“He left?” I asked, mouth agape. “What do you mean he left?”
“I mean he’s gone. As in not here. He said he’d be back in a few days,” Zip added. “But he didn’t tell me where he was going.”
“Why would he tell you?” I pressed. “You guys were at each other’s throats.”
“They made up in prison,” Boxer quipped. “Not likethat, but they’re brothers again.”
“Glad to hear it,” I murmured.
I glanced out the window. I’d only just woken up an hour or so ago. A nurse had come to take my vitals but then had left quickly. Colt hadn’t been in my room when I’d opened my eyes. I thought nothing of it, thinking that he might’ve gone for coffee.
But he was gone. Without a word.
“I got a theory,” Boxer said slowly. “You wanna hear it?”
“I think you’ll tell it to me whether I want to hear it or not,” I said, dragging my eyes away from the window.
“I think he went for a ride,” Boxer said. “To clear his head. To put it back on straight. He…”
“He what? Spit it out, Boxer.”
“God, you’re fucking cranky,” he stated.
“I’m about to get fucking crankier,” I muttered.
Boxer sighed. “Colt might’ve punched a wall while you were in surgery. He’s been off ever since. Riding is the only thing that clears out the cob webs.”
“I can’t believe he left me.”
“He didn’t leave you,” Zip said. “He went to go find himself.”
“Find himself. What the fuck is that? He has that luxury, but I don’t?” I gestured to my leg. “I’ve got months of physical therapy to look forward to. Basically being bed-ridden. And I never got to pay back the man who killed my best friend.Find himself?” I sounded like a banshee, screaming and caterwauling like a wounded animal.
Hell, I was wounded, and it wasn’t just my leg.
“What about me? How the fuck could he do this to me? We’re supposed to be a team. You don’t just—he really took off?”
Boxer and Zip both nodded.
I leaned my head back against the pillows. “This is unbelievable.”
I wished Joni was here so she could shed some light on her brother. “When is everyone coming back from the cabins?”
“Not for a little while,” Zip said. “We wanna make sure all the shit is wrapped up here before we bring them home.”
“What other shit? Dev is gone, apparently. What else is there to handle?”
Boxer scratched his chin. “Alejandro’s men are cleaning the streets looking for the Iron Horsemen. It’s not a bright idea to be riding around Waco wearing a cut right now.”
“Don’t watch the news,” Zip said. “They’re reporting solely on the crime wave. It’s bad.”
“So it really is over,” I said in amazement. After weeks of fear and terror, of being on lockdown and the losses, it was done.
“Yeah, it is,” Boxer said with a nod.
“Have you talked to Joni?” I asked Zip. “How’s she doing? Is everyone okay? Silas?”
“They’re fine. The kids don’t know anything that’s going on. Silas is doing well from what Darcy said.”