“You going to the club?”
I nod. Sweat is forming on my hairline; I can feel it. General says nothing. I know he sees it, but he also knows I’ve had enough of all this doctor-patient bullshit. I stayed long enough for him to patch me up, and now I’m out.
“Casper’s throwing a party for Walker. Domino told me the story last night about him doing the wholeWalking Deadzombie thing in Russia. Seems fitting the prospect would move up after that.”
And Casper’s inauguration, I’m sure. Before I went under the knife, Bulldog asked who my vote for the new president was. I asked who the front-runner was, and when he said it was Casper, I cast my vote for the same. It makes sense right now. And with the amount of pain I was in when I was asked, it didn’t seem smart to make a play on the position for myself.
Not just yet. I’ve still got time. Casper can’t hold the position forever. And with him moving up, an officer position is now open. With Law out of commission, I could start the traditional way to the top. Would be more work, but I’ve never shied away from the hard stuff. I only left the Diplomatic Security Service because of who they wanted me to protect, not because it was hard.
If someone who’s an asshole to everyone and his mother is also stealing and raping people, I don’t see why Ishould protect him. It’s called karma. You get what you put out in the world. Not that my bosses saw it that way. According to them, I left my post, and the guy got hurt. He’s still alive, sort of. On a feeding tube. His delusional wife still pays the bills to keep him alive despite what he did. Love is crazy. Or just blind. Whatever it is, my bosses kicked me out for “failure to perform duties I was hired for.” They wanted to throw me in prison to make a point, but unlike Jimmy Travis, Fairy’s uncle, there wasn’t enough heat on me. It helped that the guy lived through the attack, and I wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger. I made sure to cover my bases. It wasn’t my fault that some fathers of the people he hurt snuck in when I was on my coffee break. Sure, I rarely drink the stuff, but we were in Italy. It’s what you do in that part of the world. At least that’s what I told my superiors. They didn’t like it. They also didn’t like the guy I was protecting. So I got kicked out, lost some of my retirement plans, and found the Hounds. I like to think things worked out for the better for me.
Even with the damn pin in my hip. Fuck. If I have to get hip replacement surgery at my age, I’ll be the laughingstock of the brothers. I’m too young for that shit.
When we get to the entrance of the hospital, I’m not surprised to see a car waiting for me. I want my bike, but I know that’ll take longer to get. I open the door and, despite my desire to just get in quickly and get the fuck out of here, I take it easy. Even let General help me get into the SUV. I grunt, which he nods to. Our way of saying “thanks” and “you’re welcome” without saying it. ’Cause we’re men and all.
“You good?” Atom asks as he eases out of the parking lot.
“Peachy.”
He huffs a laugh, and I look out the window as we drive back home. It’s going to suck for a bit, but I’ll do what the doc says. I’ll get the therapy. Anything it takes to get back to what I was. I don’t do well with being down and out. I know Casper, the new boss, will want me to get a full workup from General to get a green light before I can do anything remotely fun. Like go knocking heads in or some shit. Law would have done the same. It’s just what a good boss does. And I’ve got no issues with Casper being the man in charge. I know Law liked him for the job even while I was still biding my time to get my in.
When we pull up to the clubhouse, I see it’s busier than ever. Brothers from other chapters are still hanging around, and more protection is on the gates. We’re still rebuilding from when they got knocked down by Ivan’s men, but we’ve got things in place now to prevent another attack.
“Party’s in the back,” Atom says as he slowly gets out. He’s not injured as far as I know, so that means he’s just keeping pace with me to give me some of my damn dignity back. It’s crap but it’s appreciated all the same.
I take a breath when I get out of the car and stand tall. Shit hurts, but I’ll live. General gave me some meds, and I plan to take them and sleep for a week. After I show face. I need to make sure everyone sees me as the man who’s still standing and not lying in a bed somewhere. Well, unless I’ve got a woman with me, that is.
When I get to the back, I see a sea of faces I know and some I don’t. I take it in and give a few chin lifts. I don’t see Casper. He must still be inside.
But I do see her.
Ruby’s sitting at a table with Milly, Bass, Abigail, and Mickey. She’s talking. From the looks of it, even bantering. Small smiles,forcedsmiles, on her lips as she does. Her attire is her usual: tight jeans and a corset top.
“Brooklyn,” Chains hollers at Milly. “You got visitors.”
I watch, like half the damn place, as the East Coast mafia comes up to join them. Milly seems happy about it. Bass ain’t shitting himself, so I guess that’s good. But the look Tommy gives Ruby? I don’t like it. And when he leans a bit too close, his eyes lingering, Ireallydon’t like it.
I walk that way and all but turn red when I see him touch her. Just on the back. Just a small amount. But it’s not his right to do.
She doesn’t see me as she giggles about his manners and runs into me. I could have moved out of the way, but I didn’t. Call it what you want. Maybe I wanted her attention on me. Maybe I needed to feel her against me for the brief time I had. All I know is I didn’t move, and I let it happen. It hurts a bit. Okay, it hurts a lot. She just ran into my fucked-up shoulder and jammed against my hip that just got a pin in it. Still, the pain is worth it. Even if she’s annoyed at me.
“Koop, what do you want?”
I look her over for half a second, then ignore her completely. Or so the others watching would think. But there’s no way to ignore or forget a woman like her in your vicinity. Her scent penetrates my brain, and I clench my fists to keep from pulling her close and sinking my nose in her hair. Hair that’s down, free of any bindings. I itch to wrap it around my fist and pull her tight to me, just to get a reaction other than snark from her.
She’s been on my mind a lot. More than usual. Ever since I held her and let her fall apart in my arms, something snapped in me, and I’m almost consumed by the memory. When she fought me, I let her. I was the thing she needed in that moment. A punching bag. Something to let her anger out on.
And I see that right now, she just wants to forget. To pretend for a bit longer that things aren’t as bad as I know they are for her. If seeing me causes her strife, then I’ll leave. I won’t like it, but if that’s what she needs, I’ll do it.
For now.
I hold my hand out to the man behind her. “Tommy.”
He grabs mine in greeting, and I grip his a bit harder.
“’Sup, man.”
“How’s the neck?” I make a show of looking at his scar as he turns his head to show the bandage on his neck.
