Amy (Aces MC Series Book 3.5) Read online

He looked at me intently as if expecting me to explain further. I couldn't believe that I had actually mentioned a family member and mentally kicked myself as I squirmed slightly under his scrutiny.

  "Your brother as in a member of the Aces?" he asked in an unreadable tone.

  I tried to fake confusion but I was startled by a commotion beside me. I turned to see Pick being dragged along the floor unconscious, and stood quickly knocking the drinks over from the table in front of me. It was as if everything from that point happened in slow motion, I glanced across the seating area towards Pearl as she scrambled around in her handbag searching for her phone. Her eyes met mine, I saw the panic register as two large arms wrapped around my waist as I was jolted backwards.

  Letting out a high pitched scream I fought with all I had as I was lifted from the floor by the man's strong arms. My efforts were futile and my screams unheard over the noise of the music as he held me effortlessly. I managed to glance back towards the group as I was taken through a large door at the back of the club to see Pearl being tossed around like a rag doll between several men, and the glare in Sheldon's eye's worried me as he watched me being carried away.

  "Fuck!" I hit the ground with force and slid across the concrete only stopping the momentum as I slammed my arms out in front of me. The room was silent apart from my heavy breathing but I didn't dare move the hair from my face to see my fate.

  The silence was deafening but I held firm trying to gather my thoughts quickly although I knew the man was still in the room.

  Think Amy think! I played the mantra in my head assessing the situation. Would they want me dead? It was a possibility but would they want to start a war with the Aces?

  I didn't have long to think as the door that I'd just come through opened allowing the noise of the club to fill my surroundings before it was slammed shut. I heard heavy footsteps walk in my direction and was yanked from my position on the ground by the material of my dress around the back of my neck and pushed me into the corner of the room.

  I opened my eyes to see three men standing in front of me and hastily searched their faces trying to look for distinctive features should I get the opportunity to describe them to the club, but by the look on their faces, I doubted I was getting out of here and crumbled inside at the prospect.

  "Shall we have some fun first Jason?" the man on the right asked looking at me as if I was a prized possession.

  Jason kissed his teeth and slapped the man on the arm, "Shut your gums, I've got a job to do." He surged towards me and I squealed holding my hands out to try to stop him from touching me. He simply laughed and swatted them away like a fly before grabbing me by the scruff of my neck and pulling me into the centre of the room.

  I didn't feel the pain at first, it was surreal watching the blade being pulled up high and then thrust into my stomach. The noise around me instantly became muffled and I heard a slicing sound like an animal carcass being cut open.

  Lights, I could see lights shining brightly as the room became a hive of activity. I felt drunk as I now lay on the cold ground helpless and lifted my hand to try and focus on something as the room span around me. Why did I have blood on my hand?

  "Amy, stay with us babe. We're gonna get you to the hospital." I turned my head slightly as Duke slowly came into focus. I gave him the goofiest smile I could muster as I tried in vain to stop my eyes from closing.

  I continued to hear the commotion around me as I felt myself being lifted from the ground in someone's strong arms as if I weighed nothing. "You're doing good babe, not long." The voice whispered reassuringly as a light kiss was placed on my temple.

  Not long for what? All I wanted to do was sleep but I wasn't allowed as I was constantly being slapped on the cheek and told to wake up.

  More lights...for god's sake please just turn them off and leave me alone.

  "So how's she doing?"

  Diesel...I need to speak to him and let him know I'm okay.

  "You've got to understand that our main priority is Miss Stokes."

  "Well of course she is."

  I'm fine...really I'm fine.

  "Surgery went well and Miss Stokes will make a full recovery."

  "I sense a but there Doc, be straight with me. I thought I was gonna lose her tonight, I just need you to be straight with me."

  Lose me...how was he going to lose me?

  "There's no easy way of saying this but we couldn't save the baby."

  "Baby what fucking baby?" I heard Diesel's harsh tone as he questioned the other person.

  What are they talking about? Why won't my eyes open?

  "Your sister was around ten weeks pregnant."

  Pregnant?...Please eyes open, I need to speak to them...I really need to...

  "How am I gonna tell her Spike?"

  Diesel?

  "Does Recon know?"

  "I doubt it, although he's been trying to get in here for the past eight hours.

  Recon's here...he does care...

  "What's the plan?"

  "Wait for her to wake up and then I'll have to tell her."

  I am awake I just need to open my eyes...

  "No she hasn't woken up yet Duke...I'll call you as soon as she does."

  Something was different this time, I wasn't in a dream like state and I could feel the pain in my stomach and my head was throbbing.

  "I need something for the pain Diesel." I hadn't yet opened my eyes but I knew it was Diesel in my room from the conversation I'd heard.

  "Fucking hell Amy you gave me a fright, you gave us all a fucking fright." I heard the buzzing of the alarm beside the bed as Diesel alerted the nurse's station. "How you feeling?"

  "Like I've been stabbed!" I said dryly.

  Diesel chuckled, "That's my Ames." He leaned over and placed a kiss on my forehead as I heard the door to my room open.

  "Good afternoon Miss Stokes, I'm Megan and I'll be looking after you. Can you tell me if you're in any pain?"

  I pointed to my stomach and then my head still unable to open my eyes. "The brightness is hurting my eyes, are you able to shut the blinds or turn off the lights?"

  "Yeah sure." Diesel busied himself around the room doing what I'd asked in order to make me more comfortable. This is how he coped with things, he would now spend every waking hour trying to make sure that I was oaky by fussing around me. He was a pleaser not in the same league as Spike but we'd all been brought up with morals and looked after the people we cared for.

  "I'll increase the morphine and then take your temperature."

  I smiled at the nurse as she busied herself around the room tending to me and briefly caught Diesel's eye. He pursed his lips tightly and smiled but it didn't meet his eyes, he had something on his mind and I knew I'd have to wait until the nurse had left before he would open up.

  Megan went about her business but I was slowly losing patience and needed her out of here.

  "Are you now comfortable Miss Stokes?" she asked pleasantly.

  "I'm fine thank you Megan, I'll call should I need anything." I said dismissing her. Megan looked between Diesel and I, and could obviously feel the mounting tension by the way her eyes widened before scampering from the room taking all of the equipment with her.

  "What is it Diesel, you're worrying me?" I asked concerned by the way he was staring at me.

  He unfolded his arms and pushed from the wall to make his way beside me, to perch himself on the leather chair. "Did you know that you were pregnant?"

  His words quickened my heartbeat and I immediately placed my hand on my bandaged stomach. My head swelled with information as I tried to process what he'd just said. My period had been late, in fact I hadn't had one for two months but I'd put that down to stress. I had also become unwell lately and had struggled to eat certain foods, oh my god could I possibly be pregnant? I looked between my heavily wrapped stomach and back at Diesel and saw the sadness in his eyes. Did that mean that I wasn't pregnant anymore?

  The tears automatically trickled down
my cheeks as I fanned my fingers over my tummy holding it protectively. Diesel moved from the chair and sat on the edge of the bed as he pulled me into his embrace, holding me close to his chest as I mourned the loss that was my baby. I hadn't ever had any real thoughts of becoming a mother but wasn't it every girls dream to have a baby? I sobbed for what may have been. I didn't care that I hadn't known I was pregnant, this was raw emotion I couldn't help how I was feeling.

  "I'm sorry to be the one to tell you Amy, I really am." Diesel loosened his hold on me and held me at arm's length so he could look directly into my eyes.

  I smiled slightly trying to let him know that I was feeling a little better. I wasn't, I was fucking crushed inside but although Diesel was my brother, he was a man and they didn't do crying women too well.

  I let out a sigh, "Does Recon know?" I asked and remembered hearing a conversation when I was semi conscious that took place between Spike and Diesel.

  "No, I didn't think it was my place to tell him Ames. I wanted to break the news to you first and you can then do with the information as you see fit."

  "Thank you," I said placing my hand onto his lower arm.

  He looked at me confused, "For what?"

  "Family values."

  Diesel scoffed, "You're my priority Amy over everyone. It's you, me and Spike against the world remember?" I sniggered at his comment. When we were younger we used to parade around like the three musketeers causing havoc until they realised I had breasts and was different to them. "Recon's my club brother but you're blood Ames and this situation needed to be handled correctly."

  I squeezed his arm which made him smile, we'd had a difficult upbringing and things hadn't been made easier with our dad dying of Cancer but we'd turned out okay all considering and it was the club that had helped us.

  "I knew you were shagging Recon but I didn't realise it was serious enough for babies." I rolled my eyes, "Uh, I see!"

  I let out a sigh, "I don't want this conversation with you yet Diesel, I need to process what's gone on. I'm still coming to terms with being stabbed and losing a baby I didn't even know I was having."

  "I understand, I'm sorry for pushing."

  "No you're fine, I just have so much going on up here," I stated tapping the side of my head. "But if you look at the flip side of things it was probably for the best."

  Diesel looked at me confused, "What do you mean?"

  "Come on Diesel, we've been shagging for well over six months now and he hasn't once mentioned commitment. Can you imagine bringing a baby into all of that mess?" I gave him a small smile but the words were ripping me apart as they came from my mouth. I was right but it didn't lessen the blow and help with the loss I was feeling inside. My thoughts went quickly to Shaun, Diesel and Amber hadn't planned for him to be conceived but he'd been a welcome addition to the family. Maybe this was god's way of just telling me that I wasn't ready yet but I would be in the future.

  "There'll be plenty of time for me to have a family and with someone who loves me the way that I love them." I said quietly as I glanced toward Diesel but immediately saw the horror on his face. "What is it?" I asked concerned.

  "Nothing Amy, I just think you should get some rest. You've had a rough twenty-two hours and one hell of a shock, I just think you need to take it easy."

  Diesel didn't make eye contact and busied himself retrieving his jacket from the back of the chair, "Don't fucking fob me off, what is it Diesel?" I shouted as I sat forward in the bed feeling a shooting pain in my stomach.

  "Amy, let's do this later babe, please let's just do this later." Diesel walked towards the door fastening his jacket.

  "NO! Let's do this now. You either tell me or I'll get Spike in here and you know that he can't keep secrets."

  Diesel stopped in his tracks and slowly turned on his heels so that he was facing me. He sniffed and wiped a tear that had trickled down his cheek with the back of his hand before stepping closer towards the bed.

  "You're scaring me Diesel, what's going on?"

  He took a deep breath and placed his hands in his pockets, still unable to make eye contact. "There were complications when they operated on you."

  "Go on!" I said trying to get him to open up and put me out of my misery.

  "This is difficult Ames."

  "I don't care, go on!"

  Diesel let out a long sigh, "You won't be able to have children Ames, there was nothing they could do."

  "What do you mean...nothing as in nothing?" Diesel simply nodded his head and raised his hand to touch me but I pulled away abruptly. "Don't fucking touch me. I don't want you or any other club member near me," I spat angrily. I knew it wasn't Diesel's fault or any other club member for that matter but I was angry and I needed to blame someone, and it was better for me to take that hatred out on the club rather than hating myself for agreeing to help them with their latest operation. Diesel had warned me against helping the club as he didn't want me to put myself in danger but I thought I knew best and because of that I had paid the ultimate price.

  I registered the hurt on Diesel's face but I didn't care, I wanted to be alone and needed him out of this room so I could become consumed with my own grief. "Didn't you hear me? I want you to leave now!" I screamed grabbing the pillow from behind me and launching it in his direction. The pain ripped through my stomach at the sudden movement and I let out an almighty scream. Diesel surged forward catching the pillow and coming to my aid but I swatted him away before laying down. "Just go Diesel, just fucking go and leave me alone." He was hurt and I could see him battling with what to do but he knew I'd be stubborn and he wouldn't win.

  Diesel nodded his head understanding what I'd just said and turned slowly before walking out of the room. Letting out a loud sigh I tried to contemplate the chain of events and the information Diesel had just given me. I obviously wouldn't be taking what he'd just said as gospel, I'd need to talk to a professional but if his words were true and I had no reason to disbelieve him, then my whole world had just crumbled around me.

  I knew one thing for sure though, I couldn't let Recon know of the situation. Diesel and Spike were family so I knew that they'd keep it quiet if I asked them to and to be fair, they had up until now. If I alerted Recon to the situation, then he would only go all out to try to catch the guy responsible for stabbing me if the club hadn't already but I knew that it wouldn't end there, if they got their man then the Dyers would take something of ours and so the friction would continue. If I put a stop to it tonight hopefully everything would become a little better, although the Aces would probably want retribution for the hurt and pain I'd suffered even though they weren't informed about the baby.

  I lay on the bed deep in my thoughts when a light knock on the door startled me. I wasn't ready for visitors and was hoping that it was only one of the duty nurses asking if everything was okay. I slowly sat up, still processing everything that had gone on recently and was surprised when Spike put his head around the door.

  "Are you up for visitors?" he asked hopefully.

  "No I'm not Connor, I've got a lot of things going on at the moment." He raised his brows and stared at me confused by my address towards him. I'd always referred to him and the rest of the guys by their road names but I had just this minute decided to call him by his Christian name trying my best to distance myself as much as possible from the club and its members. Connor nodded his head slowly before retreating from the room making sure he closed the door behind him.

  I took a deep breath and rested my hand on my tummy rubbing it comfortingly. I knew there wasn't a baby inside but I felt empty knowing that I would never be able to have children. The tears fell without me even realising I was crying for my loss, staining my nightgown with the water dripping from my cheeks. How the hell was I going to get over this?

  Recon

  "What do you mean she doesn't want to see me?" I asked trying to make my way past Diesel.

  "As I said, it's not just you it's everyone. The doctor said she neede
d to rest and that means no visitors." Diesel grabbed my forearms tightly making it clear that I wasn't getting past, no matter how hard I tried.

  I was tense from this standoff and how long it was taking for me to be able to see her. I'd gotten the call from Bear earlier, informing me that Amy had been injured in an altercation with the Dyers but at this stage, I was still none the wiser as to how serious it was as no one was talking. I knew that she'd had an operation and that she was now in recovery but I needed to see her for my own peace of mind. I stepped back and Diesel's hands fell from my arms as I regained my composure.

  "Do you mind if I sit and wait?" I asked pointing towards the chairs in the waiting area not far from Amy's room.

  Diesel shrugged, "I can't guarantee how long it'll be before she's allowed visitors but it's a free country." Diesel stated a little standoffish before he turned on his heels and walked towards Spike. I suppose he was still concerned about Amy's welfare although he must've known that I'd never hurt her. I placed my hand in my pocket and wrapped my fingers firmly around the box containing the ring that I was going to use to propose to Amy. I'd bought it six weeks ago and had been looking for the perfect opportunity to ask the woman I loved to marry me but things had been a little hectic of late. It wasn't the norm to propose, you could simply claim a woman by making her your old lady but Amy was special, one in a million and she deserved better.

  I sat on the blue plastic chairs that were positioned around the waiting room, and stretched out my legs trying to get comfortable as I knew I could be sitting here for a while. Diesel was protective of Amy and rightly so but if he was stating no one was to visit her, even I wasn't that fucking stupid to try and defy him.

  Sitting alone gave me time to reflect. I'd pursued Amy about six months ago, I knew that I shouldn't have but she was fucking gorgeous and I couldn't help myself. At first, it was my cock doing all the talking and she seemed to enjoy being my booty call as much as I did hers but as time went on, I developed feelings for her. I'd told myself when it first started that I wasn't to fall for her, she was Diesel's little sister, Spike's cousin and the clubs sweetheart but there was this pull between us that I just couldn't resist.