Between Life and Death

The hospital waiting room had become Jax's entire world for the past eighteen hours. He sat in the same uncomfortable plastic chair, still wearing his blood-stained tactical gear, his hands clasped so tightly his knuckles had gone white. The antiseptic smell burned his nostrils, and the fluorescent lights cast everything in a harsh, unforgiving glare that made the whole place feel like purgatory.

Ghost appeared beside him with another cup of coffee that would go untouched, just like the previous six. "Any word from the doctors?"

"She's still in surgery," Jax replied, his voice hoarse from hours of silence broken only by prayers to a God he wasn't sure was listening. "Seven hours now. They said the bullet nicked her lung and did damage to... other things."

He couldn't bring himself to say more. The surgeon's initial assessment had been grim—massive internal bleeding, collapsed lung, the bullet lodged dangerously close to her heart. They'd wheeled her away so quickly he hadn't even been able to tell her he loved her one more time.

"She's strong," Ghost said, settling into the chair beside him. "Stronger than any of us gave her credit for in the beginning. If anyone can fight their way back from this, it's her."

"She saved my life," Jax said, staring at his hands where her blood still stained his fingers despite repeated washing. "Snake had a clear shot at my back, and she threw herself between us without hesitation. She took a bullet meant for me."

"That's what love does," Diesel rumbled from across the room, where he'd been keeping vigil with the rest of the Saints' leadership. "Makes you stupid enough to die for someone else."

The comment might have been meant as humor, but there was no laughter in the waiting room. Every man present understood the weight of what had happened—their war with the Diamondbacks was over, Venom was dead, and their territory was secure. But the cost might be the life of the woman who had made it all possible.

"Prez," Hawk said quietly, approaching with a tablet in his hands. "You need to see this."

The screen showed news coverage of the previous night's events. The headline read: "GANG WAR ENDS IN BLOODBATH - Diamondback Leader Dead." Below it, footage of Venom's compound showed body bags being wheeled out while reporters speculated about the "coordinated assault that eliminated one of the West Coast's most dangerous criminal organizations."

"They're calling it the end of an era," Hawk continued. "FBI's saying the Diamondbacks are finished—their leadership is dead, their territory is up for grabs, and the survivors are either in custody or on the run. You did it, Jax. You won."

Victory felt hollow when the woman he loved was fighting for her life three floors above them. Jax barely glanced at the news coverage before pushing the tablet away. "Means nothing if she doesn't make it."

Before anyone could respond, a figure in surgical scrubs appeared in the doorway. Dr. Martinez looked exhausted, her mask pulled down to reveal a face lined with fatigue. When her eyes found Jax, he couldn't read her expression.

"Are you Mr. Savage?" she asked, though the presence of armed bikers in the waiting room made the answer obvious.

"How is she?" Jax demanded, rising to his feet so quickly the chair scraped across the linoleum.

"The surgery was... complicated. The bullet caused significant internal trauma, and we had some challenges with bleeding. But we were able to repair the damage to her lung and remove the bullet." Dr. Martinez paused, choosing her words carefully. "She's stable, but the next twenty-four hours will be critical. Her body has been through tremendous trauma."

"Can I see her?"

"She's in the ICU, heavily sedated. You can see her, but she won't be awake for several hours at minimum." The doctor's expression softened slightly. "I have to ask—are you family?"

"She's my wife," Jax lied without hesitation, the words coming out with such conviction that even he almost believed them.

Dr. Martinez nodded. "ICU is on the fourth floor. Room 412. The nurses will brief you on her condition, but Mr. Savage... she's very lucky to be alive. A few millimeters in any direction and that bullet would have killed her instantly."

As the doctor walked away, Jax felt his knees nearly buckle with relief. Alive. Raven was alive.

The ICU was a maze of beeping machines and hushed voices, but room 412 might as well have been the center of the universe. Jax paused in the doorway, his breath catching at the sight of her small form dwarfed by the hospital bed, tubes and wires connecting her to an array of medical equipment.

But she was breathing. Her chest rose and fell with mechanical precision, and the monitor beside her bed showed the steady rhythm of her heart. After eighteen hours of not knowing, it was the most beautiful sight he'd ever seen.

"You can touch her," the nurse said gently, noticing his hesitation. "Just be careful of the tubes."

Jax approached the bed like a man walking on sacred ground. Her dark hair was spread across the pillow, her face pale but peaceful in sleep. When he took her hand in his, her fingers were warm—a sign of life that nearly brought him to his tears.

"I'm here," he whispered, his voice breaking on the words. "I'm right here, baby. You did it. You killed the bastard and ended the war. Now you just have to come back to me."

The machines beeped steadily around them, marking time in a world that had narrowed to this single room. Outside, the Saints were securing their territory and counting their victories. But for Jax, nothing mattered except the woman whose hand he held, whose life hung in the balance between love and loss.

He settled into the chair beside her bed, prepared to wait as long as it took. Because some things were worth any price, any sacrifice, any amount of time.

And Raven Steele—the woman who had walked into his world like vengeance incarnate and shown him what it meant to love something more than himself—was worth everything.

"Come back to me," he whispered again, pressing her hand to his lips. "Please, baby. Come back to me."

In the distance, dawn was breaking over a city where the Savage Saints now ruled unchallenged. But the only sunrise Jax cared about was the one he hoped to see in her eyes when she finally opened them.

The war was over. Now came the hardest battle of all—learning to live in peace with the only woman who had ever made him want to be better than the violence that had shaped him.