Page 63 of Has-Been
“Yeah, sounds like. He’s been hanging up near the midlands, but said he wants a quieter life, and somewhere to settle. Boy, did I mis-sell our club right now.”
“He’s a good bloke, I knew him back when I was a nomad too. It’ll be good to see him again. I mean, he can be a jackass at times, but he’s good people.”
Reacher stood up again.
“Yeah, we’re not sending him away and that’s final. He’s had a long fucking journey to get here, and he’ll be arriving today or tomorrow. Be nice, yeah? And if one of you really is trying to kill us, maybe give him a break, because whatever perceived shit you have against us, he’s obviously never been a part of it.”
He closed the meeting then, and it was a solemn group that left the room. As I reached for the door to follow them, Stitch called out to me.
“Has, stay for a minute.”
Oh fuck.
Elise
Theywereintheirmeeting for so long that we were all getting edgy, because we were all missing our men, and worried about them, and desperate to know what was happening. We’d seen them come back, but Ice had sent Lissa a message to confirm they were going straight into another meeting, and they’d been in there ever since.
“Do you think they’re all okay down there? Like what if someone went nuts on the rest?”
Alicia frowned at Tori, and shook her head.
“That’s a bit dramatic, babe. I think what’s going on is they’re talking, and when they’re done, our men will come and get us.”
Tori shuddered. “Honestly, I feel safer in here. This is the only room that looks like it’s not easy to get into.” She had a point.
“Maybe they need to improve the security of all the rooms now. It makes sense, right?”
Alicia nodded, checking her watch for the fiftieth time, because despite her nonchalance, she was worried too.
“I’ll discuss it with Reacher, when he finally comes to let me out. Did you hear we have a new guy coming to the club?”
She shrugged when we all stared at her dumbly.
“It’s one of the mafia guys, masquerading as a biker. Reacher wanted me to make sure you all know that he’s safe, because he’s not from here, and he’s on loan from Tori’s ‘daddy don’.”
“Ugh don’t call him that, it doesn’t even make sense anyway.”
“Is it wise to bring him in now? He might be an easier target for whoever this is, based on the fact that he’s not someone the killer might be close to.”
Lissa smiled at me. “I think that’s part of the reason why he’ll be safer. Not only is he like Ice, and going to be helping with all the tech stuff, thank god, but he’s going to be monitored carefully for any attempts on him. He’ll also be watching for anyone badmouthing any of the club members, and trying to cause trouble. I don’t know if it’ll work, but it’s worth a try. This escalation today, that’s scary as hell. Any one of them could have been badly hurt or worse.”
Badly hurt. My man was in pain, and not just the physical kind. I caught Lissa’s attention.
“Can I talk to you privately?”
She glanced around the room.
“If we whisper and stay over in the far corner, I guess so.” Alicia pulled out her phone, and scrolled through a playlist, setting a song playing quietly. She was doing all she could to give us some privacy. The others stayed where they were, by the window, and we headed over by the bed, sitting on the floor beside it,
“What’s up, babe?”
“It’s about Has-Been. I’m not asking you to tell me anything about him if he’s been to see you, but I’m worried about him.”
Lissa grabbed my hand, squeezing it gently.
“Because of the accident?”
“Because of what happened after. Something… something triggered a bad memory or something, and he was… I don’t know, trapped in it or something. It was like he couldn’t even see me, and he was so desperate to not be touched. I know that means something really awful happened to him. Will you please see if you can help him? He may not be able to tell me, but maybe he can let it out with you.” Lissa offered me a sad smile, giving my hand one last squeeze before she released it.
