Page 9 of Claymore
“Fuck. Looks like I’m not the only one.”
“You got off easy if you ask me. Wrench’s got one bullet wound to the arm and a serious road rash,” Archer said.
“Damn.”
I walked into the kitchen to see Wrench wincing in pain as the doc cleaned his wounds, strapping on the last bandages. The side of his head was bloody. It was dry, crusty, like he’d been hit a while ago. He ground his teeth every time he moved, clutching a cold one in his hand so tightly I thought the bottle was going to shatter.
“They got to you too, huh?”
“You know, I used to think those fuckers were trouble when they were getting orders from Ray, but now I’m starting to think they’re much worse without him.”
“They’re acting recklessly because they want answers. No one knows where Ray is. We don’t even know what he’s planning or if he’s even still alive,” I said.
“He’s still alive. The Kings would know if he was dead. They would’ve either cleared out or came for revenge by now,” Tank said.
“So, what exactly are we gonna do? We can’t just sit around and wait for them to knock each of us out. We have work to do and a club to protect. They’re a real pain in my ass.”
“And your arm. And your rib.”
Wrench rolled his eyes at me. We all turned to look at Tank who had a finger on his chin, thinking.
“Has Ella contacted Ray yet? Has she tried?” asked Ripper, walking into the room with the chain over his jean pocket rattling.
“She’s still on edge after being cornered by the Kings. She texted today to let me know she’s safe. I’ll head down there tomorrow to see what else I can find out.”
“I don’t know why you’re wasting your time trying to protect her. She’s Ray’s sister. I still think she’s trouble. I say we abandon that plan and start tearing through the remaining Kings we can find before they do the same to us. They already had a head start,” Vegas chimed in.
He ruffled his dark hair, folding his arms across his chest and looking over at Tank. Tank pressed his lips together, giving his words some thought. I shook my head.
“Nah. No way. I’m not abandoning Ella now after I promised to protect her. She can andwillhelp us. We just need a goddamn plan.”
“I told you what’s gonna happen if we find out Ella’s playing both sides, right, Claymore?”
“Yeah, Tank. You did, but she isn’t. She needs our help, and it’s time you see we need hers.”
“She may be our only lead,” Wrench groaned.
“Fine. You three start tracking down some Kings. Hit up some bars, find out what they’re planning,” Tank ordered, pointing to Ink, Vegas, and Crow.
“And us?” asked Ripper, glancing at Wrench and me.
“I need you to oversee the next few runs to make sure we don’t get ourselves into any more trouble. Wrench, hang tight for now. Claymore, you know what you have to do. Find out what Ella knows. Dig into Ray’s past. There has to be something there that will help us find him.”
I gave him a single nod, watching as everyone cleared out. I arrived home a little while later, feeling my stomach rumble. I locked the door, tossing my keys across the dining table before I hit the fridge.
I opened up the door to find a single box of Thai food sitting on the shelf. I gave it a quick sniff, deciding it was good enough for now. I dumped it all out into a bowl and stuffed it into the microwave.
I pulled out my cell phone, opening up my recent call list and tapping Ella’s name. The phone rang for a while until it eventually disconnected and I wrinkled my eyebrows. I tried again, feeling the worry course through my body, but there was no answer. Before I could shoot her another call, my phone buzzed with an incoming text message.
I’m good, Claymore. Working the overnight shift.
I reread the text message a few times, wondering why it felt so strange. There were no quick witty remarks or the little jabs Ella would always take at me even in the few characters of her texts. I could tell that she was still on edge, still scared, and part of me felt like she didn’t want to admit it. I sighed, scarfing down my piping hot Thai food, feeling my stomach still rumble when I was finished. I grabbed my leather jacket and bike keys, walking right back out into the dark night.
The ride into Sedona was a quiet one, and I was surprised that the streets cleared out this early. I parked in the back lot behind Crystal’s, switching off my engine before I sauntered around to the front door. The little bell let out a clamorousding!when I opened it, and the man behind the register glanced up at me. I gave him a warm smile, knowing there were probably a lot of sketchy lone bikers rolling through here on their way out of state.
“Sit anywhere you’d like,” he said, nodding over at the section of booths near the window.
“Thanks, man.”
