I must have laughed out loud. “What’s funny?” He looked at me with an evil glare. I leant over and patted him on the leg. I smirked, “I was thinking about all the cats and dogs you used to bring home.” We both started laughing. It must have been loud because Doc came out looking puzzled. “Is everything okay?” He asked looking between us both. We continued laughing. “Do you remember that one eyed mongrel that used to eat the carpet? What was its name again?” I asked with tears streaming down my cheeks. “Panda! I always wanted a Dalmatian as a kid and was gonna call it Panda. But if a one eyed mongrel was all I was getting, then that was good enough for me.”
We were laughing so much, we didn’t notice Hound and Justice wheeling a machine down the corridor until they were upon us. “Guy’s this is my son James.” Doc said introducing us. James was over 6ft tall, broad and without sounding gay, a good looking man! He held out his hand so I stood and shook it. He had a strong handshake. I appreciated a good handshake, it said a lot about a man’s character.
“Diesel” I said in a way of introduction. He didn’t look intimidated by the bikers that surrounded him which I respected. So many people were scared of us from what they had heard and thought we represented. Most of it was bollocks but it sometimes worked to our advantage. Come to think of it, we probably paid for his education, from the amount we paid his old man over the years.
“Could you please wheel it in here?” Doc asked moving out of the doorway. Hound and Justice looked like delivery men trying to manoeuvre the x-ray machine through the door. James put down his ruck sack and started to unpack the contents. “Right guys, give us some space and we’ll see you once she’s patched up.” Doc shooed us out the door.
I looked over at James, “I appreciate your help man. If you look after her, I’ll be in your debt.” James smiled, “I’m a doctor and helping people is what I do. I can’t promise anything until I’ve taken a look at her but I’ll do my best.” That was good enough for me. I nodded and shut the door behind me.
Spike, Duke, Hound and myself were at the bar, trying to relax whilst they worked on my baby. “We buried Hawke in the usual place.” Hound said calmly taking a sip of his drink. “What about Patch?” I asked, hoping that I would have the opportunity to relieve some of my tension by kicking the shit out of him. “He’s alive.” Duke said coldly. “I want to give Harlow the opportunity to decide what we do with him, once she’s better.” I looked at Duke, not understanding what he was saying. “Harlow expressed that she would like to see their final breaths. She saw Hawke die directly in front of her, I’ll give her the choice regarding Patch.” I let out a low whistle. “Do you think that’s wise, after all she’s been through?” I was getting annoyed with his flippant comments. “It may be the only way she can get over all this shit Diesel. Think about it before you kick off.” I rubbed my forehead trying to relieve some of the tension.
We discussed Flex and that there will be no further repercussions. Duke explained that Flex had beaten Patch and was about to deal with Hawke but we turned up. His story seemed to match but he would be kept under surveillance. Flex said that the majority of Skulls had lost faith in Hawke over recent years. He was going to inform members at church that Hawke and Patch had murdered Trigger and then the club would start to rebuild. I was happy enough with that but we would be putting the club under strict surveillance.
Tyler, the now longest serving Prospect was showing the new recruits Buster and Ramsey, how to run the bar. We sat in silence waiting for what felt like a lifetime, when James walked into the room joining us at the bar. “It’s a clean break. I’ve realigned the bones and applied a plaster cast. She’ll need between 6-8 weeks to recover.” He blew out a long breath and sat at the bar. “Get him a drink Buster.” Duke said tapping on the bar. “Can I see her?” I asked standing from my chair. James looked up at me, “Yeah, she’s asking for you.”
“I thought I’d lost you babe.” I said grabbing for her good hand as I sat on the chair next to her bed. She looked over at me with wide eyes. “What’s up babe?” I started to panic as Ink began to cry. Not just a whimper but a fall heart felt sob. I tried to cuddle her as best as I could, trying not to hurt her. I stayed quiet and just let her cry in my arms. I didn’t want to push her and thought it best to let her start the conversation when she felt ready.