Page 23 of Has-Been
Seth finished making the drinks and passed me one.
“The day we found out about Chrissy. I went to his room, because we’d been messaging him and he wasn’t replying. He… well, normally he’s not shy about us seeing him in the buff, or whatever, but he was cagey, hiding behind his door. Wouldn’t let me in. It just wasn’t normal, and it was the absolute wrong time to be acting out of character.”
Oh god.Wasn’t that the morning that I woke up in Has-Been’s room? The morning after that night when I drunkenly went to his room, fuelled by Dutch courage, and fell asleep as soon as he gave me his bed? That meant that my brother suspected him of rape and murder simply because he was trying to protect me. How the hell could I tell him, and clear Has-Been’s name, without dropping him in the shit even more?
“He’s not a killer, Seth.”
My brother fixed that steely gaze on me.
“Oh yeah? And what makes you so sure, huh? That’s the second time I’ve caught him in your room with you. Anything you want to tell me?”
Yikes! “He was in here because Reacher sent him with me. He’s fixing my door, for god’s sake. I can’t spend another night cowering in my bed, Seth! You heard him, he’s going to get the replacement door and locks. Will you please stop accusing him or me of things?”
Seth rested a hand on my shoulder.
“Sweets, I’m not accusing you of anything, but you have to watch the guys around here. They’re predatory, and deviant. I mean, fuck… half the guys here think rough sex is the only way to fuck. No man in this club is right for you.”
Oh my god. I turned away from him, because I felt horrified just at the sound of the words ‘rough sex’ from my big brother. Especially when I was pretty sure that was how Has-Been liked it, and I really wanted to experience it with him.
“Elise, as soon as we can make it safe for you, you can get out of here and get on with your life. Law school, remember?”
Wow… law school. A future outside of the club. Why did that suddenly sound like the last thing I wanted?
Fifteen
Reacherkeptgivingmethose looks, the ones that said he suspected something, and I knew it was about Elise. He wasn’t an idiot. He probably figured it out as soon as he was in a fucking room with us.
“Go on and ask,” I muttered, casting my eyes down because I was ashamed of the fact that I couldn’t fucking resist her. Every time I was near her, I told her what I should be telling her. That we couldn’t be together. Every one of those fucking conversations ended up with me kissing her or touching her, and I always thought I had more willpower than that.
He groaned, rubbing at his eyebrow for a moment.
“Don’t wanna know, because this puts me in a really fucking awkward position, son. You know, as well as I do, that family of club members are off limits. This could break the club apart. Is that what you want?”
Of course it wasn’t. “What if it’s real?”
He slammed a palm down on the desk.
“Does that make a difference to Stitch? I know it’s not an actual rule, but it’s a fucking code of conduct, brother. We don’t fuck each other’s family. You saying it’s love? Is that where you’re at?”
Jesus, was it? Wasn’t it? How the hell was I supposed to know for sure?
“It could be… not like I can guess without fucking trying, is it?”
Reacher rubbed at his temples.
“Be really sure about what you want, Has-Been, because this club is fucking fragmenting as it is. We nearly just lost Stitch. Hell, a few weeks back, we nearly lost Ice too. It’s been a shit time for everyone, and now we have a killer on the loose. Possibly right within the damn club. Tell me what I should do right now.”
I knew exactly what he could fucking do, and I opened my mouth to say it, and my voice dried up on me. In the end, I said what he needed to hear, because I couldn’t be the reason the bastard keeled over or something. He looked about ready to fucking crack as it was.
“Jesus. I get it. Did Ice figure out who hacked him?”
Reacher cursed, getting up and staring out of his window.
“You’d think it’d be easy, right? He makes it all look so fucking easy, but no… we have no idea who did it. Could be a club member, could be an external source. All we know is they probably got Elise’s phone number that way. Ice could use a hand, you know. You’ve been learning this shit from him, and he needs backup.”
I nodded, wondering what the fuck use I’d be while my head was so fucked up.
“Yeah, but someone needs to fix Elise’s room. She can’t spend another night panicking in the dark because she doesn’t feel secure.”
