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Navy
THE PIZZA PLACE was hopping, and we had to wait for a bit for a table, so Cade handed Devon five dollars so he could go and play some video games.
I took a seat on the bench by the window while Cade stood beside me, scowling at a couple of other men who were sitting while women were standing. They got the hint and rose to their feet, letting the ladies replace them and Cade relaxed a little. He slid his hand to the back of my neck and stroked it as we waited, and I nearly fell asleep at his gentle touch.
“Wallace, party of three,” the hostess called out.
I stood and Cade let out a whistle that brought Devon jogging toward us, then the three of us followed the young woman to a booth back in the corner. She handed us menus, then went on her way.
“What do you normally get, Devon?” I asked.
“I like their deep dish pepperoni. It’s the best.”
“Ooh, that does sound good.”
“I’m gettin’ a meat lovers, baby, so if you want somethin’ else, feel free,” Cade said, sliding his hand to my thigh.
I gave him a warning glance and he shook his head.
“What? You don’t want meat lovers?”
“I think she’s embarrassed ’cause you keep calling her ‘baby,’” Devon murmured as he continued to look over the menu.
I felt my face heat. “Kill me now,” I whispered.
Devon was right. Cade had called me baby at least forty-seven times since we’d left my house and I’d tried to give him subtle admonishments, none of which he was picking up on.
“What?” Cade feigned confusion. “No. Really? Is that it, baby?”
Devon let out a snort. “Ignore him, Navy. He’s trying to make a point.”
“Oh, yeah? What point would that be?”
“He’s showing you that I don’t care if he shows you how much he obviously loves you. I really don’t. You seem cool. My mom’s not real nice, and that’s okay, it’s why I live with my dad and uncle. I know that if I ever feel weirded out, I can talk to my dad, so just relax and be yourself. You’re obviously into him and it’s nice to see my dad happy. My mom never looked at him like you look at him. I like it.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Are you sure you’re only fourteen?”
Devon grinned. “That’s what it says on my birth certificate, but I’m probably some kind of pod creature with a brain much, much older.”
I couldn’t stop the giggle that bubbled out of me. “I like you, Devon Wallace.”
“I like you too.”
Cade wrapped an arm around me and slid me closer, tucking me against his body. “You done?”
“Done what?”
“Done being all stressy and locked up.”
“Sod off, Cade. I’ll do what I like when I like.”
Devon hooted out a laugh. “I really like her, Dad.”
“I like her too, kid.” Cade leaned over and kissed my temple, whispering, “Love you, beautiful.”
“Love you, too.” I sank into him. “For now.”
Cade chuckled just as our server arrived. Once we’d ordered, our food came quickly, and I found myself relaxing more and more as we ate.
“Can I play more pinball, Dad?” Devon asked.
“Sure, bud. You need more money?”
He grinned. “Nah, I fleeced you last night, remember?”
“How could I forget? My wallet’s ten pounds lighter.”
Devon dropped his serviette on the table before heading toward the arcade and I leaned into Cade. “Your kid’s amazing, Lumpy.”
He wrapped an arm around me and gave me a squeeze. “Yeah, despite all the shit he’s been through, he’s a good egg.”
Our server arrived with the check and the boxes we’d asked for, walking away with Cade’s credit card while we boxed up the food.
“You sure you don’t want any of this?” Cade asked.
“I’m sure. I won’t eat it. I’ll say I’m going to, because it was delicious and I will think to myself, ‘self, you should eat this, it was really great,’ but then, it will sit in my fridge until I ultimately throw it in the bin because I do not eat leftovers.”
Cade chuckled. “That’s weird, you know that, right?”
“Yep.” I grinned. “I need to pee before we go.”
“You do that, I’ll put this stuff out in the truck, then meet you back in here so Dev can play a little longer.”
“Sounds good.”
* * *
Cade
I walked back into the restaurant and saw Devon standing by the table. “Where’s Navy?”
Devon shrugged. “She said she’d be right back.”
“Don’t move,” I ordered and headed toward the bathrooms.
Arriving to chaos.
“Hey!” someone yelled, then a door slammed. People were gathered in the corner outside of the women’s bathroom, and ice hit my belly.
“Who did this to you?” a feminine voice demanded.
I pushed my way through the small crowd and found Navy crumpled on the ground, totally out of it and not at all how I’d left her. “What the fuck is goin’ on?” I growled, rushing toward her.
A petite red-head settled her hand on my chest and shook her head. “Did you lace her drink, asshole?”
I stared at her hand long enough for her to make the right decision and remove it, then I hunkered down beside Navy. “Baby, can you hear me?”
“Cade?”
“Yeah, I’m here. Can you tell me what happened?”
She groaned, licking her lips. “I felt a pinch on my arm, then...”
I glanced around the small crowd. “Did anyone see anything?”
A sea of blank faces looked back at me.
Until a young woman, probably in her early twenties, pushed through two men in their forties, and panted out, “I followed a guy down seventh, but he got into a grey Honda. I got a picture and a plate.”
“Seriously?” I said, rising to my feet.
She nodded, still trying to catch her breath. “He ran out the back door when Trina saw her kinda waiver a bit.”
“He did?” Trina, the redhead, asked.
“Yeah. You missed him because you were helping her.”
“Then why the fuck did you follow him, Raelynn? Oh my god, Dad’s gonna have a shit.”
“I didn’t really think about it.” She shrugged. “I figured he probably did something to her so I decided to see if I could get any information for the cops.”
Trina looked up at me. “Sorry I thought it was you.”
“It’s all good.” I shook my head. “I’d rather the girl squad look out for their own.”
“I’ll airdrop what I have,” Raelynn said, and pulled out her phone.
Once she’d done that, I scooped Navy up, and carried her back out the front.
“Jesus,” Devon hissed. “What the hell?”
“Truck, Dev.”
“Sir?”
I ignored the man’s voice and headed out the front and directly to the truck. Devon unlocked the cab so I could gently settle Navy inside and secure her seatbelt. I heard the voice call, “Sir?” again, and I shut the door and turned to face the man.
“Yeah?”
“Where are you taking that woman?”
“None of your fuckin’ business.” I scowled. “Devon, get in the truck.”
“Sir, I need—”
“You need what?” I snapped, jabbing the tips of my fingers into his chest. “You need to explain how some asshole was able to attack my woman and escape through the emergency exit without the alarm sounding.”
The man sputtered, but ultimately lowered his head in contrition.
“That’s what I thought,” I ground out. “Walk away, asshole, or you and I are gonna have a problem.”
He did, in fact, walk away, and I climbed into the truck.
“What happened to Navy?” Devon asked.
“Not sure, bud,” I said, starting the truck. “I’m gonna find out, though.”
I pulled out of the parking lot and headed north.
“Are we going back to Navy’s?” Devon asked.
“No, we’re heading to the hospital first. It’s near her place.”
“What about Pickles?”
“She’ll be okay for a bit,” I said. “If Navy has to be admitted, we’ll go get the dog and take her to your uncle’s.”
“Okay.”
I pulled into the hospital emergency department and parked. “You okay to hang for a bit, or do you want one of your uncles to come get you?”
“I’m good, Dad. I want to make sure Navy’s okay.”
I gathered Navy into my arms while Devon locked up the truck then we headed inside. There was a wheelchair right by the automatic doors, so I settled her into it and guided her to the desk. “I need someone to look at my woman. She was drugged. I need full bloodwork to find out exactly what she was given.”
“I need you to fill out some paperwork, sir, so we can get her admitted.”
“Jesus,” I hissed. “Fine, but how soon can someone see her?”
“The sooner you fill out the forms, the sooner we can see her,” she snipped, sliding a clipboard toward me.
“Is that Navy Henderson?” a feminine voice asked from my right.
“Yes,” I said, facing her.
She frowned. “What happened?”
“She’s been drugged.”
“Okay, let’s get her into a room.”
“But she needs to fill out—”
“Seriously, Becky?” the woman bit out. “Just give it a rest for a few, okay? I’ll take care of the paperwork.” She took the clipboard and nodded toward me. “Let’s go.”
I didn’t hesitate, guiding Navy’s wheelchair down the hall and into a private room on the right.
“I’m Sylvie. I’ve met Navy a few times when she’s been called for women in need.” She pulled closed the privacy curtain and smiled. “What’s this about her being drugged?”
I filled her in on the events of the evening and Sylvie’s face got redder as I went on.
“God, I hate people sometimes.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Okay, I’ll get the doctor on-call and insist we get a full work-up. Do you think you can get these forms filled out?”
“I’ll do what I can,” I said.
“Great.” She patted the bed. “I’ll have an orderly see if we can get her into—”
“I can do that,” I said, not wanting anyone else to touch her.
“Okay.” She smiled. “I’ll be right back.”
I lifted Navy onto the bed, and she started to come to. “Cade?”
“Yeah, baby, I’m here.”
“I’m so thirsty. Where am I?”
“Hospital.”
“What?” She tried to sit up, but I pushed her down gently.
“Just relax. A nurse has gone to get a doctor. We’re gonna find out exactly what you were drugged with, then we’ll figure out what to do next.”
She gasped. “Pickles.”
“She’ll be fine for a few. If we’re stuck here for long, I’ll go grab her.”
She sank back into the mattress. “Where’s Devon?”
“In the hallway.”
“Oh my god, Lumpy, I’m so sorry.”
I slid my hand into hers. “Why the fuck are you sorry, honey? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“You could have just taken me home to sleep this off. We didn’t need to come to the hospital,” she said sleepily. “Devon should be home, not waiting in a cold hallway.”
“I gave him the choice to go home, beautiful,” I said. “He chose you.”
She sighed. “Bless him.”
“Just rest, Navy. You have nothing to worry about, okay?”
“Okay, Lumpy.” She squeezed my hand and licked her lips. “Can you find me some water, please?”
“Yeah.”
I stood to find her something to drink just as Sylvie walked back in. “Everything okay?”
“She’s really thirsty,” I said.
“Oh, let me get her something. I just need to take some blood first.” She made her way over to Navy and took her pulse. “Navy, it’s me, Sylvie Inders. I’m going to take some blood, are you okay with that?”
Navy blinked a few times and then nodded. “Hi, Sylvie.”
“Hey, honey. I’ll be quick, then I’ll get you some water.”
“Ta.”
Sylvie was, in fact, quick with the blood draw, then she got a pitcher of water and ice that I could keep refilling for Navy.
A doctor came in about twenty minutes after Sylvie had done the blood draw and checked Navy over. Because whoever had jabbed her with the needle had done it in her upper arm, not directly into a vein, and had been interrupted, they hadn’t had the opportunity to do too much damage. Navy was already more alert and starting to feel better.
“Can I go home?” Navy asked.
“I don’t see why not,” the doctor said. “The lab will probably have the results by Monday, but you seem like you’re out of danger. If anything changes, however, you need to come back as soon as possible.”
“I will, Doctor,” she promised.
“Good.” He smiled. “Do you have any questions for me?”
“No, I’m good, thank you.”
“I’ll send Sylvie in with your discharge papers.”
“Thank you.”
Navy sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed.
“Slowly, baby,” I cautioned. “There’s no rush.”
“I need to get home to Pickles, Lumpy. She’s probably going insane.”
“She’ll be fine, sweetheart.” I wrapped my arms around her, pulling her close. “We won’t be much longer.”
She leaned heavily against me. “I’m so tired.”
“We’ll get you out of here and then you can sleep.”
It took another half-hour before we were finally back in my truck and heading back to Navy’s.
“Are we taking Navy home?” Devon asked.
Navy had passed out again in the front seat and she didn’t seem like she was going to wake up anytime soon.
“We’re gonna grab the dog and pack her a bag, Dev,” I said. “Then we’re going back to your uncle’s.”
My kid visibly relaxed.
I, however, wouldn’t be able to do that until Navy was somewhere her asshole of an ex wouldn’t be able to find her.
I called my brother on the way.
“Hey, Cade.”
“Hey. Got a problem.”
“That doesn’t sound good. Is it a Hatch problem or a brother problem?”
I sighed. “I think this falls in the Hatch category.”
“Definitely a Hatch thing,” Devon said.
“Hey, kid,” Connor said through the speaker.
“Hey, Uncle Hatch.”
“What’s goin’ on?”
I filled my brother in on what was going on, and Connor let out a series of expletives once I’d finished. “What’s the plan?”
“I’m gonna head back to her place, pick up the dog, and pack her a bag, then bring her home if that’s okay.”
“I think the club might be safer.”
“Not sure Navy’s ready for the club, Con.”
“You might be right,” he conceded. “I’m not home right now, but you know where everything is.”
“This is true.”
“Okay, I’ll see you after church.”
The officers of my brother’s club met every Wednesday, and they called their meetings ‘Church.’ Not sure why they did, but I’d never really questioned it.
“Sounds good. Thanks, brother.”
The hospital was about fifteen minutes from Navy’s place, even so, we’d made record time. “Hang here, Dev. I’ll be quick.”
“Okay, Dad.”
I fished Navy’s keys out of her purse, then climbed out of the truck, hearing the roar of Harley pipes as I did. There was no way my brother could have made it this quickly, so my guard was up as the bike approached.
I relaxed when I recognized Flea’s helmet. He gave me a chin lift as he swung his leg over and approached. “Hatch said Navy had some trouble. Train and I were at Cassidy’s, so I was close.”
“Thanks, man. Yeah, not sure what happened, she’s been drugged with something.”
“Fuck, seriously?”
I nodded. “Gonna pack her a bag and grab the dog, then take her back to Hatch’s.”
“Okay, I’ll hang here in case someone shows up.”
“Thanks.”
I headed inside where I disarmed the alarm, then made my way to Navy’s bedroom. I ignored the dog for a minute so I could deal with finding a bag to pack a few things in.
I really had no idea what the hell I was looking for, but I found a duffel in her closet, and a laundry basket of freshly folded clothes, which I packed into the duffel, then some sneakers and what I hoped were the right lotions and potions from her medicine cabinet.
Once I was done, I headed back out the front door and set the bag in the back seat with Devon. “I’m just gonna get the dog then we’ll go.”
“Sounds good,” he said.
“Anything weird?” I asked Flea.
He shook his head. “One car’s driven by, but they didn’t stop. I made note of the license plate just in case.”
I nodded, then walked back into the house. Pickles was about to jump out of her skin, so I gathered her crate, food, and a few toys, then picked her up and carried her out to the truck.
“You think you can hold her, bud, or do you want me to put her in her crate?”
“I can hold her,” Devon said.
Navy moaned. “Lumpy?”
“I’m here.” I pulled open her door and leaned in. “You okay?”
“My head...” She licked her lips. “I think I’m going to be sick.”
I didn’t hesitate. I unbuckled her seatbelt and slid her out of the truck where she immediately puked in the bushes next to her driveway.
“Oh my god, Dot’s roses. She’s going to kill me.”
“I’m sure the roses will survive, baby.” I wrapped my arm around her waist. “Come on, let’s get you back in the truck.”
“I just want to crash.”
“And you will. With me. At my brother’s.”
“What?”
“You’re coming home with me.”
Navy shook her head. “I can’t—”
She didn’t finish her argument as she turned and puked in Dot’s roses again. I held back her hair as she got everything out, turning my head and giving Devon a chin lift. “Go check Navy’s fridge for a Sprite or a ginger ale, bud.”
He carried Pickles with him into the house, returning with a ginger ale and handing it to me, along with a plastic bag. “I got this too in case she needs it on the drive.”
“Good thinking.” I opened the soda and handed it to Navy. “Here, baby, sip this.”
“I can’t stay with you,” she said before taking a sip.
“You can and you will.”
“I have no clothes, what about Pick—”
“I’ve packed your bag, grabbed your laptop, and Devon’s got Pickles. If you need anything else, I can come back tomorrow and pick it up for you.”
“Why can’t I stay here?” she asked, taking another sip of the soda. “The doctor cleared me. He said I was good to go.”
“Because it’s not safe,” I pressed. “Just trust me, yeah?”
“Hatch doesn’t mind if I invade his space?”
I smiled. “He doesn’t mind.”
It took her a minute, but she finally nodded, and I relaxed.
“Okay, as soon as you’re feeling better, we’ll go.”
“I think I’m good,” she said, grabbing for my arm as she teetered slightly.
“I’ve got you, honey, let’s get you back in the truck.”
“I’m sorry, Lumpy. I’ve blown up our night.”
“Stop,” I growled. “You’ve got nothing to apologize for, Navy.”
She sighed. “I’m too tired to argue.”
“Correct answer,” I said, leading her back to the truck.
“So bossy,” she grumbled as she climbed into the cab.
I got her belted in, then went and locked up her house after resetting the alarm.
“I’m gonna hang around a bit,” Flea said. “If anyone comes by what do you want me to do?”
“Nothing,” I said. “Just watch and gather information.”
“Gotcha.”
“Thanks, Flea. I appreciate it.”
“No problem.”
I climbed back in the truck and started the engine. “Devon, hand that plastic bag over, would ya?”
Devon did as I asked, but Navy was out again, so I looped the bag around her hand, giving her fingers a squeeze as I did, then backed out of her driveway.
