Baylee was the vice president of the Dixie Wardens, Sebastian's, wife.

"I d.a.m.n well know you can walk, but your a.s.s is hanging out, and you're showing the entire hospital," she snapped back.

Chastised, I let her tie up the ties in the back so my a.s.s wasn't on exhibit, and then shuffled stiffly to the door of Rue's room.

It'd been a long twenty one hours, but she'd made it.

Although she'd had quite a bit of smoke inhalation, having her face buried in the couch had saved her life.

It'd provided an adequate enough seal that smoke couldn't permeate easily, and offered her enough room for her to breathe as well.

It turns out that Torren had had to use a computer chair as a battering ram to break through the thin wall connecting Rue's apartment to the one beside her.

After fifteen painstaking minutes of trying to get a hole big enough for him to fit through and tearing a ligament in his shoulder in the process, he'd finally gotten through, and just in the nick of time.

Around the time that we'd seen the back entrance way collapse, Torren had gone through the wall.

He'd gone out the front, while we'd all been watching the back like hawks.

I hadn't known until after we'd arrive at the hospital and I was treated for smoke inhalation that they'd both made it. Though, only because I'd heard the stupid wh.o.r.e who'd been responsible for it all yelling that she should've just 'f.u.c.king shot the c.u.n.t who refused to die.'

The stupid b.i.t.c.h had ran through the woods behind Rue's property and was bitten by a rattlesnake.

Most likely, she'd be losing her leg.

If she was lucky, she'd die.

Because there was no way that I wouldn't pay all the money I had for her to be put away for life in the most disgusting filth of a jail on earth, just so I could see her suffer.

And I had a feeling that the majority of The Dixie Wardens felt much the same way.

I'd found Rue in the next room, unconscious but alive, and had stayed by her side until an hour ago when I'd been told I needed an x-ray of my lungs done.

Luckily they'd been in good working order. Unluckily, I hadn't been there when Rue had woken up.

"She's okay?" I asked for the fourth time.

Baylee smiled at me knowingly. "She's fine."

Finally somewhat relieved, I breached the door to Rue's room, and was a little taken back when I saw Mina in the corner.

She looked like h.e.l.l, which was to be expected.

She'd been on shift when we'd come up to her floor.

It'd not been very fun to tell her that her husband had died in a fire.

In fact, twenty two hours later and it still hurt just as much now to see that look on her face as it did when I put it there by telling her that her husband was gone.

Tearing my eyes away from the grieving widow, my eyes softened when I found Rue scooted over to the very edge of the bed, and Torren lying next to her.

I owed that man my life, and nothing I could ever do would ever be enough to repay him.

He said he was just doing his job, but he hadn't been on shift at that moment in time, and I'd never stop trying to make him realize just what it meant to me to have him save my woman.

"Hey," Rue said softly when she caught sight of me in the doorway.

"Hey," I rasped back.

I sounded like I was a four pack a day smoker, and she sounded much the same.

However, we were alive and that was all I could focus on at that point.

'Cause if I focused on anything else, I just might shatter.

Cleo "So how do all those people fit in?" Rue asked later that night as we snuggled into the bed.

After being discharged, we went to my place, and the rest of The Dixie Wardens had followed, along with the wives.

Mina had gone home, opting to spend some time with her daughter who was confused as to why her daddy wasn't coming home ever again.

The rest of the group had gone home after a long night of comfort food, leaving us by ourselves for the first time in nearly forty eight hours.

"My boss is Vanessa's dad's half-brother. Vanessa has him wrapped around her little finger. She calls him 'daddy.' It's not known, yet, whether they had anything more of a relationship or not, but we do know that Alonzo's son was the man who tried to break into your place. Now those two did, indeed, sleep together."

She grimaced at the visual.

"How'd she get that medicine?" She asked quietly.

I scratched my head. "I never heard. But I'll find out for you if you want to know."

She shook her head. "I don't really want to think about it anymore, to be truthful. I want it all to go away."

I hugged her closer, laying my head against her chest.

Her breathing evened out after a few long minutes, but it took me a very long while.

Everything kept playing through my mind.

Could I have done anything differently?

Rue was the one to stop my overactive mind.

Her hand raised in her sleep, and her hand connected with the back of my neck, allowing me to relax fully into her.

I fell asleep with the rea.s.suring sound of her heart thumping underneath my ear.

Tomorrow would be a bad day, but we'd get through it.

Chapter 22.

There's a fine line between p.i.s.sed, and livid. Cleo crossed that line three days ago. G.o.d help you all.

-Life Lesson Rue "With brave wings, he flies to where he's always wanted to be. Paris, Texas," Mina laughed quietly.

Watery laughs overtook the crowd, including the somber men on the bench in front of, beside, and behind me.

I giggled, and the tears that were streaming down my cheeks fell into my open mouth.

The Dixie Wardens, even ones from other Chapters, filled up the first couple rows normally saved for family.

Which, I guess, in all honesty, we were his family.

"He was such a good daddy. I remember the first time he met our girl, Sienna," Mina wiped her eyes. "He held her up to his face, and breathed in her scent. And what did he say? She doesn't smell like a baby is supposed to."

I smiled through the tears, and then started giggling. Cleo, looking down at me, wrapped his arm around me and brought me into his chest.

One hand went around his torso as I leaned into him.

"I had to tell him that she probably would once they managed to wipe the blood off of her," she smiled wistfully. "That was the best day of my life, second only to the day I married him."

We were sitting in the front of the local high school's auditorium, watching while Mina gave her heartfelt speech.

When she'd told me she was going to do it, I'd been skeptical, but she'd made it through the first five minutes all right, and had the crowd laughing at that.

Shaking her head, she placed her hands on the podium one last time before she looked up at the crowd.

"Tunnel was over the moon four times in his life. The first time, when we got married. The second time, when our daughter, Sienna was born. The third, when he got on with Benton PD. The final time was when he was patched in with The Dixie Wardens MC," she sniffled.

I swallowed thickly, seeing each and every man on the row with me stiffen.

Heads hanging, they listened intently.

"Tunnel loved The Dixie Wardens. He loved the police department. He loved his life. It wasn't always that way. We had a tough couple of years, but he made me a promise when we found out I was expecting. And that was that he'd make our girl a life that he would be proud of. And he succeeded by leaps and bounds," she said as a lone tear fell down her cheek.

"Thank you all for coming," she said as she looked over the crowd. "He would've been so happy."

With that, she stepped back from the podium, and the preacher, Reverend Spano, whom I'd met only a day ago, helped her to the edge of the stairs.

Mina walked down the steps leading up to the stage carefully, then kept walking around the steps until she came to a rest beside Tunnel's casket.

Bending over, she wrapped her hands around the flag-covered wood, and rested her head on the top, weeping softly.

Silas got up and rubbed his hand along Mina's back, talking to her softly.

After a moment's hesitation at what she requested, he turned around and grabbed her vacated chair, placing it so it was facing the coffin.

She sat down in the chair, facing away from the hundreds of off duty police, firefighters, bikers, and mourning town inhabitants, and placed her head against the wood.

My heart broke for her all over again.

Turning my cheek, I buried my nose into the silk of Cleo's dress shirt, not caring in the least as my tears soaked it through.

Rue "Why do you think they always have so much food at funerals?" Viddy asked as she covered the fifth pecan pie that was delivered.

Channing shrugged. "No clue. Just exactly what you need when you're depressed. Tons of food."

I focused on the turkey I was filling a Ziploc bag with and groaned. "I've been eating all day. Literally, have not stopped once since we got here over four hours ago."

"That's good. You really haven't eaten much in a couple of days. I'm surprised you're not falling down asleep after the last couple of weeks," Adeline observed.

I thought about the two naps I'd taken today. One on the seat of Cleo's truck as we followed the funeral procession, and the second while I sat on Cleo's lap about an hour before the funeral, and smiled.

"I took a couple of naps today," I explained.

They nodded.

"I did, too," Channing agreed.

"What did y'all think about Tunnel's choice of music as the casket was lowered?" Baylee asked as she walked into the room and took a seat on the counter beside me.