Page 14 of Hostile Saint

“Dagger?” I asked.

Both men blinked.

Prez was shocked. “Holy shit! Talk about the cart in front of the horse. Yeah, he’s Dagger. I’m Lynx.”

Grabbing more fries, I happily waved. “Hi, I’m Tate.”

Traditional meeting? No. Not at all. But, there’s nothing traditional about deadly bikers saving a kid who desperately needed it.

And, as they always do, these two men moved us along.

Dagger grabbed a pair of sweatpants from a chair behind him. “Can he slip these on first? There is only one kind of naked show I like while I eat.”

It was a little awkward, and painful, but we eventually got the pants to my knees. Then Dagger slipped plastic flip-flops on my feet, saying, “Doc said not to let you walk barefoot in this place. He said they come across some scary shit in the animals, and he don’t want all the germs and shit in your wounds.”

Forgetting about my damaged soles, I hissed as I stood and put weight on my feet to pull the pants all the way up. Now upright, I could definitely feel the effects of the painkillers. The inside of my head felt like fluffy cotton, causing my thoughts to drift occasionally. I grabbed hold of the IV pole which was on wheels. Luckily, a big ol’ black leather biker boot shot out to stop the wheels.

Dagger had his arms wide and braced as if not sure if I was about to topple over or not. “Need to take a leak, kid?”

My bladder squeezed as if to remind me I even had one. “I think so.”

For being off the table and walking to a bathroom, and back across the room, even though it hurt like hell, I was rewarded with little pieces of chicken and different flavored dipping sauces. My taste buds were being zapped with so many flavors it was hard to pick a favorite, but then I thought of my girl.

“Honey?” snarled VP. “Out of all those choices, you pick boring ol’ honey?”

With a genuine smile, I nodded. “Yeah. It’s sweet. Lacey loves sugar kisses.”

Both men grumbled about “up-chucking” their lunch.

Not me, I kept eating. I ate so much I think I earned respect from the deadly bikers.

When Prez opened a pill bottle, I noticed the label and nodded. “Antibiotics. I must finish the bottle. Know the routine.”

His head jerked back. “You’ve never had pain killers, but you know about these?”

“Yeah, fortunately for Lace and me, our brothers never listened to doctors—never finished their prescriptions. Lace and I knew to stock up on them for when—” I stopped when noticing the heavy stares from Dagger and Lynx. It was shocking to realize I had let down my guard with them. That had me suddenly in the mood to not share more secrets. “Uh, no big deal. We just needed them sometimes.”

“Yeah… Sure,” said Lynx, who was trying not to appear as baffled as he was. “No big deal.”

Dagger followed suit. “Yeah, we get it. Like I said, shit happens.”

“It sure does.” I peered down to my new flip-flops on the linoleum flooring. Here I was getting shoes, medicine, and food, but had no idea how my girl was being treated. “Do you, uh, think it would be okay if I saved some of this food and,” I blindly gestured to the meds in his hand while keeping my eyes on my new shoes, “for Lace?”

Silence lingered before Lynx blew out an exhale. “You will never move on without her, will you?”

That had my head finally snapping up to see the two men I needed to understand what she meant to me. “It took years of my childhood to learn that my life isn’t normal. That not every boy had—” I swallowed, deep secrets choking me. “She was taken from me once before.” My chin started to tremble. “But I found her again.” I slammed a hand to my wounded chest. “Air. She is the air for my damaged lungs.”

Lynx faltered back a few steps, shock owning his face while he nodded, patting his chest as if one-hundred-percent understanding my meaning.

“Ah, shit,” mumbled Dagger.

I fought tears. “The only air I will ever want. Please don’t punish me because you think I’m young and don’t know what I want or need. Because… it’s her. It will always be her.”

Still somewhat stumbling, Lynx turned from me and left the room. The back of his leather vest read Steel Stallions with a logo of a horse to match under it. The horse looked strong, his mane blowing in the wind.

“Give him a minute, kid,” said Dagger.

Trying to catch my breath I hadn’t realized I lost, I nodded. “Sorry.”