Page 80 of Johnny Gun

“My girl loves animation. That’s all I can say without giving away the title. If a movie theater filled to the rafters with screaming kids is your jam, you’re welcome to come.”

A lazy smile curved Trent’s lip. “Screaming kids, huh? I’ll pass. Have fun.” He nodded and walked toward the front of the clubhouse.

Johnny dragged Isolde inside his room and shut the door with a loud slam. “Fuck, that was close.”

“What am I missing?” She folded her arms.

He pulled her toward the farthest wall from the door. Holding her arms, he whispered, “Got a text from Blade. We can visit Gomez. I should’ve warned you; he asked me not to say a word to anyone except Barron. He’s coming with us, but you have to change your clothes, baby.”

“I almost blew it. Why the secrecy?” Isolde asked as she stripped off her skirt and stepped out of her shoes.

Johnny rummaged through her closet in search of jeans. He found a pair, then tossed them to her. “Blade has a hunch, and just now, when we ran into Trent, I had a bad feeling.”

“You mean Trent, a sworn member of the Dalton MC, is the bad guy?” she asked wide-eyed as she dressed. “I don’t believe it. He and Gomez are the best of friends. They are, or were inseparable until Gomez was attacked.”

“I’m not saying he’s the traitor.” Johnny helped her pull down her top, then straightened her mussed hair. “But you’d be surprised what some people are willing to do for money. If the offer is generous, some guys would betray their own mother. In any case, I had to stop you from telling him where we were going because you were so excited. Until this snake is found, we all have to be very careful.”

“I understand.”

Johnny’s phone buzzed. He read the screen. “Okay, Barron’s waiting for us already. Let’s go check on Gomez.”

The elevator doors dinged open on the SDU floor. Johnny, Isolde, and Barron walked out into the long corridor. Johnny scanned the signs and pointed forward. “Nurses’ desk. Straight ahead.”

They made it to a busy nurses’ station and waited a moment, hoping to catch the attention of at least one.

“May I help you?” A young man dressed in green scrubs spoke to them.

“We came to see our friend,” Johnny replied. “We realize we can only visit him for a few minutes.”

“Name of the patient?”

“Gomez Murray,” Isolde answered.

“What are your names?”

“Isolde Lennox, Johnny Wells, and Barron Priestly.”

“You two are on the list, not him, and you can’t go in.” The young man frowned.

“But we were told we could,” Isolde moaned. “Our names are on the approved list. May we see him from the hallway at least?”

“Sorry, I didn’t explain myself,” the nurse said. “I meant to say you can’t go in yet. Just now, one of the approved visitors went to see Mr. Murray. We enforce a break between visits. Once he’s done, you’ll have to wait half an hour before going in.”

Johnny frowned as his gut suddenly twisted. “One of us? We’ll watch from the corridor until it’s our turn.”

“Okay, but no loud conversations. This is a quiet zone.”

“You got it.” He turned to Isolde and Barron. “Hurry.”

“What is it?” Barron whispered, keeping pace with Johnny.

“I have a bad feeling about this.”

Johnny came to a halt, then holding Isolde behind him, he peered through the long window. His fears materialized. He didn’t see any attending nurses in the room. His blood froze. Trent, syringe in hand, stood next to the unconscious Gomez, ready to plunge the needle into the IV tube.

Johnny turned to Isolde. “Run to the nurses’ station, baby. Get help. Hurry! Barron, with me.”

As Isolde took off down the corridor, he pulled the heavy door open and barged into the room. Amid the loud beeps of monitors, a startled Trent gawked at the two men. Barron moved to the left as Johnny went to the right to face Trent directly. Johnny palmed his jeans’ pockets, searching for a weapon, and cursed under his breath. He’d left the gun behind and carried no knife.

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