Page 24 of Ice
“Ice, what happened to your arm?”
He cursed, gripping the top of his shoulder with the other hand.
“Nothing.”
I swiped the box he’d grabbed from the cupboard. Seriously strong painkillers.
“Jesus, Ice. What is it?”
He sighed. “You can’t tell. If anyone knows, I’m out of the club, and I can’t lose them. I have nothing else. My mother and step-asshole are my only family, and I don’t want to be reliant on them.”
My god.I guided him away from the cupboard, closing it before he caught his head on it.
“Tell me. I already told you I’ll keep your secrets. Even if it wasn’t my job, I would.”
He stared at the box of pills in my hand.
“They’re old. I rarely take them, but then I’ve had a chemical fucking crutch for so long that I’ve not really needed them.”
I looked up from the box. “They’re out of date.” He tried to shrug, and cursed, cupping his shoulder.
“Doesn’t matter. I need them.”
“Ice… I’m not sure if it’s safe for you to take something this strong. You’d be replacing one substance for another.”
He let out a low groan, and when I met his eyes, I could see the pain in them. Real pain. Physical pain, I mean. Whatever was wrong,it was agony.
I grabbed a glass from the counter, and half filled it with water, then I popped two of the pills out, and passed them to him, holding up the water, so he could wash them down.
“I need to sit. They’ll hit me like a sledgehammer.”
Eleven
Thiswasn’twhatI’dplanned for when I went back to my room. If she’d stayed, I imagined me touching her again, pressing her down on my bed, so I could kiss every inch of her. I wanted her squirming beneath me. It wasn’t going to happen now. Fuck my shoulder.
“What happened, Ice?” She’d not only helped me take pills, but now she’d made us a damn instant coffee, and was sitting with me on the sofa, like she wasn’t planning on leaving any time soon.
Hell, it had to come out sometime, but at least she wasn’t a club member. She couldn’t tell Reacher.
“Promise you won’t tell anyone.”
“Ice, you’re starting to scare me. What happened?”
I flinched as another spasm tore across the top of my shoulder, and neck. I closed my eyes, fighting the urge to curse with the pain.
“The thing you need to know about club life, is that there’s one rule that is non-negotiable. It’s a do or leave kinda thing.”
She frowned, trying to turn in her seat beside me, that long narrow skirt getting in the way. I wanted to tell her to hitch it up, and show me some leg. I wanted her to take it off, but I knew, with the pain, that there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it, even if she was into me.
“Ice, breathe through the pain.” I snorted, shaking my head.
“Trust me, darlin’. Not my first fucking time.” Breathing did help, but then when the spasms started, there was nothing I could do but wait them out. The painkillers didn’t even fucking touch it, didn’t stop the spasms, or the pain, but for some reason they numbed everything else, and lifted me out of myself enough that I could cope. Survive.
“You have to be able to ride. It’s the one rule in every club. You gotta be able to ride a fucking motorbike. You can’t ride, you’re out. You get sick or injured, and you can’t ride, tough titty. It’s all over.”
She frowned. “That seems harsh.”
“Yeah. A few years ago, I’d have disagreed with you. I’d have said it’s fucking vital we can ride. Said that any loser who can’t ride doesn’t deserve to be in a fucking club, butnow I’m that fucking loser.”
