Page 102 of Stitch
“Can you imagine being prospects?” Elise asked me, as she waved to one of them.
“You know they’re basically treated like slaves until they’re patched in. Assuming that the vote approves them being patched at all. It’s really a cruel way to treat people they’ll later declare as their brothers, and treat like family.”
I was realising that club life was a hell of a lot different than I’d realised.I was surprised to realise that I actually liked most of it though. Apart from murder. That part was scary.
“Did you know Chrissy?”
Forty-Two
Imissed Camille bya fucking half second. I saw her car drive off just as I reached the door, and if not for getting delayed by Tommy, I’d have been able to stop her. I cursed, shoving my hair back as I cast my eyes around the parking area. Oh. There was the other person I was looking for.
I sent Ice a text, asking him to track Camille’s phone. Hopefully she was just going to her house, but I didn’t plan to let her have long to cool down before I turned up there to bring her home.
“Has!” I headed over to him and Ryder, and both glared at me on my approach. I held up my hands.
“I’m so fucking sorry. I was being an asshole and it was completely uncalled for. I know you didn’t do anything bad, man. I know it’s not excuse, but I was just freaking about Elise, that’s all.”
He went from looking pissed to concerned.
“Freaking out about what? She okay?”
Ryder nodded at us and headed back inside, leaving us to do the guy talk thing.
“I hadn’t heard from her all night, and she’d disappeared in the middle of the party. Then I found out there’d been a murder, and I was just… yeah… freaking. She’s my baby sister, man. I just want her safe.”
He nodded, leaning against the railing that surrounded the footpath around the car park.
“I get that, man. We all care about her, and if she was in danger, you know I’dhelp, right? I’d drop everything in a heartbeat. We’re family.”
How the hell had I doubted the man?
“Yeah, thanks. Look, I know you cared about Chrissy, so I’m really sorry, man. I know this is hitting you and Ry hardest, but we’ll find the fucker and end him, you know that, right?”
He folded his arms, casting his eyes around the car park, and I could almost see that scary intelligent brain of his ticking over. His jaw clenched, and I could see that same tension in every inch of his posture.
“She was just getting her life in order, man. She was so fucking excited about her future, about becoming a nurse, and helping people. Someone destroyed someone that sweet, and that kind, and I’m…I need to see them suffer.”
He still wasn’t looking at me, but I could see he meant it.
“Damn right. You and Ry can have the kill, man. We just have to find him first, and assuming it wasn’t something personal, we need to do that before he strikes again.”
Timing was a funny thing, because that was the exact moment that Ice called us inside for an urgent discussion in Reacher’s office. He’d matched three other murders to the same M.O. and that meant we weren’t looking at some guy who’d taken one sweet life. We were looking for a monster, who’d taken four. For all intents and purposes, we had a serial killer in town.
“Guys, we need to lock our women down, and keep them safe. Chrissy might be the only one connected to us, but that’s enough of a reason to protect them. Ice, Camille went home, right?”
He nodded, and checked something on his screen, zooming in on an image from the security camera.
“Elise was with her, so hopefully they’re both at her house.”Her house. It was soon going to be her former house, because she’d be living here with me.
“Right. We need a room prepped here for Elise because she can’t share with me, obviously, or any of you fuckers, of course.”
“What about Lissa?” Reacher asked Ice, and he lifted his eyes from his screen.
“I’ll tie her to the fucking bed if I have to. She’s not leaving until I know she’s safe.”
“Knew you were a kinky bastard,” Ryder muttered. For now the only ones ofus involved in this were the ones in this room. Me, Reacher, Ice, Has, and Ryder. While none of us wanted to believe a member of the club could have anything to do with rape and murder, for now it made sense to keep this between us.
If nobody outside of this room, and well, our old ladies, knew we were aware of it, or monitoring anything while investigating, then nobody’s behaviour would change. We’d be keeping our eyes open around all of our brothers from now on.
