Teddy’s eyes held mine and his hand shook, then began to lower. “I don’t know if I can.”
“I’ll help you,” I whispered, edging forward. Careful not to make big movements, I inched toward him, hand reaching out for the gun. “I’ll be there with you. I promise.”
He swallowed hard, gave a curt nod, then lowered the gun back into his lap. He didn’t fight me when I took it from him.
“Can we take you to the hospital?” I asked. “They’ll be able to help you there.”
His shoulders slumped. “Okay.”
The guys stood back, waiting, as I shoved the revolver into the back of my jeans and helped pull Teddy to his feet.
“They won’t let me stay until they release you,” I told him, “but as soon as you’re out you can come live with me again.”
“Why are you doing this?” he croaked, looking over at me. “I’m the reason your brother left. I’ve done horrible things for Carrick and Rhino.”
“We’re going to get him back, Teddy. And the two of you are going to come live with me again. We’ll be a family again. I promise you. This will all seem like a bad dream.”
Teddy went quiet at that and followed me outside.
It tooka few hours to get Teddy settled in at the psychiatric unit. I was so grateful they accepted voluntary admissions because Teddy needed the kind of help I wasn’t able to provide on my own right now. He needed to be watched round the clock to make sure he didn’t try to kill himself again. He needed the dedicated psychiatrists who could help him understand that Ryan made his own choice to stay. That getting pulled into Carrick and Rhino’s operation also wasn’t his fault.
He’d talked more on the way to the hospital. He hadn’t voluntarily worked for Carrick. Rhino found these kids and forced them into Carrick’s service. He either threatened to kill them, or their family—if they had one—or whatever happened to work on that particular person to get them to agree. Once they were in there was no way out for them.
I sat quietly, tears sliding down my face as the guys drove me back to OD’s house. Seeing Teddy in this state was hitting me hard now that he was somewhere safe. I should tell the guys to take me home, but what was there for me? An empty apartment with ghosts of family? Being alone right now was the last thing I wanted. The last thing I needed.
CHAPTER 13
Overdrive
Ididn’t even make it to the porch before my front door opened. The looks on Merc’s, Hype’s, and Code’s faces told me something had gone south. “Where’s Rue?”
“Inside,” Hype told me.
“She’s okay,” Merc replied.
“Sort of,” Code corrected.
“Sort of?” I looked between the three of them. “What happened?” I listened in grim silence as they recounted what’d happened when they found Teddy. “Fuck,” I muttered when they finished. “At least she was able to get him help. I’ll check in on him and see if there’s anything I can do, too. Pay the bill, whatever they need.” Rubbing my hand over my chest I shook my head. “These fuckers have really messed up a lot of people’s lives.”
“She’s still pretty upset,” Merc told me. “Lot of shit seems to be hitting her hard right now.”
“She has a big heart,” Hype added. “Her brother abandoning her, almost losing Teddy, it’s all too much…”
“What they’re trying to say is she’s fucking crushed, Bro. Don’t leave her alone right now,” Code told me.
“Wasn’t planning on it. The rest of the guys were heading back to the clubhouse,” I told them. “Thanks for going with her today.”
“Just sorry they’ve had to go through this shit in the first place,” Hype said with a heavy sigh.
“We’ll make sure it doesn’t keep happening. To anyone else,” Merc added.
“Yeah, we’ll put a stop to it. Carrick’s days are numbered,” I said in agreement. “I’m glad you guys were there with her and she didn’t have to face that alone.”
“Let us know if you need anything else,” Merc grunted, slapping a hand on my shoulder as he passed by.
“Or if we can help her,” Code said, looking back at my house.
“Thanks, Kid,” I told him. I watched as they left then steeled myself before entering my home.
