On arriving at the hospital, Lord made another call to Righteous to make sure all brothers were accounted for. They were. It was just him and Lord now.
They entered the main reception to find an older woman, dark shadows beneath her eyes, looking like she’d enjoyed much better days than sitting behind a hospital reception desk.
“Hey, sweet lady,” Lord said.
It never failed to amaze Brick how quickly Lord could turn on the charm.
“How can I help you?”
Seconds ago, the woman looked like she’d been sucking wasps. A few choice words from Lord, and she was ready to be putty in his hand. He wondered if she’d have been so happy to see Lord if she knew he was very happy, married, and in love with Ally.
“We heard that our friend got beat up pretty bad, and well, we only just got the news and we’ve been riding for a couple of days straight to get to him. No one gave us a room number or a person to contact.” Lord reached into his pocket, pulling out some cash as he gave her a name.
Brick waited to see if the woman would accept the bait.
Tick-tock.
She took the money. “Let me see what I can do for you. He is your brother after all.” She gave Lord a wink.
“You are a fine woman.”
The receptionist giggled.
He needed to start taking pointers from this guy. They had Jeff’s floor and room number. With a final wink, they went to the elevator and stepped on.
“You make me sick,” Brick said. “You’re one of the scariest motherfuckers around and look how you worked that woman.”
“It’s a gift. One day, you’ll have the same kind of gift, just not as good,” Lord said.
“Is that why you and Ally never argue?” Brick asked.
“Ally and I don’t argue because I know how to treat a woman good. You need to start shutting up and taking notes. A wealth of knowledge here.” Lord tapped his head.
“You’re down nearly two hundred dollars for this information,” Brick said.
“But without my charming personality, we wouldn’t be here at all, would we?”
They stepped off the elevator and went to find Jeff’s door number.
Lord leaned against the door with a sigh. “We know what we want?”
“All the info on the Skull Nation. Easily done.”
A nod from Lord, and then they entered Jeff’s room. He was watching television. He dropped the remote, his hand shaking as soon as he saw them.
“I didn’t do anything. I didn’t say a word. I swear. I swear.” The machines he was hooked up to started to beep.
Brick smiled. “We’re not going to do anything.” Lord sat down in the chair nearest the bed. “We have a few questions.” He reached into his jacket pocket and placed the muzzle of the gun against Jeff’s knee. “This is either going to be easy or hard. I know what I want, and I know what is good for you. Tell me, Jeff, are you going to be a good boy?”
Jeff was already perspiring.
“I think Jeff pissed himself,” Brick said.
“I know, so I guess I’m not that scary. We all know it’s way more fun when they shit themselves.”
“No, please, please, please,” Jeff said, putting his hand near his leg as if to ward off any threat of being shot.
“Then how about you be a good boy, and you tell me everything I need to know about my good Skull Nation brothers.”
****
Brick never came home.
Callie waited until close to midnight before getting changed into some night clothes. Losing her virginity had been a big deal, and Brick hadn’t even cared enough to come home. The following morning, he still hadn’t come home. There was no sign of him. She went down to the kitchen, and like so many other times before, was ignored by the rest of the club. They only paid her attention when Brick was around.
The way they were with her made her wonder if he did this regularly with women. Brought them to the club, slept with them, and then did the vanishing act.
She took her breakfast of a couple of slices of toast outside. It wasn’t a warm day, and she wrapped the cardigan around her to try to ward off the chill.
She wished Ally would pop by again to give her some words of wisdom. Being in a relationship with a biker was like walking on eggshells. Maybe Brick just wasn’t relationship material like Lord was for Ally.
There was no point to it. Nothing had changed. She and Brick were the same as before.
Was he sending her a message she hadn’t read clearly enough? He wanted her gone?
Callie’s appetite faded fast.
Without another word to any of the club, she made her way into the clubhouse, past the main room, and up the corridor stairs, going straight to his room. There, she grabbed the bag off the floor, placed it on the bed, and reached for her things. She refused to stay with a man who didn’t want her.