It was quiet. Too damned quiet. I’d been waiting so long to hear her voice, but I heard nothing. There was no music. There was just a deafening silence that made me want to scream, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t move or open my eyes, but damn it, I missed her. I needed to hear her voice. I couldn’t take the waiting anymore. I fought with everything I had to break through the fog, and determination took over.
With one final push, I broke free.
The light stung my eyes, and I struggled to keep them open. Slowly, agonizingly, the room began to come into focus. My mouth was so dry, and my throat felt painfully raw. I finally noticed Clutch standing in the corner talking with Stitch, Smokey, and Cotton. It was immediately clear from their expressions that something was wrong. I tried to call out to them, but I only managed a strangled cough.
Noticing I was awake, Clutch and the others rushed over to me. He put his hand on my shoulder. “Well, welcome back, brother. We were beginning to think you were gonna pull that lazy shit forever.”
I tried to clear my throat, but again, I wasn’t able to speak.
Smokey looked concerned. “Take your time, brother. It’s okay.”
I tried again, but nothing. Seeing that I was struggling, Clutch poured me a cup of water. He placed the end of the straw in my mouth, and I managed to take a sip. The cold water stung as it traveled down the back of my throat, but I continued to drink, hoping it might eventually help. After several long sips, I rasped, “How long… have I been out?”
“It’s been over a week, dude. You’ve taken one hell of a nap there. How ya feeling?”
It took me several seconds to shake the haze hanging over me, but I finally managed to pull my head out of my ass. “What’s wrong?”
“What do you mean?” Smokey asked even though he knew exactly what I was talking about.
My head felt heavy as I glared at him. “The club…. What’s wrong? Tell me.”
Cotton interjected, “That’s nothing for you to worry about right now. You focus on resting.”
“I’ve rested enough, Pres.” I fixed my eyes on him. “Tell me what the fuck is going on.”
Stitch grumbled, “Just tell him. He ain’t gonna stop ‘til you do.”
They spent the new few minutes explaining that our shipment had been hijacked by a group of men driving black SUVs. They’d been wearing all black, right down to their ski masks and gloves, which had made it impossible to identify them. Even with Big’s help, they hadn’t gotten any leads. That was saying something, considering that Big could find out damned near anything. He was the club’s computer hacker, and if there was any intel to be found, he would be the man to find it.
As soon as Clutch had finished talking, I murmured, “Do you think Copper had anything to do with it?” Copper was one of our distributors, and at one time he’d just been a fill-in. We’d mostly dealt with Nitro to get our gun shipments, but after a fallout, we’d quit using him. Copper had come in when we’d needed him and picked up the slack.
Cotton shook his head. “Considering they killed him, I’d say no.”
Restlessness overcame me. I needed to get out of that goddamned bed and help my brothers find out who’d fucked with the club. “So, what’s the plan?”
“We’ve been in touch with our contacts, and we’re waiting to hear back. Once we find out who did it, we’ll take ‘em down.”
I threw the blankets off my legs and groaned as I pushed up, trying to get out of bed. Clutch shoved my shoulder, forcing me to lie back. “You’re not going anywhere, dumbass. You just woke up from a fucking coma. Are you out of your damned mind?”
“I’m not lying here anymore. I’m done lying here. I want out. Get my fucking clothes.”
Cotton chuckled as he shook his head. “Uh, no. I appreciate you wanting to help, but you’re no good to us like this.”
“But, Pres…”
“No ‘buts’. You’re gonna keep your stubborn ass in bed until the doctors release you. That’s final.” Cotton crossed his arms over his chest, and I knew there was nothing else I could say.
Clutch gave me a smirk. “Why don’t you explain what possessed you to leave in the middle of the goddamned night without giving us a heads up? We had no idea where you were.”
“Y’all were wiped, and I was still wired. Figured a beer would settle me down. I wasn’t thinking, and that’s on me.”
“Damn right it is. You don’t leave us hanging like that. Ever.”
“Understood. Won’t happen again.” I looked around the room at the monitors and tubes hooked into my veins. “I think I learned my lesson.”
“Hope so, because the next time it’ll be your ass.”
“Those motherfuckers got you pretty good, and they’re gonna suffer the consequences,” Smokey assured me.
There was something about that night that was weighing on me. Something that I couldn’t remember. I knew it was important, but I couldn’t grasp the memory. It was just out of my reach. I could only remember her… those eyes piercing through me and the searing pain of my ribs breaking as the brass knuckles slammed into my side. It came to me in bits and pieces, but I knew there was something more than just the altercation. “So, what happened anyway?”
“You happened.” Clutch smirked. “You and your big damned mouth.”
“I vaguely remember that. There was a girl….”
“Oh yeah, there was definitely a girl. And apparently you made quite an impression on her. She’d been coming every day to see you, but we haven’t heard from her in a couple of days.”
“So, what do you think happened? Where is she? Is something wrong? Is she okay?”
“Hey, slow down there, brother. Like I said, I haven’t talked to her.”
“And you haven’t checked on her? You haven’t tried to see if she’s okay? What the fuck, man?”
Clutch threw his hands in the air. “What? This girl mean somethin’ to you? How the hell would you even know? You’ve been in a fucking coma! Come on, dude, think.”
“I am thinking. I’m thinking a girl that cares enough to come see about me and make sure I’m okay must be worth a fucking phone call, dick.”
“I think your brain must still be mush. Don’t call me ‘dick’ or I’ll throat punch you, motherfucker.” He chuckled. “I don’t care if you are laid up in the hospital with brain damage.”
“Fuck you. I don’t have brain damage.” I laughed. “I was taking a long nap. I just needed a break from you assholes.”
“Well, the break’s over, buttercup,” Stitch spat. He looked over at Clutch. “Better let the doctors know he’s awake.”
Clutch walked out of the room and headed down the hall. Moments later, he returned with the doctor. After a thorough—very thorough—examination, the doctor said, “He’s looking good. We’ll get him up and moving later today, and maybe do a little physical therapy and see where we are.”
“When can I get out of here?”
“Well, you need a CAT Scan, and we need to see how you do once you get up and going. Then, if everything looks good, we can start thinking about getting you discharged.”
“Thanks, Doc,” Cotton told him as he shook his hand. “We appreciate you looking after him.”
Once the doctor had gone, Stitch turned to Cotton. “We’d better get rollin’.”
Cotton looked down at his watch and nodded. “You’re right. It’s getting late. We told him we’d be there in twenty.”
“Where are y’all headed? Who ya meeting?”
“I already told you. That’s nothing for you to worry about. You’re stayin’ in that bed and focusing on getting better.”
I nodded with a defeated sigh. They each said their goodbyes, and when they started for the door, I called out, “Clutch.”
“Yeah?”
“That girl… tell me what you know about her.”
“Don’t know much, brother. We came across her at Nudies when we went there looking for you. That’s when she told us about bringing you to the hospital after those assholes beat the hell out of you.”
“And since then, she’s been here to see about me?”
“Every damned night. She’d give Bear a break and sit with you for a couple of hours when she got off work.”
“I can remember her talking to me.”
“She thought it would help. No idea why she stopped coming. I should’ve checked in with her, but things have been crazy the past few days.”
“I have no doubt. You got her number? Or some way to get in touch with her?”
“I do.” He reached in his back pocket and offered me a burner phone. “The number is under the name ‘Zoe’, but you should know something before you think about contacting her.”
“What?”
“She’s tied up with the Chosen.”
“What do you mean, tied up? Is she an ol’ lady or something?”
“No. Her father was Lucky.”
“Fuck.”
“You know things were different when he was running the club. Now, everything has gone to shit, and she’s stuck in the middle.”
“Does she want out?”
“You’d have to ask her that, but watch your step with her. You’ve already had one run in with them. Next time, you might not get off so easy.”
“Understood.”
“I’ve gotta get going. Bear is on his way up.” Before he walked out, he turned back to me. “Call if you need anything, and be careful.”
“Will do.”
I stared down at the burner phone trying to decide on my next move. I knew nothing about this girl, but something about her kept gnawing at me, something that told me I needed to reach out to her—that I needed her. I was about to send her a text message when Bear walked in. He was carrying a large cup of coffee and reeked of cigarettes. With a wide smile, he walked over to the foot of the bed and shouted, “Well, I’ll be damned. You’re awake.”
“I am. How’s it going, Bear?”
“Better now. It’s been hell sitting here all week with nobody to talk to.” He walked over and plopped down in the chair beside me. “The only nice nurses are the dudes and… I ain’t into dudes, if you know what I mean.”
“I know what you mean,” I chuckled.
“The best part of my day was when Zoe came around. Been hell since she stopped coming.”
“Any idea what’s happened?”
“No idea, brother. One minute she was helping clean you up and shit, and then the next minute she was running out of here like she’d seen a fucking ghost. I haven’t seen her since.”
“What do you mean… clean me up?”
He got a goofy look on his face as he cocked his eyebrow. “You know… one of them sponge baths.”
“And she just left?”
“From the look on her face, she was pretty shaken up. Hell, she ran into me on the way out the door. I’m guessing she got a look at your bits, and it scared her off.” He laughed, but I didn’t find it funny—not in the least.
“Fuck you, shithead.”
“You know I’m just messing with you.” He shrugged. “I figured something with her school or work came up. She wasn’t the type to just flake out.”
I looked down at the burner and decided to take the chance.
Me:
Zoe?
Me:
Are you okay?
I waited twenty minutes, but got no response. I looked at Bear. “Hey. What exactly does Zoe know about me?”
“You mean other than the fact that you got your ass kicked?” He smirked.
“Bear.”
“Nothing, really. I mean, she knows your name. I guess that’s about it.” He looked over at the TV. “I think she felt pretty bad about what happened.”
“No reason for her to feel bad. It wasn’t her fault.”
“I tried telling her that, but she wouldn’t listen.” He glanced back at me. “She’s a cool chick, brother. Not many out there like her.”
I nodded and looked back down at my phone. Still no response.
Me:
It’s Seth.