Page 56 of Has-Been
“Call to arms is the message channel we use to reach all brothers at once. We expanded it to add old ladies and Elise, because this is fucking vital. Someone tampered with some of the bikes, and we don’t know which ones are safe. We’ve had four members suffer incidents out on their bikes today.” He turned to me then, his face softening.
“One of them was Has-Been. He’s on his way to the hospital along with Ryder, who also came off.”
What the hell? I felt my legs starting to tremble, and Lissa guided me to a chair.
“Breathe, babe. Ice, is Has okay?”
He scrubbed at his buzzcut hair, a clear sign of his agitation.
“All I know is that Ryder and Has-Been were sent out to check on Torch, after his brakes failed and he was taken off in an ambulance. They messaged to say he was released, and I’ve since found out that they both had an accident on the way back, but I don’t have any news on injuries yet. The fourth was Micro, and I don’t know more than that either, except that he was elsewhere. We’re calling everyone back, and locking them down.”
“I need to see him.”
He nodded, reaching out and squeezing my shoulder lightly.
“They’re just checking that the vans are safe, then we’re taking one to go check on them.”
“Don’t let Seth leave me behind, Ice. Has-Been is mine. I love him, and I’m not going to be kept away from him like I’m some child.”
He groaned, kissing Lissa’s head and turning to go to the door.
“I’ll shout as soon as we’re leaving. Lissa, babe, please don’t leave the clubhouse. I need to know you’re safe. Lock yourself in here while we’re gone, because it’s the safest room. I’m gonna get the other old ladies to wait here with you.”
I tried sending a text to Has, but there was no sign that he’d even seen it, no tick to say it was received, and no bouncing bubbles telling me he was replying. I was out of my mind with worry.
Lissa let my brother into the room then, and he crouched in front of me, taking my phone away and squeezing my hands.
“Hey, he’s probably fine, sweets. They’re waiting in A&E, which suggests they’re not that seriously hurt. Come on, we’re going to see them now. Lissa? The other old ladies are on their way down, except Tori. She’s coming with, obviously.” She nodded, standing back as Seth hauled me to my feet and led me to the door.
“As of right now, the club’s on lockdown, and we have to suspect everyone, Lissa. Don’t trust anyone except the other old ladies, okay?” She took a deep breath, maybe seeking strength she didn’t feel without Ice staying with her.
“You’ll keep Ice safe?” Seth stopped before he closed the door.
“Lissa, I’ve got his back, okay?”
As we listened to her locking up, I grabbed Seth’s hand, urgency in my tone.
“You have Has’ back too, right? You know he’s not behind any of this, and he’s not a bad guy. Please. I need to know you’re going to keep him safe too.”
Seth grimaced, tugging me down the hall to the stairs.
“Sweets, I can promise not to kill him, but that’s all I can focus on right now. Just because several of our guys were injured today, it doesn’t rule any of them out. What if they deliberately did this to make us overlook them?”
We reached the bottom of the stairs as he finished speaking, and I turned and slapped him hard across his face. He was my big brother and neither of us had ever struck the other before, but I was too angry to hold back.
“If anything happens to Has-Been, I’m holding you personally responsible, Seth, and I’ll never speak to you again.”
Thirty-Five
Icouldn’tfuckingbelieveit.When we were taken in to get checked out, after our bikes both failed on us, we were greeted by a grumpy but familiar face in A&E.Micro. He was slumped on a chair in the waiting room, and he had bandages around his arm and shoulder.
“Fuck, man, you too?”
He lifted his head, groaning with the movement.
“Jesus… did everyone crash today? What the fuck is going on?”
I opened my mouth to answer him with the truth, and Ry beat me to the punch.
