“What’s that mean?” I ask, reaching back into the back half of the truck’s cab and soothingly patting Elodie’s knee. She’s got silent tears streaking down her face but hasn’t let any sounds of distress escape her lips, which is worrisome. She’s too young to learn that trick.
Emotions need to be released, not pent up.
Sighing, he admits, “I don’t know, Letti.”
“Damn,” I whisper. I donothave a good feeling about this which seems to be a recurring theme these days.
“When we get there, I want you to stay in the truck with my princess. No matter what you see or what you hear, you don’t move an inch away from this truck. Got it?”
Glancing back at Elodie and seeing the pensive state she’s in, I tell him, “Yeah. I’m not going anywhere, Viking. You’ve given me a precious commodity to protect.”
“Where did this fucking traffic come from?” Icer asks through gritted teeth, smashing his fist against the steering wheel. Sirens are blaring from in front of us, and they’re already starting to surround the club’s property with caution tape and putting up a blockade in front of the entrance for emergency vehicles.
“You can fit there,” I say, pointing at a break between vehicles that’s wide enough for him to parallel park in.
He effortlessly guides the car and reverses into the spot I pointed out. Before he jumps out of the truck, he levels his gaze on me and orders, “Lock the doors behind me. If they force you to move, go down the road and take a right at the fork, it’ll lead you to the club’s cemetery. Stay there until one of us comes to get you.”
“Right at the fork, got it. Be careful,” I say, giving an order of my own.
“Always,” he says, nodding before slamming the door shut and waiting around long enough for me to hit the button that will secure us inside. My eyes stay glued to him as he jogs through the fleet of cops and paramedics, pushing them to the side when they attempt to step in front of him to hold him back.
“Atta boy,” I cheer as my Viking man uses his body like a linebacker when one particular man in uniform plants his feet in front of him, holding his hands up in a stop motion. “Bowl him over! Knock his teeth out.”
“Auntie Letti, that’s not nice,” Elodie says, finally speaking.
“I know it’s not, Ellie Bellie, but that man wasn’t being very nice to your Uncle Icer,” I comment, knowing anything involving Icer will raise her temperature.
“Nail him in the balls, Uncle Icer!” Elodie shouts.
I’m not her parent so I don’t correct her crass language, I do however glance back at her with a stern, maternal look, letting her know that as a child, she should be more mindful of the words she chooses to use. Though, if I’m being honest withmyself, I couldn’t agree more with her given direction. The men in blue of this town need to be de-manned and put in their place since they all walk around like peacocks, strutting and preening their feathers.
Given the opportunity, I’d pluck each one of them out individually.
One. By. One.
Rabidly laughing while they shriek in pain—I can be a vindictive bitch like that when someone I care about is caught in the crossfire of another’s maliciousness.
People need to learn to stay in their own lanes. It’s as plain and simple as that. If we all worried about ourselves the world would be a better place… that’s my opinion on it anyhow.
Everything grows still and quiet as Elodie and I keep our eyes on our surroundings. The anticipation of the unknown grates on me since the scene is far off so I can’t see what’s happening with the people I’m growing fond of.
As an ambulance whizzes by with the lights flashing, that unease that’s been gnawing at me since we arrived increases. I close my eyes and send my well wishes with whomever the patient is that’s being whisked away to receive emergency services.
Thankfully, we weren’t asked to move. As a matter of fact, nobody even glanced our way as the people in charge of keeping the perimeter clear, shuffled back and forth beside us. Elodie passed out in her booster seat a while back which made the time spent alone creep by sluggishly.
All of my coping mechanisms that developed as a kid have come out to play havoc on my body.I’ve anxiously chewed on the skin surrounding my thumbnail to the point my cuticle’s bleeding. My knees incessantly bounce, causing the truck to vibrate. I’ve rocked my body from one side to the other to the point that I’m surprised I haven’t lulled myself to sleep.
A harsh and rapid tapping on the window has me yelping as I swivel in my seat and twist my head toward the driver’s side window. “Hit the switch, Letti,” Icer commands. “Gotta get to the hospital. Indiana was hurt in the blast.”
“Blast?” I repeat. On autopilot, I unlock the doors and watch as he swings it open and hops inside. “What blast, Viking?”
“Icer,” he corrects before answering, “from the bomb.”
“There was a bomb!” I screech. “And Indiana was hurt? What about Zoey? Is she alright? Tell me everything,Icer.” Like the smartass I am, I made sure to emphasize his road name by drawing it out.
Glancing out the side of his eye, he replies, “I’ll tell you what I can.”
That pisses me off so I cross my arms and give him a sideways sneer of my own, lifting my lips in a snarl to show my displeasure.
