She’ll never set foot in that apartment again.
Taking my phone out of my pocket, I make a call to Bullet. After speaking with Lorenzo, instead of going to Bullet, I came here to the hospital. I needed to be near her. I couldn’t stay away a second longer.
“You’re in Thunder Rock, yet I haven’t seen you. Want to explain that shit to me?”
I almost laugh, but I don’t. He knows why I’m here. “I had a chat with Lorenzo.”
“Goose,” Bullet growls.
There is a moment of silence. I almost laugh, because that meeting with Lorenzo was the tamest meeting I’ve ever had. I didn’t kill him. I didn’t kill anyone. And I gave him three days to deliver his piece-of-shit son to the clubhouse.
“He has three days to deliver his kid to me, to us. I’m here to handle business, and if the Front Mob Family doesn’t deliver, I have beef with them, and they have a goddamn war on their hands.”
Bullet clears his throat. He doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t need to. I know what the fuck I’m doing, so I continue.
“He did it,” I say. “I have video footage. I showed it to Lorenzo. He knows what his son did. And I’m going to be the man who makes him pay for his sins.”
“Cidney isn’t an old lady,” Bullet murmurs.
“She’s Ivy’s cousin, and if she’s supposedly off-limits to the men of the Vicious Reapers, then she should be protected by them as well.”
Bullet doesn’t reply. He’s trying to think of how to respond to me, because I make more sense than he realizes. After a few moments, he clears his throat before he speaks.
“We can revisit that after we get this shit handled. We can’t afford a war right now, monetarily or otherwise. We’re trying to shift our whole operation, and you left to become a nomad.”
I did do that.
“This is Ivy’s fucking shit, and I’m going to clean it up, but I need you to back me on that.”
Bullet is quiet, but only for a moment. He takes the politically correct stance. “Come to the clubhouse for church first thing in the morning.”
“I’ll be there.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
GOOSE
Keeping my distance,I watch as Lainey and Cidney leave the room. Cidney is in a wheelchair, being pushed by a nurse of some kind. She looks tired and bruised but beautiful, nonetheless.
Seeing her after being away from her is like a balm to my soul. I shouldn’t be thinking like that. It’s selfish, I know it is, but I never said I was a selfless person. Very opposite, actually.
Her head swivels from side to side, no doubt looking for me. George Edwards likely told her I was here, and I don’t give a fuck if he did. I’ve got a bone to pick with his ass anyway, so he’s more than welcome to come have a chat with me.
Once they’re loaded onto the elevator, I push off the wall around the corner where I’ve been hiding and make my way toward the staircase. I already know where Cidney and Lainey are going, and I know that Piggy had Lainey’s place outfitted years ago, with every fucking square inch of the perimeter having cameras.
There isn’t a single blind spot, not even one.
Same goes with the bakery. The only time Lainey can’t be seen is in her car or inside her own apartment. Although at this point, I’m not sure it would be a bad idea if the interior of her place were under surveillance, too.
I hear my name being called as I reach for the door handle that leads to the staircase. Turning my head, I watch as George moves toward me. He stops in front of me, and I slowly shift completely around to face him.
We stare at one another for a long moment, then he shakes his head once, clearing his throat as he breaks the silence and stare.
“I wanted to let you know to be gentle with her. She’s been through a lot.”
I almost laugh, but this isn’t funny. Actually, nothing about this situation is funny. Not the way she was treated, and not the fact that they fucked. I know they did. I’m not sure if he realizes I know, but I’m not going to hold it against either of them. Not unless he makes me.
“I know exactly what she went through, Edwards. I had cameras in her place just in case she was in danger, and she was.”
