Inferno: A Devil Chaser's MC Romance (17 page)

“Bishop’s gotta pay for the shit he pulled with Link and Mule. They’re my best men, and now they’ll be in prison for the next twenty years.” He clenched his fists by his sides and said, “I’ve been watching him with you, and I know he’s got a thing for you. He couldn’t take his eyes off of you at that school fair.”

“You don’t have to do this, Sam. Just let me go. It doesn’t have to be this way.”

“I don’t have a choice! He made me do this. I can’t believe you got involved with him in the first place. What were you thinking?”

“Bishop’s a good man. You just need to talk to him. Maybe you can work something out.”

“I already tried that. He’s made a mess of things, Tess. I’ve got all these guys mad as hell at me back home! They’re all after me, and it’s all his fault! All he had to do was keep making the fucking deliveries, but he wouldn’t do it! They’re gonna kill me.”

“Please let me talk to him. We can work this out!”

“Stop! I already told you it’s too late!” Duce dragged his hand through his hair in frustration. He began clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white. Tessa was worried that he might do something drastic. She began to wiggle her wrists back and forth in hopes of breaking free from the ropes that confined her. When she gave them a hard tug, the phone fell from her pants onto the floor.

“Fuck! What did you think you were gonna do with that? You gonna call your man to the rescue? That’s not gonna happen, Sis. I’ll be long gone before he finds you hanging here,” Duce told her with an evil smile. He picked up her phone and threw it across the room. Tessa’s heart dropped as she watched it slam into the wall and shatter on the floor.

Duce’s attention was abruptly drawn to some movement outside the window. He pulled back the curtain and searched intently for what had passed by. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a handgun as he cursed beneath his breath.

“Looks like we’re gonna have to speed this up,” Duce growled as he walked over to her. He took the gun and rested it on her temple as he said, “Bishop will think twice before he messes with the Diablos again.”

He pressed the barrel of the gun harder into her skull. She screamed in fear as he pressed his finger against the safety. Her head jerked to the side when the front door crashed open. Tessa winced as the bright sunlight filled the room. Bishop stood in the doorway with his gun pointed at Duce. He grimaced as he saw her hanging from the rafter.

“Put it down, motherfucker, or I’ll end her right now!” Duce commanded.

“Let her go, Duce. This is between you and me,” Bishop shouted.

“You’re wrong about that, asshole. You made it club against club when you stopped the deliveries and planned that goddamn setup! You’re gonna pay for that shit, motherfucker!” Duce roared.

Silence filled the room as Tessa’s eyes locked on Bishop’s. She slowly nodded her head encouraging him to take his shot. He gave her a knowing look as he gripped his gun firmly. Tessa closed her eyes tightly and swiftly threw her head back, slamming into Duce’s face. Duce stumbled back as he pressed the trigger of his gun. The loud roar of the explosion filled the room as the bullet pierced through Tessa’s flesh. Her body fell limp as the blood began to flow from the wound in her chest.

Sheppard and Goliath rushed into the room with their guns drawn. Duce was lifting his gun to take another shot when Goliath fired his weapon. He shot Duce in the head, and his lifeless body fell to the ground.

Bishop rushed over to Tessa and lifted her from the ropes that were straining against her wrists. Sheppard took out his knife and quickly began cutting her down. Tessa’s feeble body tumbled into Bishop’s arms. Tears began streaming down her face as she slowly lifted her head to look at him.

“Call an ambulance!” Bishop ordered Sheppard. He looked over to Goliath and said, “Grab me some towels. I need to stop the bleeding.”

Goliath got several towels from the bathroom and brought them over to Bishop as he carried Tessa to the small sofa. He cradled her in his lap as he pressed the towels against her wound. They waited quietly for the ambulance to arrive. He lightly kissed her forehead and whispered, “I’ve got you. It’s gonna be okay. I’m sorry I didn’t get here sooner.”

“Cole, it was my brother.”

“Who was your brother?”

“Duce was my brother. He was Sam.” Tessa told him as her eyes began to flutter closed. She was feeling weaker by the minute. Blood soaked through the towels as Bishop held them to her wounds. She could hear the siren of the ambulance just before she passed out.

Chapter 26

Bishop

Bishop paced the floor of the waiting room as he waited to hear from Tessa’s doctor. She hadn’t woken up since she passed out in the cabin. She had lost a lot of blood, and he worried that it might have been more than her body could handle. He was angry with himself for letting this happen.
I never should’ve left her this morning. Why didn’t I take her with me? FUCK! Her own damn brother! How could he do this to her? How didn’t I know?

Tessa’s doctor entered the waiting room with a serious look on his face. “Are you a relative of Mrs. Tessa Campbell?”

“I’m her husband.” Bishop lied, knowing they wouldn’t tell him anything if he wasn’t a relative. “How is she? Is she going to be okay?”

“She lost a great deal of blood, but I think she’s going to be fine. We were lucky that the bullet didn’t hit any of her organs. We hoped to reduce some of the scarring by having a plastic surgeon come in to close the wound. She’s going to need a lot of rest and someone to take care of the bandages while she heals. Is it true that she just lost her house in a fire?”

“Yes, but she’s going to be moving in with me. I’m going to take care of her.”

“Good. She’ll need to stay the night in the hospital so we can monitor her and check for infection. If she does well tonight, we should be able to release her late tomorrow afternoon.”

“Thank you, Doctor. When can I see her?” Bishop pleaded.

“She’s still heavily sedated, but you can see her now. I’ll show you to her room.”

Tessa was sleeping soundly when Bishop entered the room. She looked so peaceful lying in the hospital bed. It was like the whole thing had never happened. Bishop pulled a chair close to her bed and took her hand in his. He brought her hand to his mouth, lightly kissing her as she continued to sleep. He sat with her for several hours until he dozed off in his chair.

Bishop lifted his head when Courtney stormed into the room with Bobby following behind. “What the hell happened? Is she okay?” She yelled with tears in her eyes. “I should have never told her to go out with you. How could you let something like this happen to her?”

Bobby put his hand on her shoulder and said, “This wasn’t his fault, Court. No one thought Duce would do something like this.”

“It never would’ve happened if she wasn’t involved with him. Now she’s laid up here sliced and diced like a fucking tomato, and it’s all his fault!”

Bishop stood facing her, “You’re right. It’s all my fault. I should’ve been there with her. I shouldn’t have left this morning. I knew he was fucked up, and I should’ve kept her safe. I gotta live with that. I just hope she can forgive me for not being there when he showed up.”

“Would you both stop please?” Tessa muttered. She reached out and took Bishop’s hand. Her voice was weak as she said, “I’m fine, Courtney. Things would’ve been a lot worse if he didn’t get there when he did. Bishop saved my life, and I don’t blame him for any of this. Bobby’s right. There was no way he could have known Sam would come after me like that.”

“Who’s Sam? I thought Duce kidnapped her,” Bobby asked.

“We don’t have to talk about that right now. Duce is gone. It’s over, and you’re safe,” Bishop began.

“Duce was my brother. His real name was Sam. I’m so sorry he did all that to your club and Bishop’s bike. I can’t believe he would do all that to you…or me,” Tessa told Bobby.

Bishop squeezed her hand and bent over to kiss her on her forehead. “Stop. None of that matters right now. I know you feel bad about your brother, and I’m sorry how things turned out for him. But you have to focus on getting better now. How ya feeling?”

“I feel kinda drunk or something, but I’m doing pretty good I think. They must have me on some pretty good pain medicine,” Tessa said with a smile. “Have you checked on the kids? I’m sure they’re wondering why I haven’t called.”

“They’re fine. I talked to your mom a few hours ago. She’s going to come by later today to check on you. You need to get some rest.”

He turned to Courtney and said, “I’m going to need your help today. I want you to get with some of the girls from the club and go get some things for Tessa and the kids. She’s gonna need some clothes and things when we get home. You’ll need to get enough to last a couple of weeks. Just bring them over to my house when you’re done.”

“What are you talking about, Cole? Why would she take them to your house?” Tessa asked.

“You and the kids are moving in with me,” Bishop said firmly.

“No. We. Are. Not! I’ll have to find a place or go stay with my mother for a while. We can’t just up and move in with you!”

“Yes, you can, and you will. There’s no way I’m letting you out of my sight after all of this. I’ve already had the girls from the club working on the house to get things ready for you to move in. Myles and Drake will have to share a room for a little while, but Izzie will have her own room. They should have everything ready by the time we leave here tomorrow.”

“You’ve truly lost your mind, Cole Bishop. We’ve only known each other for like
a day
. Now you’re telling me that I’m moving in with you. That’s not going to happen. You’re only saying that because I’m hurt. You’ll think differently when I’m better.”

“You said you loved me. I love you more than you can even begin to understand. You’re coming to my house, so I can take care of you. Now, get some rest. I’m going out in the hall to talk to Courtney and Bobby.” He gave her a hasty kiss on her lips before he walked out of the room. He motioned for Bobby to follow.

“If you need me, call me. I will be here in two seconds flat. The guy is obviously nuts about you. Just know that if he hurts you, I am gonna chop off his balls!”

“Oh good god… Don’t tell him that! He will get all excited thinking you have his balls on your mind. Trust me. Those threats don’t really seem to faze him. I’m gonna be fine. Thank you for checking on me. Love ya girl.”

“Love you, too. Take care of yourself, and I’ll come see you tomorrow at Bishop’s when you get settled,” Courtney said. Tessa sighed with frustration as she watched her walk out of the room.

When Courtney made it into the hall, Bishop and Bobby were talking quietly. Bobby was taking down notes on an old receipt. “We’ll take care of it. You go take care of your girl. We’ll grab everything she’ll need and bring it over to your place tonight. It’ll be ready when she gets there. Just let me know if you think of anything else she may need,” Bobby assured him.

“Thanks man. I really appreciate it,” Bishop patted him on the shoulder and headed for Tessa’s room.

“Bishop?” Courtney called as she walked over to him. She placed her hand on his arm and said, “I’m sorry about what I said in there. I know you didn’t mean for that to happen to her. When I get upset, words just seem to spew from my mouth! I know you care about her. I was just worried about her.

“It’s okay, Courtney. I know you meant well, and you love her. It’s easy to see why you’d be mad at me. I deserved it. I just hope she’ll give me the chance to make it up to her.”

“She will. She’s already forgiven you. You just need to take care of her and make her rest. I’ll call her mom and see if she can keep the kids a little longer. They can stay with me for a little while if that helps.”

“Thanks. I think that’d be good. I’m sure she’s gonna want to see them soon, but she needs some time to heal. Maybe I can get her to wait a few days before she gets them to come home. I’ll see you both at the house tomorrow.”

Courtney gave him a bear hug before she turned to leave. Bishop noticed that Bobby reached for her hand as they walked down the hall.

When he walked back into Tessa’s room, she was sitting up waiting on him with an intense look on her face. “We need to talk.”

“Whatcha got on your mind?”

“I need to know how you see this all playing out. You and Myles have been on your own for a long time. We haven’t even talked about what’s going on between us, and now you’re talking about moving us all into your home. That’s a lot to take on, Cole. I’m not sure we’re ready for that. What if you don’t like having us there? What if we don’t work out? I don’t want my kids to get hurt again.”

“I wouldn’t do this if I wasn’t sure, Tess. The kids will be fine. They already get along great, and Drake and Myles have become friends without us even trying. It’ll be good for Myles to have y’all around. I told you last night that you were
mine
. I take care of what’s mine, and I plan on taking real good care of you. You just have to trust me.”

“Is anything ever easy with you?” Tessa asked with sarcasm.

“Loving you has been pretty easy. The rest will work itself out.” Bishop sat on the bed beside her. “We’ve got a good thing here. I don’t plan on letting anything happen to us. It’ll take some time to get used to the change, but it’ll be worth it. You’re worth it.”