Before I could stop them, my feet were moving, and I was rounding the car just as I heard Tess say, “My brakes… they didn’t work.” She was having troubles breathing and there was a nasty cut on her head, and indication she hit her head on the steering wheel.
Sirens could be heard off in the distance, and I instantly went rigid. What if the cops were looking for me? The Artillery did say they wanted me to go down for the bike.
“We had someone call an ambulance. The person in the other car is fine, but you look pretty banged up. We’re going to get you checked out. It looks like you hit your head,” Sienna told her.
Sienna looked over at the young prospect. “Yo, Virg, do you know anything about cars?” she asked.
“No, why? What’s up?”
“Tess said her brakes didn’t work; I was gonna see if we could find someone to look at them before the cops get here. You know how crazy it will be once they get involved.”
“Damn, wish I did. I did call Zodiac and he should be on his way, more than likely with the other members. Although, I’m not sure any of them know anything about cars… motorcycles, yes, cars, not so much.”
Shit. I knew a lot about cars, but did I want to step in and intervene?
My voice was a mixture of apprehension and fear as I blurted out, “I can help.” Every head swiveled my way, and Virg’s face dropped into a scowl.
“What are you doing back here?” Virg growled.
“I live nearby,” I lied. “Is she okay?”
Sienna looked over her shoulder and smiled at me. Her smile could brighten up even the darkest moments. And I sure had a lot of those. “Yeah, she’s gonna be fine. The seatbelt saved her. She may have a bit of a headache and some whiplash, but other than that, she should be okay. You said you know a thing or two about cars?”
Virg’s glare intensified as I took a step forward. He looked like he was about to swing on me, but I ignored it.
“Yeah, one of my foster dad’s was a mechanic. He taught me everything I know. What exactly do you need me to look at?”
“Tess said her brakes weren’t working. Someone needs to check the pads or something.”
“You wouldn’t be able to tell if the pads are worn down until you take a tire off. What did your brake pedal do when you touched it, Tess?” I asked her, grimacing when more blood leaked out from her wound.
“I think it touched the ground,” she whispered, moaning in pain.
“Shit, hold on a sec.” My whole body felt like it was on fire as I dropped to the ground, and I couldn’t hide the enormous groan that came out of me when I put pressure on my broken arm. It was going to be tight, and I couldn’t really see anything in this light, so I put my fingers up against the tires, instantly retracting them when I felt something wet behind the wheel. “Fuck! This isn’t good,” I shouted so they could hear me. I rolled out from beneath the car, and sat up a little, looking at Virg. “Her brake line was cut.”
“Are you sure?” he asked, his eyes cutting me like a razorblade.
“Yeah, the inside of the wheel is wet, which can only happen if a brake line has been cut. My guess is, with how quickly it happened, someone severed it while she was in the club. Someone wanted her to get hurt.”
“Why would someone do that?”
“Usually someone cuts a brake line because they want that person dead. Only, whoever did this, cut too big of a hole in her brake line. That’s why she didn’t get very far. Whoever did it was very sloppy.” My mind instantly wandered to Beretta and the two bikers sitting nearby.
“Why the hell would someone want me dead?” Tess asked.
I shrugged. “Maybe because your boyfriend shot someone today?” There was no masking the unfriendly nature of my tone. Every time I thought about bikers, my back bristled with hostility.
“Look, kid. I don’t know where you get off talking shit about my Prez, but if he shot anyone, he did it because he was either saving someone else’s life or he had no other choice. So, before you speak about someone like they’re some kind of warmonger, maybe you should get your facts straight.” Virg snapped, instantly pissing me off.
“Who you callin’ a kid? I’m probably the same age as you.”
“Yeah, well, when it looks like a kid and acts like a kid, he’s probably still a kid. If you have a problem with my club, there’s the door. You can walk your negative ass right back to where you came from.”
I didn’t need this shit. Besides, I heard motorcycles and sirens approaching, and I wanted to get as far away from here as I could. The Celestial Sons could go fuck themselves for all I cared. I just wanted to make sure Tess was okay.
Now that I knew she was. It was time to find some place safe to sleep tonight.
But there was a problem with that. As long as Beretta and his men roamed the streets, there was nowhere safe for me to hide.
