One More Time (36 page)

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Revenge is the act of passion;

Vengeance is an act of justice.

Samuel Johnson

Bobby

I
t’d been ten days… ten long, agonizing days of watching Courtney continue to fade away. Even after tons of tests and constant monitoring, the doctors couldn’t tell me why she wasn’t waking up. They kept telling me to give it time. Fuck, I’d given it time, but nothing had changed. The room was still so quiet. Courtney always lit up every room she entered, smiling and talking a mile a minute. There was never a dull moment when she was around. Since she’d been in the hospital, though, everything had gone silent. The only sound I could hear were the annoying beeps of all the machines they had her hooked up to.

Our VP, Goliath, had come by earlier and finally broken the news to me about her wreck. His words kept replaying over and over in my head. “
It wasn’t an accident
.” Someone had actually done this on purpose. We were certain that the Black Diamonds had something to do with it, but it just didn’t make any sense to me. Why would they go after her? She’d never done anything to deserve this. It had to be a direct hit against the club. If she hadn’t been with me, they wouldn’t have ever gone after her. I’d failed her. I hadn’t kept her safe, and that thought haunted me every time I looked at her lying in that hospital bed.

I needed to get to the clubhouse to see what I could find out about the Black Diamonds. Courtney’s parents usually spent their days with her, so I knew she wouldn’t be alone. It cut me up inside to leave her, even if it was only for a few hours, but I needed to find out who had hurt her. I had to find something useful… anything we could use against them.

No one was at the clubhouse when I got there, so I could focus on what I needed to do. I hacked into every site in my database, and I didn’t like what I found. The Black Diamonds were a small 1 Percenter’s club based out of Detroit, and they were building their charter rapidly, by any means necessary. They moved into small towns across the country and used intimidation and money to gain control of the area. They were all about numbers, recruiting anyone to get their drugs on the streets and cash into the club’s pockets.

When I finished my research, I went over to the meeting room for church. The Devil Chasers’ president, Bishop, had called us in to discuss everything that had gone down over the past few days. Once everyone was there, I shared what I had learned about the Black Diamonds. Bishop and Goliath told us that it would take time to forge an effective plan, and we needed to be on high alert. The longer I listened, the more impatient I became. I could feel my blood boiling through my veins as I thought about Courtney lying in that hospital. I wanted to go down to their warehouse and rip their fucking throats out for what they had done to her. I took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on what Bishop was saying.

“Crack Nut,” he said as he looked over to me, “we need eyes on their warehouse. I want to know where they are making their deliveries, and when the next shipment is coming in. I want to make sure we get them where it hurts.”

“I’m on it,” I told him.

“Take Goliath and Renegade with you. No mistakes here. I don’t want them to have any idea that we’re watching them.”

I nodded, knowing what he was implying. We had left too many clues behind when we’d set up our surveillance at the Red Dragon’s compound, and it could have cost us.

As soon as we were dismissed from church, I went straight to the hospital. As I walked into Courtney’s room, I noticed a small Christmas tree on the bedside table. Her parents had been there, but thankfully they’d already left for the day. I really wasn’t in the mood to see them. Being there was hard enough without seeing her mother crying nonstop. I knew she blamed me for the accident, but she tried to keep her focus on Courtney. Her father, on the other hand, made his feelings a bit more obvious. He constantly glared at me and never tried to conceal the disgust and anger in his eyes. I didn’t blame him. I deserved it. She wouldn’t have been in that hospital bed if it weren’t for me.

I walked over to her bed and pulled a chair close to the side of the bed to be next to her. God, I missed her. It was the little things that got to me most. I’d always loved holding her hand, feeling the soft touch of her hand in mine. I needed to feel her… to touch her… so I took her hand and slowly rubbed my thumb across her fingers. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to calm my nerves. Trying to break the unbearable silence, I began talking to her, praying that she might actually hear me.

“We had church today to talk about what we’re going to do to the guys that hurt you. I won’t let them get away with it, Court. I love you so much. I don’t know if I can stand this much longer. I need you to come back to me. I need you to keep me from falling over the edge. Please, baby… come back to me.” I looked up and searched her face for any signs of consciousness. Nothing.

Her beautiful voice constantly soothed and entertained me. The silence was like a knife in my heart. I needed her to say something, to keep me from losing my mind. I didn’t know what else to do. We’d tried everything to wake her up. Her mother had brought in her iPod so that she could listen to her favorite music. We’d filled the room with her favorite flowers, and we were constantly talking to her and touching her like the doctors had told us to. She never even budged. Sometimes, I thought maybe she was just being stubborn.

“Court, you have to wake up. You’ve kept me waiting long enough. I need you, baby,” I pleaded with her. I’d said it all before, but still I got no response. She just lay there with her eyes closed like she was sleeping. Her face was pale, and she’d lost weight. I hated it. I couldn’t stand watching her fade away right in front of my eyes. Every time I looked at her, it fueled my need for revenge. I was consumed by my hatred.

I was so tired that I could barely keep my eyes open, so I finally gave in to my exhaustion. I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on her leg. I had almost fallen asleep when I felt her fingertips brush through my hair. I thought it was just my imagination until I felt it again. I lifted my head and saw Courtney opening her eyes.

“Court?” I whispered. “Can you say something? Let me know I’m not dreaming here, baby. Say something.”

Her eyes flickered open and shut several times before she fell back to sleep. She’d never opened her eyes, so for the first time in days, I felt hope. Hope that she might find her way back to me. I sat there for hours, watching for any sign of life from her. I talked to her and rubbed her hand, praying that she would find the strength to wake up.

I don’t know when exactly I fell asleep. I woke up as one of the nurses came in to check Courtney’s vitals.

“She tried to open her eyes last night,” I told her as I leaned forward in my chair.

“That could be a good sign, Bobby. It could mean that she’s about to wake up. It’s important to keep talking to her. She needs all the stimulation she can get. Familiar sounds and touch tend to make a really big difference in helping patients find their way back.”

“I was talking to her last night when it happened.”

“That’s good. Keep it up. Have some of her friends come by and visit with her. Every little bit helps,” she explained.

“Do you think she’s going to pull through this?” I asked.

“If I knew a guy like you was waiting for me, I would do everything I could to get back to you. I’m sure she feels the same way.” God, I hoped she was right. It seemed like I’d been waiting for a lifetime.

Just as the nurse was leaving, Courtney’s doctor came in to review her chart. He turned to me and said, “We need to do another MRI to evaluate the residual function of the brain.” I hated the idea of them doing more tests on her, but I couldn’t tell him no.

“Do whatever you need to do to bring her back to me,” I told him feeling totally defeated.

“We’ll do what we can. You keep talking to her and let me know if there is any change.”

I spent the next few hours watching her and praying for some kind of sign that she would wake up. She’d move her hand, or blink her eyes, but nothing more. The doctors said something about her being in a minimally conscious state and that I needed to be patient. The wait was excruciating, but I had to hope that she would eventually find her way back.

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