Unbeautifully (Undeniable, #2)(71)

“I can’t do this,” I cried. “I can’t…I can’t.”

“Shhh,” he whispered, stroking my tear-soaked hair. “You don’t have to do anything, baby, nothin’ at all.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Scrubbing a hand across his face, exhausted from spending the night at the hospital, Deuce, followed by ZZ and Tap, stalked inside the clubhouse and found Blue, Mick, Adriana, Cox, and Kami sitting at the bar, sharing a bottle of whiskey.

He headed their way and slipped onto the stool beside Kami. Tap took the seat beside him and ZZ headed for the hallway, for Danny he guessed. He’d seen her Jeep out front when they’d pulled up.

“How’s Dorothy?” Kami asked. “And the baby?”

He sighed. “Baby’s fine, healthy little boy. And D just got out of surgery. They got the bullet out and now they’re keepin’ her in a f*ckin’ coma, somethin’ to do with swellin’.”

“Jase?” Cox asked. “He okay?”

No. Jase was a f*cking wreck. Between Dorothy getting shot, almost losing his newborn son, Chrissy getting hauled off to jail and the club being questioned by the police, Jase was definitely not okay. Nobody was. Dorothy, Deuce considered one of his boys; she’d sure as f*ck been around long enough, and Chrissy was Jase’s old lady, which meant she too was family.

Nothing about this was okay.

Christ, he was f*cking exhausted.

“He’ll manage,” he said.

The small group fell silent. Nobody needed to speak, everyone already knew what the other was thinking.

“Did anyone call Tegen?” Adriana whispered tearfully. “To tell her…that…th—” She broke off and covered her mouth with her hands. Mick pulled her barstool closer to him and folded his arms around her.

“Far as I know, Cage called her last night,” Deuce said. “Girl’s probably on her way here as we speak.”

Adriana nodded jerkily.

Speaking of Tegen…

“Where are my kids?” he asked no one in particular, feeling a sudden overwhelming need to see each of their faces. “And Eva? Is she home?”

At first it looked like no one was going to answer him.

Finally, Kami said quietly, “Eva’s home. With Ivy.”

“Cage?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at the odd expressions being exchanged around the bar.

“Sleepin’,” Cox said, jerking his thumb over his shoulder. “He got in about an hour before you.”

“Okay,” Deuce said slowly, carefully studying the somber faces around him. Something wasn’t right and it had nothing to do with Dorothy and Jase.

“Yo,” ZZ called out, walking from the hallway into the main room. “Anyone seen Danny? I can’t find her anywhere.”

Yeah, something sure as f*ck wasn’t right.

Deuce swiveled around on his stool. “What the f*ck you mean ‘anyone seen Danny?’ Her Jeep’s out front, you’re her man, so I’m thinkin’ that means you should know where the f*ck she is.”

ZZ put his palms up. “Prez, chill, I just got back too, okay? And she ain’t in her room. Or mine.”

Feeling what he knew was unnecessary panic stemming from what had just happened to D, but also knowing you can never be too f*cking careful when it came to your family, Deuce jumped off his stool and stalked off toward the hallway, yelling Danny’s name.

“Wait!” Kami yelled, running after him. She dodged past him and came skidding to a stop a few feet in front of him. “I’ll call her,” she said breathlessly, holding up her cell phone.

He stared at her. What the f*ck?

“What’s goin’ on?” he demanded, looking back toward the bar at Cox. “Where’s my f*ckin’ daughter?”

Instead of answering him, Cox looked at his wife. “Kam,” he said quietly. “Don’t.”

Kami waved him off. “It’s ringing,” she said, her cell phone pressed to her ear.

Fuck this shit. Grabbing the cell phone from Kami, he put it up against his ear and continued down the hallway.

Three seconds later he heard Danny’s ringtone. A song by Lady Foo-Foo, or some such shit.

He stopped walking and turned to his right, staring in disbelief at the door in front of him.

“Shit,” Kami whispered from behind him.

“You’re the one who f*ckin’ called her,” Cox muttered.

Deuce glanced over his shoulder and found all of them, Kami, Cox, Mick, Adriana, and ZZ standing there. Even Blue had left the bar to join them in the hallway. Which was pretty much unheard of. Blue didn’t leave the bar for much. He wasn’t even sure the old * even slept.

“What the f*ck is goin’ on?” ZZ asked, grabbing the phone out of Deuce’s hand. The guy shoved the phone in Kami’s face. “Dial her again,” he demanded.

Looking nervous, Kami took her phone and glanced up at Cox.

Cox shook his head. “Fuckin’ do it,” he said. “Brother deserves to know.”

While the short exchange took place, Deuce had been frozen, in a state of shock. Danny was in Ripper’s room? What the motherf*ck?

The minute Danny’s phone began ringing again, he snapped back to attention and watched as ZZ turned toward Ripper’s door, his expression quickly shifting from confused anger to outright shock.