Both were cleared of spinal injuries or internal bleeding. Overall, it could have been much worse. Tessa pulled some strings and allowed Ollie to remain overnight. They moved Ollie’s bed, with both Ollie and Jenna on it, into Aaron’s exam room across the hall. Jenna was doing better, slowly coming back to herself. Neurology agreed with Tessa’s assessment and ran no further tests. Whatever Jenna had done to hold off the flare-up had worked, though the neuro doctor warned what she’d accomplished was rare and not to count on being able to do so again.
Jenna remained in Ollie’s bed, and Ollie was all too happy to have his mother hold him once she was able to. Angel and Cage were resting in chairs by Aaron’s bed. Bulldog had brought Bree for a quick visit, but then brought her back to his house to stay the night.
Lucky had been able to get ahold of Carter, but not Jordan or Melanie. Carter and Lucy sent Ollie their love and promised that they would come in the morning to help out with whatever Ollie needed. While there was still no communication from Jordan, Melanie did call to check in a little before ten. She couldn’t talk long since she was in the library studying for an exam in the morning. She apologized for having her notifications turned off and said she’d come over the weekend to see Ollie, as she needed to stay in the library more to cram.
Around midnight, Ghost and Grumpy stopped by. Jenna, Ollie, and Aaron were all passed out, so Steel, Cage, and Angel slipped quietly into the hall to talk. Steel was not surprised to see the hallway was lined with bikers. Some with kids were missing, but most of the club was present. It spoke volumes of how much they cared when one of their own was hurt.
Tessa was still working, her shift not over until the morning. Bear had gone home to be with their daughters, Maggie and Julia. Bear’s parents were usually good to babysit, but knowing Bear, he just needed some time with his cubs after seeing Ollie and Aaron at the scene of the accident. Steel had seen the pictures, and he was extremely grateful that Jenna never would.
Given it was night, they kept their voices low.
“Brake line was cut?” Cage was the first to ask. He had his arm around Angel’s shoulder and the two of them were leaning against the wall.
Grumpy grunted. While the man wasn’t always the grump that Scotty had named him, he also wasn’t overly vocal or affectionate. He and Papaw were also the only members who didn’t live on property. Papaw and Louisa had bought a cottage on the outskirts of town, leaving the Santiago family home to Carlos and Zoe. Grumpy had a house out by the club’s auto body shop. Other than his required time as a prospect, he’d neverlived in the clubhouse and he didn’t keep an optional apartment there either.
Steel didn’t know if the others knew Grumpy’s story or why he’d abruptly moved after retiring, and it wasn’t his place to question that. As President, Steel believed that every member had the right to tell his own story, and he kept that belief now. Ghost had Steel’s old files, so he likely knew, and Keys because he was Keys, but that was it. Grumpy was just a quiet, private man.
“No, not completely. It was loosened.”
Steel knew enough about mechanics to know that a cut brake line was bad, but he wasn’t sure he knew how a vehicle would react to a loosened connection.
“Why do that?” Angel asked. “Why not just cut it?”
Grumpy crossed his arms over his chest. “Cutting the line means an almost immediate reaction. What I saw takes time. It slowly lets air in and loosens the pressure to activate the brakes.” He turned to Steel, “I don’t think Ollie or either of the boys were the target. I found rust on the fitting and small slices throughout the line.”
Steel’s expression did not change as fury ignited in his gut. “You’re saying this isn’t new damage.”
Grumpy nodded. “I had Keys look over the footage. The cage hasn’t left your driveway in months. There’s a possibility Shaw could have gotten to it when he had access to our system, or when it was parked outside your store in town. I checked over that entire cage. There weren’t any tracking devices. I don’t think Shaw cared when it crashed, only that it did. But when you stopped using the cage for the winter, you prevented the accident from happening earlier.”
Ghost caught Steel’s eye. “We couldn’t figure out why nothing happened between you getting arrested in October to him salting the ice in January. This is likely why. He thoughtyour cage was going to fail soon, harming you, Jenna, Ollie, or anyone else who had been inside with you.”
It explained what they felt was an extreme escalation, which fucking sucked. What else had Shaw tampered with while he had access to the club’s security?
“You’re going to have to do a full sweep of the property,” Steel told Ghost. He was barely keeping a lid on his anger. “Everything. Look for tripwires, IEDs… Anything he could have left behind. Check all the bikes, everyone’s cages… Hell, the fucking propane tanks. He could have done a lot of damage with the intent of spontaneity.”
“Bulldog’s already on it,” Ghost replied. His expression said he didn’t appreciate Steel’s order or assumption that he hadn’t already thought of all that.
From their position by the double doors to the main hospital, Steel saw the emergency room doors slide open as Carlos walked in. He was followed by his Deputy Sheriff, Jeffery Miller. Steel hadn’t realized it had been raining, but both men were soaked as they shook off their coats and hats at the door.
“I am fucking tired of this. Shaw could have seriously hurt my son tonight. Both our sons,” Steel added for Angel and Cage’s sake. “He’s had me arrested, endangered everyone on the ice that day, blew up Jenna’s store, and now something he set in motion months ago has landed both Ollie and Aaron in the hospital. I’m done with this bullshit,” he snapped as Carlos and Miller approached them. “It’s me he wants, but the coward is too chickenshit to face me on his own, and I refuse to let someone else I love get hurt in his pursuit of revenge.”
Both of their uniforms still dripping, Carlos and Miller came to a stop between Ghost and Steel. In the low lighting the hospital kept in the hallway at night, it took Steel a moment to register how pale Carlos was.
“Steel,” he said roughly. “Where’s Jenna?”
The hairs on the back of Steel’s neck rose. “Sleeping in the room with Ollie. Why?”
Carlos licked his lips and swallowed hard. “There’s no easy way of saying this. I got a call from the Philadelphia PD. There was a shooting on campus earlier tonight.”
A cold wave washed over Steel, and only years of training kept him from stumbling. “A shooting? What happened?”
“An unknown assailant opened fire outside student housing. Two students were gunned down on the sidewalk by Kings Court English House. They were both rushed to the hospital, but both were declared…” His voice cracked. Carlos took a deep breath, clearing his throat. “They were both declared DOA.”
A low ringing sounded in his ears. Steel’s emotionless mask started to crack. Kings Court was Melanie’s campus housing building.
He reached for his phone. He had to call Melanie. She’d been walking back from the library earlier. Depending on the timing, she might have witnessed the shooting. “I have to call Melanie,” Steel explained out loud for some unknown reason. His hand was shaking so badly that he nearly dropped his phone. Steel’s handsnevershook. “I need to make sure she’s all right.”
Carlos’s hand shot out, gripping Steel’s wrist and stopping him from lifting the phone high enough to unlock it. “Steel…”
