Page 39 of Reacher
I glared at her. “Except try to be with him without some fucking drug in his system. Do you realise that you could be doing permanent damage to him? Physically? Mentally?”
“Pres, please. Don’t make me pick a side.”
Is he for fucking real? Does he not even see it?
“You already did that, brother. Look, keep that shit. Do whatever the fuck you want, but maybe think about long term, yeah? Long term, you can’t keep resorting to this insanity, so you need to think about what you can do to make this work, without enlisting people like Ice to sneak you illegal substances. I’m cutting him off, and that means it’ll cut you guys off too.”
“I’m trying,” Tori said quietly, her head low. Ryder moved over and stroked her hair back, kissing her temple.
“I know, baby, I know.”
“Have you even tried, I don’t know… tying him the fuck down so he can’t move? Even without drugs, he’s still your bitch, right?”
Ryder cursed, rubbing a hand over his face, but I didn’t miss the blush on his cheeks. Jesus Christ.
“You did try that, right?”
He shook his head. Fuck me, missing the obvious to go straight for fucking psychoville.
“That’s unbelievable. You guys went straight for the most dangerous way to get off, instead of trying something that simple? Hell… I won’t even judge you for that. I’d be quite happy to let Ally…fuck… Ally. I don’t know what to do about her now.”
I drank that second vodka, wondering why I was letting my shit out in front of those two. They clearly had their heads so firmly up their own asses, or each other’s, that they couldn’t see anything else. No matter who else they were hurting in the process.
I waved off Ryder’s attempt to speak, his mouth closing again.
“Forget it. Not another word. I’m… Jesus… I’m willingly turning a blind eye for now. Do what you need to do to get your shit straight, but you’re not getting any more of that stuff. I won’t allow it. I want the syringes when they’re empty, so I know you’re done with it, and then? Then it’s going in the fucking club bylaws. And Ryder? If, when Ice wakes up, it turns out that this shit had anything to do with what happened to him, I’m putting it to a vote. The club will decide if you stay or go.”
His face paled, and his shoulders slumped, but I couldn’t stay and talk about this shit anymore. It wasn’t my place to try and ease his conscience, after the way their twisted shit had fucked with so many of us.
I needed away from them, away from everything, because in one fell swoop, they’d decimated their own lives, maybe Ice’s,and mine too. See, if I couldn’t trust Ally about that, I sure as hell couldn’t trust her about anything else.
Eleven
Hedidn’tcomedownfor dinner, so I sat and ate mine, while his was kept under a lid to keep it warm. It was good too; carbonara, really nicely made. Tommy was a damn good cook.
I didn’t understand what was keeping Reacher though, so eventually, I pushed my plate aside and picked his up to take it to our room. If he’d been caught up, the least I could do was take it to him. I knew he hadn’t come back down to his office, because I’d kept an eye on the stairs the whole time I was eating.
I was halfway up the stairs when I bumped into a prospect. I blanked on his name, Nick, maybe? He was carrying a holdall, and looked nervous when he saw me.
He also didn’t move out of my way, even stepping back into my way when I tried to move around him. Clearly they didn’t teach manners around here.
“I’m taking Reacher his dinner, can you let me past?”
He sighed heavily, and held up a hand.
“Jesus. Sometimes being a prospect sucks even more than I realised.”
“Because I want you to show some manners, and move aside to let me pass?”
He shook his head, another heavy sigh gushing out of him.
“Because I can’t let you up there, and because I’m under orders to take you back to the flat you were staying in.”
I felt my heart thudding in my chest, as his words permeated and dread set in.
“Why? Is Reacher okay? Let me go talk to him.”
He shook his head again. “I can’t, Alicia. This comes directly from Reacher. He said to grab your stuff, and move you back out of here, and that’s all I know.”
