Rooster and I started our bikes, and once Niara pulled out, we followed. I rode next to Raptor, and Rooster ran slop. Voodoo was directing Niara, and we followed. As we approached the first intersection, my heart stuttered.
Each time we passed a side road or went through an intersection, it was like that. Tension made my muscles bunch, and I didn’t breathe a sigh of relief until we were on the outskirts of town.
Still, we were ever watchful of our surroundings the entire way.
When we rolled up to the gate, Static came jogging up and opened it for us. Voodoo must’ve called them. Once we were through, he quickly secured it and followed us back to the clubhouse. Not once did the man crack a smile.
Stone and the others came out to help Voodoo and Sloane from the car. I paused, but Niara waved me on.
Rooster pulled around to the back of the building, and Raptor and I followed. All the bikes had been moved behind the clubhouse. As we parked, I glanced at the truck and trailer parked there.
“Whose is that?” I asked as I motioned with my head at the truck. I hadn’t realized it was back there when Sloane and I had returned to the compound after retrieving the box with the scrolls.
“Mine,” Rooster replied. “I had a funeral to attend, and I wasn’t missing the chance to ride while I was here.” He shrugged.
“Hell, I can’t say I blame you. We got lucky that the weather was tolerable so we could ride down here. Not sure when we’ll be able to go home with the way the weather is right now,” Raptor muttered.
“True,” I agreed.
It took us a minute to get inside, but I was shocked to see the changes that had already been made. There was electricity for one.
“We made a call,” Evan said, and I jumped, ready to bury my fist in his face.
“Goddamn it! Stop fucking doing that! My thoughts can’t even be my own around you! What the fuck?” I grumbled. I wasn’t sure if he could read my mind or if he was just really damn good at being one step ahead of people.
“Yeah, he never did care if something belonged to someone else,” Raptor muttered as he passed me to check on Voodoo, where he sat at one of the tables.
Evan sighed. “Jesus fucking Christ, Adrien. How many times do I have to say I’m sorry? I didn’t fucking know.”
“Don’t care,” Raptor said as he walked away.
Confused, my attention bounced from Raptor to Evan and back.
While Raptor studiously ignored Evan, I checked out the group of men who stood over against the bar. They watched us warily, and we did the same. An older man was sitting with Voodoo, unwrapping his arm. Once he was done, he opened a case, withdrew several items, and proceeded to clean the wound and stitch it shut. The entire time Voodoo remained stoic.
Then the dude drew something up in a syringe.
“What the fuck is that?” Raptor asked suspiciously.
“For fuck’s sake,” Evan muttered.
The older man who obviously had medical training glared at Evan. “Evan, enough.” Then he turned his attention to Raptor. “Antibiotic.”
Raptor grunted in acceptance and crossed his arms.
The guy finished up and cleaned up his mess. When he stood, he gave Voodoo some care instructions that had Voodoo chuckling.
“Not my first rodeo with something like this, Doc,” he joked, then grabbed the bottle of water one of the other dudes brought over. “Thanks,” he told the guy, who nodded.
“I’m going to go check on Sloane and her mom,” I told Raptor, then looked over my shoulder to the doc. “Did you have a chance to check out Sloane’s ribs?” I asked him.
“She refused.”
I shook my head in frustration. “Figures.”
“I’ll go with you,” Raptor told me. He gripped Voodoo’s good shoulder and then followed me.
Once we hit the hall, I glanced his way. “You wanna tell me who that guy was?”
At first I didn’t think he would answer. Then as I reached for the doorknob, he stopped and ran a hand through his dark hair. I swear, he changed his hair color more often than most women. Not that long ago, it was shoulder length and looked a lot like Ghost’s. Then a few days before we came down here, he cut it and went back to his natural dark.
He inhaled deeply, then let it out in a rush.
“My dad.”