Tanner
Present Day
Jos shifted in her sleep, her brows puckered. I traced my index finger over them, and she sighed again, leaning forward into my touch.
“Reid,” she breathed. “Reid?” She jerked upright, looking around the room dazedly. “Reid?”
“Sorry, sweetheart. I’m the only Reid present.”
She squeezed the back of her neck with one hand as she fell back against the plastic chair she was sitting in. “I couldn’t find him,” she muttered. “No one could tell me where he was.”
My gut clenched. “You named our son Reid?”
“It was the only way I thought he would ever have your last name,” she said, her shoulders lifting in a small shrug.
I was glad the head of the bed was lifted so I didn’t have to look up at her. It seemed surreal just to be talking to her. That we were discussing her son—our son—blew my mind. I’d never thought about having kids. Lexa, Max, and whatever kids Matt ended up having could carry on our last name.
I was a father.
I was responsible for a little life I didn’t even know existed.
Maybe I should have been pissed Jos kept him from me, but considering how badly I’d treated her that last morning, I was pretty sure I deserved it.
“Do you have a picture?” I asked, my hands oddly sweaty.
Her lashes lifted, revealing surprised eyes, but she pulled her phone from her jeans pocket and swiped her thumb over the screen a few times before offering it to me. “I took these last night while the boys were eating,” she said as my eyes landed on a picture of two little boys sitting in identical high chairs feeding each other spaghetti.
I swiped through her collection of pictures, all of which were of my son. I traced his image with my thumb. There was no denying this kid was mine. He looked just like me, with the exception of those curls. That was all I could see of his mother in him until I found a picture of him smiling. The way his lips lifted reminded me of Jos.
The next picture was a selfie of mother and son, and my heart turned over. “Will you print this picture off for me?” I asked her, unable to tear my gaze from the picture of Reid’s face squished to his mother’s cheek, giving her a sloppy kiss. The look on her face was full of love, reminding me of our very first night together and the way she’d looked up at me after I’d taken her virginity.
“Um, yeah, sure. If you really want me to.”
I nodded and finally looked up from the screen. “I would really appreciate it, Jos.”
Her frown deepened. “Are you feeling okay?”
Handing her back the phone, I didn’t answer. “They’re doing my surgery today?”
Sliding the phone into her pocket, she nodded. “I spoke to Doc last night. They can still do the surgery this morning, but he wasn’t sure what time. Actually, the ortho surgeon here is better than the one in Eureka. He’s more experienced and better qualified. Maybe you won’t need a second surgery.”
“Yeah, that’s good.” I closed my eyes, feeling the effects of the long ride from Eureka to Creswell Springs the night before. I was so damn tired, but at least my pain was completely manageable with the pain meds now.
“Aggie was talking about making all your favorite foods last night. So as soon as you feel up to eating, just let me know, and I’ll tell her to get started on it.”
Thinking of all the food I would have killed to eat right then, my stomach grumbled. “Tomorrow,” I told her, rubbing my four-fingered hand over my abdomen. “They told me last night I couldn’t have anything to eat or drink until after my surgery.”
“Okay, tomorrow. Anything you want, I’ll get them to make it.”
“I can’t have what I really want,” I muttered, looking straight at her. Her cheeks filled with pink, and I began to relax. “Come here.” Holding out my hand to her, I held my breath, waiting to see if she would take it.
For the span of two heartbeats, she hesitated, before taking my hand and letting me tug her into bed beside me. Everything inside of me suddenly felt at peace, and I carefully shifted onto my side, not paying any attention to the pain in my back at the movement. Her arm went around my waist, her forehead pressing into my chest. I cupped her ass, squeezing it gently.
“Don’t run away from me again,” I pleaded, my voice low and rough.
She blew out a heavy exhale but nodded. “Okay.”
“I won’t flirt with anyone but you from here on out. I’m sorry if it hurt you.”
“Tanner—”
I kissed the top of her head. “I’m sorry I was a dick to you two years ago. I didn’t mean anything I said that morning.”
“Then why did you say it?” she whispered.
“Because I was an idiot.”
A soft snort left her. “True.”
I smacked her on the ass, making her squeal, then giggle. The sound filled my soul, and I grinned down at her when she tipped her head back to look up at me. “I kind of have a thing for you, Jos.”
Her eyes darkened. “I’ve kind of always had a thing for you, Tanner.”
I lowered my head, kissing the corner of her mouth. “Will you give us a chance to see what this thing is?” I already knew what this thing was. I loved this woman with every cell in my body. But I needed time to show her that.
“Are you sure you want to?” she asked hesitantly.
“Never been surer of anything in my life, baby.” I skimmed my nose against hers, my breath teasing across her lips. “I’ve missed you so fucking much the last two years. Nearly dying showed me that I want to at least have the chance to build a future with you.”
Her lashes lowered, and she inhaled slowly before blowing her breath out in a huff. When her eyes met mine again, she smiled. “Okay. We can try to see what this ‘thing’ between us is and where it could go.” She leaned in, her fingers cupping my chin. “But I swear on all that is holy, Tanner Reid, if you break my heart, I’ll gut you.”
Heart full, I grinned down at her before kissing her.
A tap on the door pulled us apart, and I glanced over at the entrance to the private room. Doc didn’t think I needed to be in ICU now, but he warned I might end up back there for a little while if my body didn’t handle the surgery well for my arm.
I kept my good arm wrapped around Jos as the door cracked open, and Raider stuck his head inside. “Hey, Bates is being a little pissant. He wants to talk to you and take a statement. You up for that, or do you want me to sic Gracie on him?”
The air in my lungs turned to ice, and my hand clenched into a fist on Jos’s back, instinctively pulling her in close.
Bates.
I’d forgotten about that motherfucker.
“Get in here and lock the goddamn door!” I yelled.
Raider didn’t question me. He moved so he was inside the room with us and used his back to hold the door shut since there wasn’t a damn lock.
“What the hell, Tanner?” Jos squeaked when I sat up, looking around frantically for somewhere to hide her.
“Something wrong, brother?” Raider asked, his voice calm as he watched me from across the room.
“Bates is the one who took me to Fontana,” I whisper-shouted. “Help me hide Jos before that bastard sees her.”
“Bates?” Raider’s entire face changed, and he pulled his gun from the holster hidden under his cut. “That motherfucker did this to you?”
“Hide Jos!” I roared when he started to open the door.
“He’s already fucking seen her,” Raider yelled back. “He’s been sniffing around the clubhouse for the past few weeks. He’s seen her plenty of times.”
“Goddamn it,” I groaned. “Are you the only one here? Please tell me there are other brothers in the waiting room somewhere.”
“Jet is talking to Bates at the nurses station. Colt is getting us some coffee, and Spider is watching the lobby,” he assured me.
“The sheriff helped do this to you?” Jos breathed out raggedly. “He helped that monster hurt you?”
“The bomb blast threw me between two cars and knocked me out,” I explained. “The next thing I knew, I was in some trunk. I passed out again from pain and then woke up to Bates and Fontana standing over me. He only stayed the first day. The rest was Fontana.”
“He’s a dead man,” Raider seethed.
“You can’t kill a cop.” Jos tried to rationalize. “Not somewhere there is an entire building full of witnesses.”
I almost grinned down at her. The fire burning in her eyes and making her shake was a hell of a turn-on, but I was too scared of Bates snatching her from me and taking her to Fontana. “You have to get out of here,” I told her, pushing her legs off the bed and urging her to stand. “Raider will take you back to the compound. Bates can’t see you with me.”
She stood but glared down at me. “I’m not leaving until after your surgery.”
“Jos, please,” I begged her unashamedly. “Fontana knows you’re the only thing that could even begin to crack me. He will use you to get to me, and Bates is his little bitch.”
She grasped my four-fingered hand, squeezing lightly. “Calm down. Give me a second to think. Okay?”
“Baby—”
She covered my mouth with one hand. “Be quiet, Tanner. I’m thinking.”