Page 23 of Rattler
Just as I started down the stairs, I heard someone coughing loudly, stumbling footsteps coming in our direction.I stopped, holding up my hand to warn the others.Sliding my gun out of the holster, I eased the safety off and pointed it in the direction of the sound.
Jake stumbled into view, leaning heavily on the wall for support.His eyes widened as he looked up and saw us.Understanding crossed his face, and he shook his head.“No.Not an attack.Ceiling fan.Fell and landed on my foot.”He broke down into spasms of coughing again.
None of that made sense, but I eased the safety back on and holstered the gun.
Mom appeared behind him and looked up at me.“That big ceiling fan in the kitchen.You know, the one over the table?It just came crashing down.No warning.Nothing.One minute it was spinning away, and the next it hit the table, pieces of glass and stuff everywhere.That’s what made all the racket.Part of it broke off and hit Jake, which is why he’s limping.”
I pivoted to Shadow and Beast.“All clear.”Turning back to Mom, I asked, “Anyone hurt besides Jake?”
She shook her head.“No, but I don’t want to be the one to tell Janet the kitchen is going to need major repairs less than a month before her wedding.I’ll leave that up to Thor.”
I descended the remaining stairs.“Let’s take a look.Maybe it’s not as bad as you think.”That was a fairly new fan, replacing the one that had been up there for decades.The old one had been much smaller and hadn’t done a decent job of moving the air around.
Beast and Shadow were right behind me as we entered the kitchen.Not surprisingly, the place was a mess.Pieces of the fan were everywhere, and the table was most likely a write-off with bits of shattered glass embedded in the wooden top.I looked up and saw open wires dangling from the electrical box.
I turned to Mom.“Is the power turned off to that?”
She nodded at the switch on the wall.“Yeah.It was sparking so I turned the switch off.”
I looked at Beast.“Can you go pull the breaker at the power box?It should be labeled.”
“On it.”Beast headed down the corridor to the utility room that housed the main breaker panels.
Ace and Deuce appeared in the doorway, followed by Joker.Ace took in the carnage and turned to me.“What the hell happened?”
I shrugged.“Ceiling fan came down.Not sure why.Beast just went to cut the power, but we’ll need an electrician and possibly a restoration crew to fix this.”
He frowned.“That thing’s only been up there since spring.”
Beast came back.“Breaker’s off.Should be safe enough now.”He pulled out his phone.“Just letting the girls know everything’s okay.”
Deuce shook his head.“Not really okay, but they’re in no danger.”He pivoted and addressed me.“Get a couple of the prospects in here to clean up this mess.”
I nodded and pulled out my own phone.
Ace crossed the room and wrapped an arm around Mom.“Don’t worry.We’ll get this cleaned up.Meantime, go take care of Jake.It looks like a pizza party night for the club.”
I texted a couple of the prospects, then realized Lily didn’t have a phone.“Prospects are on the way.Okay if I run up and let Lily know everything’s okay?She doesn’t have a phone so I can’t just text her.”
Shadow paced over to my side.“I should have thought of that.Even if she had one, it would be traceable, so she’d need to ditch it.I’ll get her set up ASAP.What’s her preference?Android?iPhone?”
I shrugged.“No fucking idea.I’ll ask and get back to you.”
I turned to Joker, who was looking after Jake.“By the way, do you have time today to check Lily out and document the bruises on her?”
“No problem.Give me an hour or so to take care of some shit.You want to do it in your room?She might feel more comfortable there.”
I hadn’t thought of that.“Yeah, that would be great.Thanks.”
Lily was probably going crazy wondering what the hell was going on.I needed to get back to her.
Ace gave me a sympathetic look.“We can handle this here.Go.Take care of your woman.”He turned to Mom.“And you go take care of Jake.Shadow, order pizza and let the guys at the gate know it’s coming.Beast, make sure everyone knows we’re eating out back tonight and make sure there’s enough beer and drinks in the fridge out there.”
“Thanks, bro.”I pivoted on my heel and headed back up to my room to let Lily know things were okay, and that Joker would be up shortly.
I knocked on the door and yelled, “It’s me.Don’t shoot.”
The sound of the lock being turned made me feel good.When it mattered, Lily had taken my orders seriously.She opened the door, looking at me questioningly.“Everything okay now?”
