Page 38 of Tank
“Prez, what do we do now?” I ask.
“We plan. As much as they are more than capable of sorting this on their own, they are still our family. We need to be with them or nearby in case they need help.”
“I’m going to Dog’s room to see what I can find,” Bull says.
Not a bad idea and one we should have thought of before now. While Young Blood is still typing away, trying to find what he can, the rest of us are just sitting, waiting. Prez is on the phone with someone, and it doesn’t look like he’s getting good news.
“That was Cass, Wrench coded while in recovery. They managed to bring him back, but he’s in bad shape. They’ve taken him back down, as they need to operate again. He’s hanging in there, but not sure for how much longer,” Prez tells us, his face looking worried.
He takes this all on his shoulders. As Prez, it is his job to guide us, but also to ensure we are all safe.
“Fuck, I should have done more,” I confess.
“What more could you have done?” Reck asks me.
“You did everything you could, brother,” Joker tells me as he pats me on the back.
“My cut says Sergeant at Arms. It is my job to keep us safe, and I was on that run. It was my job to ensure we all got home safely. Wire is fucking missing. Wrench is knocking on death’s door, and fuck only knows what the hell Dog is up to. I failed, and it was because I wasn’t paying attention. I was thinking about Pandora, and I managed to lose her too.”
The emotions running through me are too much. I take my cut off and hand it to Prez.
“Don’t deserve it,” I tell him as I march past him and out to my bike.
I can hear them shouting my name and coming after me, but I’m already on my bike and pulling out of the compound as fast as I can. Riding until I come to the edge of town, I turn down the dirt road and follow it around until I reach a clearing. Pulling over, I find a rock at the edge of the stream and sit. My emotions and thoughts are running wild. I'd told Pandora knowing who she truly was, didn’t make a difference in how I felt, but she’s right. It does make a difference.
What’s different?
She’s still the same person I met. I knew she was a badass, but this is a whole other level. My feelings for her haven’t changed. I knew I was falling for her. However, what has changed is my ability to trust her. This is something big, and she kept it from me. Even after I opened myself up to her, she still kept this from me. What else will she keep from me?
Wrench and Wire also lay heavy on me—the guilt of what happened. If Wrench dies, it will be my fault? It was my job to keep him safe, to protect him and Wire. What kind of fucked up Sergeant at Arms am I, if I can’t even keep my brothers safe, never mind their families? I walk back to my bike and head to the hospital. Entering the floor Wrench is on, I find Cass sitting outside his room.
“You okay, brother?” he questions, noticing I’m not wearing my cut.
“I’m fine. How is he?” I ask.
“He’s doing okay for now. Doc said they fixed the issue, but he’s still got a fight left.”
Nodding, I glance up the hall.
“Give us a minute,” I tell him as I slip into Wrench’s room.
I’m not prepared for the sight that greets me. Wrench is lying in bed, drained of all color, and wires are coming out of him, attached to machines. I take a seat next to him and reach out for his hand.
“Fuck brother, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t protect you more and that you’re in here fighting for your life. You better be fucking fighting hard, brother. Club can’t lose you. I can’t lose you. Been friends since we were kids. Always you, me, and Joker causing havoc.”
I take a deep breath to hold my emotions at bay. As I do, I feel a tear run down my cheek.
“I need you, brother. Know I fucked up, and I will spend the rest of my life making that shit up to you, but for me to do that, I need you to fight and survive. You’re strong, and if anyone can get through this, it’s you. Need you, brother.”
I feel his hand twitch, and then all the machines start to beep, and the lights flash. Seconds later, I’m pushed out of the room as the doctors and nurses rush in.
I hear the words . . .
“We’re losing him.”
Falling to my knees outside, I do something I haven’t done in years. I pray.
CHAPTERTWELVE
