Page 16 of Ice
“Reacher. I’m not a fucking liability. Tell me what’s happening?”
He sighed, turning to look at me.
“Mafia shit. Because we need more fucking drama. Suddenly we’re at their fucking beck and call, and I swear to god, if a single brother is injured, I’ll kill Rossi myself.”
I followed him as he headed for his office, catching the door in my hand as he reached his desk, dropping heavily into his chair.
“What do you need, Pres?” I felt the old familiar urge to get to work, and support my club.
“A fucking coffee for a start.” I started to move, figuring it was as good a place as any to start.
“Wait! Don’t worry. I’m not… I’m not drinking coffee anymore. A fucking travesty that is, but ugh… okay… so the guys are supporting Rossi’s men in shutting down the last of the cartel operations over here. I guess technically that’s our problem too, but I’m still pissed that they called us in like they fucking own us.”
I closed the door and sat down with him.
“How the hell are they in a position to send us anywhere? It was a tentative alliance, right? Not some kind of reciprocal… Jesus, Reacher… is this because of something I did? Because of what happened to me?” Hell. Now I felt like an even bigger asshole.
“It is, isn’t it? What the fuck? How did this happen?”
He cursed, rubbing at his eyebrow.
“Needed someone to do what you do, while you were out of commission. No such thing as ‘no strings attached’ with mafia. It’s okay, kid. It’s not your fault.”
He looked exhausted, and I felt ten times worse every minute.
“Of course it is. I went after the cartel. I was gathering intel, so we could plan something, and I got made. It’s that simple. I fucked up, and you’re all paying for it. Jesus fucking Christ.When are you going to realise that I’m dead weight, Reacher? You’re best off kicking me out, and rebuilding without me fucking things up every chance I get. I’m toxic. I’m a disaster. And I’m just…I’m out, you need to take my cut… take my cut, and throw me out.” My heart was trying to beat its way out of my chest. I was terrified. This was the one thing I’d never wanted, and here I was, literally telling him to do it. Telling him to take everything from me. I felt like I couldn’t breathe, waiting for his response.
“Ice?”
I let out a sharp breath.
“Yeah…”
“Get the fuck out of my office, dipshit. You’re not going anywhere, but if you keep talking like that, I’ll smack some sense into you. Get your ass better, so we can rely on you again. That’s all I want from you right now.”
A surge of relief made me feel weak all over for a few seconds, as I ran a shaky hand over my face.
“Really?”
“We don’t give up on our brothers, Ice. You have some stuff to sort out, and then you’ll be back on top again. I don’t doubt that you can do it. What I do doubt is whether this whole relationship with Rossi and his minions is gonna work out. Fuck it… one problem at a time.”
My phone was buzzing in my pocket, and I eased it out, just as Reacher asked me what time my next appointment was.
“Fuck. I’m late.”
The call was from Dr Chase.
Lissa
Forsomeonesoapparentlydesperate for an appointment, he was late, and the later he became, the more worried I felt, because what if something had happened? What if he’d slipped, and fallen back into his addiction?
What if… oh god… what if he’d done what so many recovering addicts do? Fallen back into his old pattern, by using the same quantity of drugs he’d been used to? It was a fast ticket to an overdose, every time, because their bodies were no longer used to it, and it was how we lost so many people on this journey.
It was sheer panic that led to me ringing him.
“Doc! Jesus, I’m sorry…”
He was alive. He sounded well, and that pushed me from worried, to angry.
