He sighed. “You’ve got a tone. What’s the tone for?”
“She’s worried about him,” I said to Boxer as we headed toward his truck.
“He’s not a hard-core smoker. He’ll go months without a cigarette.” He opened the passenger door for me, and I climbed up into the seat.
“That’s not her issue,” I said. “She said he only smokes when he’s stressed.”
He shut the door and went over to the driver’s side and got in. “What do you want me to do, Linden? Zip’s a grown man who can make his own decisions.”
He jammed the key into the ignition.
“Yes, I’m aware. We can all make our own decisions,” I told him. “She knows something’s going on that has nothing to do with her or their relationship.”
“He can’t tell her about club business,” he insisted.
“Maybe he should,” I fired back. “I know about it. Why am I allowed to know about it, but she can’t? Why can’t the other Old Ladies know about it?”
“You know because you were the one to patch me up. And we’ve been clear that might happen again. No surprises with you.”
“So, if I hadn’t been a doctor, Zip would never have come to me.”
“He wouldn’t have had any reason to.”
“So, I never would’ve known how you got injured, only that youwereinjured?”
I looked out the window.
“You don’t get to be mad at me,” he said.
“What am I mad at you about?” I demanded.
“I dunno. I’m just covering my bases.”
“You’re impossible.”
“Impossible to stay mad at.” He winked.
“I still think you should tell the Old Ladies what’s what,” I said.
“No.”
I sighed. “I’m between a rock and a hard place. I know you’ve been shot. They don’t know you’ve been shot. I’m hanging out with the Old Ladies tonight. Do you really expect me not to say anything to them about this?”
“Patient confidentiality, Doc. That’s a thing. I thought you’d be used to it by now.”
I stared straight ahead and fell silent.
“What, Doc? What’s going through that big ol’ brain of yours?”
I smiled absently at his teasing tone, but it quickly died. “I’m neither an Old Lady nor a Blue Angel. I’m just the doctor that got caught in the middle. Joni’s offering me her friendship, Boxer. She’s including me. It feels like I’m lying to them.” I sighed. “Are you sure you’re protecting them by keeping them in the dark?”
“Yes, Linden.” He sighed, sounding tired. “Not only is it the way it’s always been, it’s critical that you understand ithasto be this way. See what you’re feeling right now? That pull to talk to them, tell them what’s going on? Do you have any idea the risk we took telling you about any of this? It’s insane, frankly, and I had to convince the club you were different. Doctor-patient confidentiality is the only reason they finally got on board with it. Imagine all the women in the club all talking about this shit, their minds going wild and calling family members and—oh fuck all that. It just can’t happen.”
“I get it, but how can Joni be there for Zip the way he needs if he won’t confide in her?” I asked.
He pulled into Charlie’s Motorcycle Repair Shop and parked.
“Linden, stop. Let me lay it out for you, okay? We love our women and children, and we protect them the best way we know how. If Joni or Mia or any of the other Old Ladies has problems with how we do shit, they shouldn’t have stayed. They shouldn’t have chosen this life. You’re in our world now. There’s gonna be shit you don’t like, but that’s just the way it is. So, make your peace with it or—”