of an appetite, but Rock goes to the trouble of making breakfast, so I choke down some eggs and toast. As we’re finishing up, someone knocks on the door. Rock shouts for them to come in.

“You don’t have to knock, Murphy,” Rock says.

“Yes, you do,” Hope corrects.

Murphy chuckles and ambles over, dropping into an empty chair across from me. Exhaustion is etched in every line on his face.

“How’s Marcel?” I ask.

“No change really. The doctor wants to do an MRI today.”

“Why haven’t they done it already?” I ask and he shrugs.

Murphy’s gaze slides to Rock, and he jerks his head at the back porch. They get up and leave the table while Hope shakes her head. “Your brother’s tough, honey. He’ll get through this.”

“It was hard seeing him like that.”

“I know. I still don’t know how we’re going to tell him about Mariella. I’m not sure what their…relationship was, but they spent a lot of time together.”

“He’ll take it hard. He was driving, he’ll blame himself. It won’t matter that someone ran him off the road.”

Hope gives me a curious look, and I wonder if no one told her the part about Marcel being run off the road.

“I need to make some arrangements for Mariella today. Do you want me to drop you off at the hospital?” she asks.

“I got her, Hope,” Murphy says as he and Rock step back inside.

“I’m with
you
, Baby Doll,” Rock says, settling his hands on her shoulders. She tips her head back and he presses a kiss to her forehead. Their easy affection makes me feel lonely almost. I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe I’m just tired.

Hope pins me with a motherly stare. “Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll be at the hospital after I’m done.”

Murphy taps my arm. “Let me know when you two are ready.” By the sound of his voice and look on his face, he’s planning to leave.

“I’m ready. Just let me grab some stuff for her.”

He takes Alexa while I run down to my room and hastily throw together a bag.

There’s an Alaska-sized lump in my throat when I return to the kitchen. Murphy’s entertaining Alexa by playing drums on the table with his hands and a utensil or two. He’s got her propped up in his lap showing her how to make different sounds with her fingers and hands. She can’t quite grasp the fork he’s using and ends up slapping it away. The fork spins across the table and she laughs.

Her first laugh.

Alexa’s been cooing, gurgling, sighing, and making a variety of noises for weeks. This is her first laugh, well more of a sweet baby-chortle.

“Oh my God.”

Murphy’s head snaps up. “What? We’re just playing drums.” He seems worried that I think he did something wrong.

“That’s her first laugh.”

“Oh yeah?” He leans over and kisses her cheek. “You like drums, baby?”

She makes another giggling sound—she really seems to like hearing her own voice and seeing his reactions.