JON

 

Anna brought me a cup of coffee and took a seat right next to me.

“Thanks.”

I sighed and took a sip. The warm coffee pouring down my throat made me forget about all the shit going on for a second.

“You make a good cup of coffee,” I said.

“Is it that hard?” she said with a giggle. “Lots of cream and lots of sugar. There’s barely any coffee in there.”

“That sounds like my kind of cup.”

“That’s surprising to me.”

“Surprising? That’s how I’ve always liked my coffee.”

“I know… It’s just…”

She looked down her nose at me with a cute little grin on her face.

“The beard. The hair. The tattoos. The vest. I figured you’d be a little tougher when it came to coffee.”

“Tougher, huh?”

“Sure. A nice black cup of coffee. No cream. No sugar. That’s what a rugged man like you is supposed to like, right?”

“Right. I’m a big, bad biker. I should just eat the beans by themselves. Crush ‘em between my teeth.”

We shared a laugh. Any conversation was better than having to deal with what was going on now. But no amount of coffee could make me forget my surroundings.

After Anna got off work, we headed to the hospital that night to check on Nate. His status hadn’t changed. I planned on staying at the hospital for as long as I needed to be. Anna stayed true to her word like she always did. She was right by my side as I tried to keep my thoughts occupied.

“I fucking hate hospitals,” I said.

“Who likes ‘em? People are sick or hurt or dying in here.”

“It’s not that. It’s the whole atmosphere. The white walls. The white furniture. The white uniforms. Everything is so fucking sterile.”

“It’s a hospital. It has to be sterile.”

“I know. That’s the fucking problem.”

“They should make a hospital like the clubhouse. Music. Conversation. Alcohol.”

“Now you’re talkin’. That’s my kinda hospital right there.”

Another laugh and another sip of coffee got my mind off things.

Anna rested her head on my shoulder while we sat in the waiting room lobby. It was as close as the nurses would let me get to Nate’s room. They told me they would tell me if anything happened but that still wasn’t comforting. Whoever shot Nate was capable of getting to Nate and finishing the job. Right now, Nate waking up was our best chance of getting to the bottom of this shit.

Anna let out a big yawn.

“Maybe you should go home and sleep now,” I said.

“If I went home, I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing you’re stuck here. I’m fine where I’m at. I’ll ask the nurses if they can lend me a blanket and pillow so I can sleep on one of the couches.”

“That’s… That’s an idea.”

“A good idea.”

Anna got up and left the waiting room.

I sat by myself in silence, staring down at my half-empty cup of coffee. I was so distracted that I didn’t notice the waiting room door open and the man who walked right up to me. I saw his shoes and trailed my eyes up his uniform.

“Sutton,” I said.

“Mr. Brooks,” the old man replied.

“Have a seat.”

“No thank you. I’m just fine. My old bones need a good stretch. I sit around all day.”

“Suit yourself.”

I took another sip of coffee and looked away from him.

“How’s the kid?” he asked.

“Same as he was before. Surgery stopped the bleeding. They still have to keep him sedated though. All kinds of shit can go wrong with the state he’s in.”

“If he’s a Reaper, he’ll make it. He’s tough.”

“I wouldn’t have put him up for a patch if that wasn’t the case.”

Sutton stared at me like he had something to say. I knew that I didn’t have anything to worry about from the sheriff but I couldn’t put it out in the open like that. He was still a cop regardless of what he’d done for the club. I had to watch myself around him.

“How’s the investigation going?” I asked. “You find the motherfuckers responsible for what happened?”

“Security footage hasn’t given us much,” he sighed. “Lieberman has her team all over the scene. They do a good job of not letting any evidence leak. Autopsy results on the Chinese guy won’t be done any time soon and if they are, it’ll be tough to get my hands on them.”

“Sounds like Lieberman’s got her claws in deep.”

“Not so deep that I can’t find out what she knows. If there’s a suspect out there, she’ll catch ‘em. Speaking of which… The clubhouse shooting…”

He stared at me like he was waiting for me to give him all of the details. I knew that we’d already dealt with them. Sutton might have shared his information with me but I had to be tight-lipped about mine, especially when I wasn’t sure Garnet was finished himself.

“You get the punks who did it?” I asked.

“Funny thing… They rode out of town. We had a few cruisers going after them but they were too slow.”

“Cops in this town are slow…”

I hid my smile behind a sip of coffee.

“It’s like they just disappeared,” Sutton said.

“Well, I’m sure they’ll pop up. If not, it’ll be a good thing that they don’t come back to Ivory. Don’t you think so, Sheriff?”

Sutton squinted at me. The old man might not have been very intimidating but there was something else about him that commanded a bit of respect. I guess when you’ve been dealing with punks and assholes for a lifetime all the bullshit kinda toughens you up.

The sheriff took a seat next to me and leaned in close while he whispered.

“Look… I don’t know what’s happening but the whole town is on edge. You and the club need to get to the bottom of this fast.”

I sighed, knowing there was no point in keeping this shit from him.

“We’re not exactly taking our time,” I said.

“I don’t care. The last thing Ivory needs is to be worried about random drive-bys. I give the MCs in this town a lot of leeway. BRIC knows I respect what they do as long as they keep it under the table. If this happens again, I’ll have to do something about it.”

I looked right at Sutton. I knew he was serious from the look in his eyes. I couldn’t blame the old man for feeling the way he did. He had a responsibility to Ivory as much as anybody else.

“You do your job,” I said. “We’ll do ours.”

He slowly nodded to me and leaned back in his seat. The unspoken agreement between Sutton and the MC could snap at any moment.

“Sheriff Sutton.”

Anna appeared in front of us hugging a pillow and a blanket.

“Miss Roberts,” Sutton said as he popped up to his feet.

“What are you doing here?” she asked.

“Just checking in on the kid. How are you doing, young lady?”

“I’m doing just fine. Just getting comfortable while we wait for Nate to wake up.”

“If he knew that he’d get a chance to see you when he wakes up, I’m sure he’ll pop right up in no time.”

Sutton bowed his head to her.

“You take care now,” he said. “This old sheriff’s got some work to do even at this time of night.”

Sutton turned around and slowly shuffled out of the waiting room. Anna took the spot next to me and made herself comfortable.

“What was that all about?” she asked.

“It’s just like he said. Just checking in…”

“Sutton’s a good man. I’m sure he only wants what’s best for everybody.”

“I’m sure he does.”

Anna sank deeper into her seat. She breathed softly, drifting off to sleep quickly.

I sat in the silence of the waiting room and finished the rest of my coffee. All I could do was sit here while Nate fought through his injuries. Everything else was up to the rest of the club.