Read Online Damaged & Dangerous: The Sacred Hearts MC Book VI by A. J. Downey - Free Book Online Page A

bags in it. And the fourth one, hanging,
was almost empty. No wonder I had to pee so bad!
    I looked down at myself and frowned, I didn’t recognize the
tee shirt I was in, but it was a puzzle for later. Thirteen was walking me out
into the hall and I went with it, a little afraid of what would happen if he
let me go. I felt so strange! He turned me loose just inside the bathroom door
and shut it behind him, closing me into the small space by myself. I did what
needed doing and washed my hands, grateful for the counter to hold me up.
    I opened the door and the two men were waiting on the other
side. I let Thirteen help me back to bed.
    “You hungry?” the doctor asked.
    “Starving, actually.”
    “You two talk. I’ll fix you some soup, then I gotta get out
of here.”
    I frowned, “How long have you been here?” I asked.
    “Found you two days ago,” Thirteen said softly. The doctor
went out into my kitchen.
    “Pig?” I asked fearfully.
    “I been keeping him updated but he hasn’t felt the need to
stop by.” His green eyes cooled and turned more stormy blue and I nodded
carefully.
    “Who is he?” I asked quietly.
    “A friend,” he answered simply. I gave him a look and he
laughed softly, but then his face grew solemn. “I know you’re a smart girl,
Rocket. Which is why I can’t figure how you got here.”
    “Don’t change the subject,” I said softly and stared at my
hands, which were folded in my lap. He tipped a finger beneath my chin and
lifted my gaze to his.
    “It’s really better if you don’t know. Sometimes ignorance
is bliss, same reason why you told me not to tell you my last name.” I nodded.
If I didn’t know, then Pig couldn’t beat it out of me. He would be safe. Still,
I had my suspicions, which could be just as dangerous in some ways.
    We were silent for a time and he gave me my space, sitting
near me but not too close. I didn’t quite understand why that bothered me.
Usually I didn’t want anyone anywhere near me, but there was something
different about Thirteen.
    “How about you answer my question?” he said, but his voice
was kind. Soothing, even.
    “What question? I didn’t hear a question.” It was his turn
to give me a look that screamed ‘don’t patronize me’ and I gave a weak smile.
    “It was around three years ago. I was nineteen, about twenty,
and my granddad had died. I was alone except for my boyfriend, Jared. He got
mixed up with some guys and a friend of his introduced him to a friend of his who was a Suicide King, and he started hanging around them.” I took as deep a
breath as I could, which admittedly wasn’t much. I coughed, and it hurt, and I
grimaced. Thirteen handed me a glass of water from the bedside table but he was
waiting me out, patiently.
    “One night he comes home wearing a prospect’s cut and tells
me I have to come out with him; that the guys wanted to meet me.” Thirteen’s
brows drew down into a scowl and I rushed through the whole horrible ordeal. By
the time I was through he’d had to take the glass of water from me, my hands
were shaking so badly. He sighed and I could see the struggle on his face.
Finally one side won out and he pulled me against him, tucking my head beneath
his chin. I stiffened.
    “What are you doing?” I asked.
    “I’m holding you, Babe. You look like you need it,” he
murmured. I tugged back from him and he immediately let me go. I couldn’t
remember a time that ever happened. I stared at my hands for a long time and he
stood with a sigh.
    “Here we go,” the doctor said from the doorway. He brought
in a tray with a bowl of soup and some crackers on it. Chicken noodle. I smiled
a bittersweet little smile.
    “You’re a doctor… any scientific proof to the whole chicken
soup thing?” I asked and coughed. He smiled and set the tray in my lap.
    “Empirical data suggests that it is indeed good for the
soul,” he said and I laughed a little. He took out my IV after giving me a
final dose of