They were standing outside when she stopped him from bringing her further away from the door. She was scared. She had become so reliant on Hudson and Jagger to make her feel safe, and even now, with them just inside, she was scared.
"Sean, who did you see?"
"I don't know who the person is. But I saw them again tonight. They were watching Hudson and Jagger while they were talking at the bar."
Her brother was rambling. He seemed genuinely upset.
She reached for his hand.
"Come back inside with me. Hudson and Jagger can help you."
He pulled back. "They won't be able to keep me out of jail. The detectives will bust me for that armed robbery."
"But you said you didn't do anything. You didn't have the weapon and you didn't steal, correct?" She stepped down further from the back door.
Her brother was pacing. "I don't have any money for an attorney. They'll hang me."
"I told you that I would help you." She reached out her hand. "Trust me and I'll help you, Sean. I promise. Just take my hand."
The back door to the club swung open. Hudson, Jagger, Jett, Flynn, and some other guys came barreling through.
"Tia Rose, what the hell is going on? We were worried."
Sean took a few steps back, but Tia grabbed his sleeve. She looked at Hudson as he and Jagger took position beside her.
"This is my brother Sean. Sean, meet Hudson and Jagger Ross, and Jett ad Flynn Greyson."
"Tia, please. I don't think they can help me."
"Tell us what's going on. If you're Tia's brother and you need help, we're here for you," Hudson said, as he took a step toward Sean.
"You can trust them, Sean. I sure do," she replied.
Tia began to explain about her brother's problem, and the fact that the police thought he was involved. Sean told them all about what happened that night, and then Jett and Flynn said they could probably help.
"Let's head inside and talk. It's pretty dark out here," Jett suggested.
"Yeah, and someone has been following Tia Rose. I saw them," Sean told them.
"What? Who did you see? Did you get a good look, a description?" Jagger asked.
Tia Rose felt the pain the moment she heard the shot. She fell forward against Hudson, who caught her. Everyone ducked, but Flynn and Jett, as well as the other two men behind them. They drew their weapons as Tia placed her hand over her shoulder and chest. The pain radiated from her back to her front. She lifted her hand in what felt like slow motion, and when she looked down it was covered in blood.
"Oh, God, she's hit. Someone shot her," Hudson stated, as Jagger shoved open the back door and Hudson carried her inside. They laid her down on the floor as Jagger pulled out his phone. She could hear them yelling. They were calling for an ambulance.
I've been shot. Oh, God, it hurts.
She began to panic and tried to move, escape from more gunshots, but Hudson held her against him. She looked at him. The fear in his eyes, the anger instantly told her that this was real, and she was hurt badly.
Hudson placed his hand over the wound.
"Ow!" The pain struck her hard.
"There's so much blood," Hudson whispered and pressed something harder against the spot the pain radiated from.
"Oh, God. They shot me. Who was it? I'm scared, Hudson. I'm scared." She felt the panicked feeling worsen, but as she went to move, her body wouldn't allow it. She felt cold and unbalanced.
"Shh, baby, it's okay. You're safe in here. Help is on the way."
"They'll get away. They'll come after you and Jagger."
"Shh, baby, please, let us handle this. Just lie still," Hudson said and then looked up at Jagger.
She saw their faces, their eyes, and the concern.
"It hurts," she whispered, closing her eyes as she tried to drown out the pain and the fear she had. There was so much going on around her. It felt like they were mumbling. And then she started shaking.
"Here, cover her with this, apply pressure to that wound," Adelina stated.
Hudson placed something else over the wound. She felt the pain get worse and now she was shaking. Her teeth were clattering.
"She's going into shock. Where's that fucking ambulance?" Jagger yelled.
"Hold on, Tia Rose. Please, baby, hold on."
Tia Rose blinked her eyes open. Flashes of strangers smiling down at her, talking to her, trying to ease her mind as they moved her around. She complained that it hurt to move, but they did it anyway. Hudson's and Jagger's voices echoed around the strange voices. There were lights and loud music, bumps as they moved her, and then she closed her eyes, trying to get through the pain.
She saw black and heard nothing until she felt her body bump onto something. She tried blinking her eyes to see clearer, but she couldn't. There were bits and pieces of things, as she would lose focus and then see again.
The light was so bright. There were all these sounds and people were talking. She saw blue and white coats and then a bright light. The small flashlight illuminated her eyes.
"Tia Rose, can you hear me? I'm Dr. Lang." She blinked harder, but her lids felt so heavy.
"I shot." She said the words but it sounded so strange. Was she speaking?
"We gave you something to help with the pain. You're going into surgery, Tia. The bullet is lodged under your chest bone."
"Hudson, Jagger, Sean."
"This is insane. You're telling us that the crazy bitch from work, Bethany, shot Tia Rose? She's the one who destroyed her apartment and has been stalking her?" Jagger asked Flynn and the detectives.
"Yes. She's mentally unstable. Had been under a physician's care for years," Flynn told Hudson and Jagger. All their friends were there, waiting to hear about Tia Rose.
"We caught her down the block. She was raging about killing Tia and seeking her revenge. When the other detectives got to her apartment, the place was filled with pictures of Tia Rose. It appeared as if Bethany had become obsessed with her," Detective Leo DeLuca, Toni's cousin, informed them.
"We thought she was out of the country. Tia mentioned a picture on Facebook," Hudson added.
"A fake. Bethany was good at conniving people. She had her therapist fooled, and her family." Leo explained more about what was found in Bethany's apartment, including a list of other people at Malone's she planned on killing, including Dante Perrone.
"Holy shit." Jagger ran his hands through his crew-cut hair and stared toward the doorway where the doctor would hopefully, soon, emerge.
"Tia Rose has to pull through this. She's fought for so much," he added.
Hudson placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "She will and then we'll take care of her. No one will ever hurt her again."
"Jett, did you find out about Tia's brother? Is the situation fixable?" Hudson asked him. Jagger still wasn't sure how he felt about Tia's brother. Could the man be trusted? Did he really want to get help and straighten his ass out? Was he involved with the armed robbery and did he lie to Tia? Jett, Flynn, Cash, and Zane were doing their best to find out. Jagger felt so compelled to protect her, and especially now, after being shot.
"The detectives are examining the video surveillance tapes from the robbery. We'll know more soon, but for right now, Sean is being held until the investigation is complete. He was so worried about his sister. He's totally cooperating, so that's a good thing," Leo told them.
"We appreciate your help with this."
Jett gave Hudson a tap to his shoulder and nodded toward the doorway. A grim-looking doctor, who appeared exhausted, stood there.
"Is the family of Tia Rose present?" he asked.
"We're it. We're her family," Hudson stated.
"And where are Hudson, Jagger, and Sean?" he asked.
"I'm Jagger, and this is my brother, Hudson. Sean isn't here yet," Jagger stated, not wanting to go into great detail about the current situation.
"Okay, Tia Rose is in recovery now. She's a very strong young woman. The bullet lodged in her chest bone. It appears that she was shot from behind, the bullet penetrated through to the front of her body where the chest and shoulder bone meet. Lucky for her, it was in a good position for me to remove it without causing further damage. X-rays show no splintering of the surrounding bone, but there was severe tissue, and cartilage damage. I did my best to clean that up, repair what I could, and quickly seal the wound. She currently has a breathing tube inserted to assist her in breathing normally. I hope to remove this sooner than later, but she was very panicked and I don't want to take the chance of her injuring herself further. Right now, she is sedated, and the best thing for her to do is rest. It was quite the severe injury, and she's lucky to be alive."
"Will she recover completely?" Hudson asked.
"She's a strong woman. As long as she rests and takes her time healing, she should be fine. She has a lot of resting to do. I don't expect her to leave here too quickly."