“Make it eight hundred,” I interjected, pulling out my own wallet. We all had plenty of money from back in the days before the club went legit. I didn’t miss the crimes—drug-running, arms deals, gambling rings—but it was all lucrative. Still, I preferred knowing we were doing good in the community.
The nurse hesitated, biting her lip. She looked up and down the hallway quickly before reaching out and snatching the cash from Bones, then me. “You’ll have to wait until the doctor is done. And only fifteen minutes. You don’t want to overtax him.”
I could tell she didn’t feel entirely good about this, but money was the most powerful motivator I knew of, so she’d follow through.
Bones called off everyone else, promising he’d talk to Ink about taking visitors tomorrow, during regular visiting hours. We waited in the tiny waiting area, a carpeted space at the end of the hall with hard, grey chairs.
Bones sat, his leg bouncing up and down, while Maverick was like a statue beside him. Gunner and I couldn’t hold still. He was pacing back and forth, like he was trying to work off some energy, while I stared out the window at the dark parking lot, sat down, got up, went to the vending machine. I couldn’t figure out what to do with myself.
Finally, after half an hour, the nurse came to get us. When we walked into Ink’s room, he was wide awake and looking at us with a half-smile. Half of the bed was raised so he was in a sitting position, and a white bandage had been wrapped around his head. He looked thinner than before, but I supposed being in a coma would do that to a man.
“Hey, stranger,” I said around the lump in my throat. It had been an emotional day for me already, and seeing my club brother awake like this was having a hell of an effect on me.
“Hi, guys.” Ink’s voice was scratchy.
Maverick went to the table beside his bed, bringing over the cup of ice water with a straw sticking out of it.
Ink took several long sips before attempting to speak again, and a little of the raspiness had vanished from his voice, making him sound more like himself. “What’d I miss?”
Gunner let out a faint chuckle, one that sounded more like a sigh of relief.
“Ink…” Bones paused. I knew he wanted to ask Ink about his attack, but didn’t want to be insensitive by going there right away. “How are you?”
“Well, I’ve got a splitting headache, but other than that…”
I couldn’t resist smiling brightly. I felt like a fist had been clenched around my heart, but it let go when I saw Ink was in good enough spirits to be light-hearted about this whole thing. “Man, what the hell happened to you?” I asked. “We’ve been trying to figure out who did this. Do you remember?”
“I do...” Ink groaned and rubbed his eyes. “I can’t believe I let this happen. I feel like such an idiot.”
“Coyote and Smoke searched your place,” Bones said. “They found a bag of pills and a matchbook from Sweet Spot, that strip club just off Highway 14. Either of those things have anything to do with this?”
“I got the matchbook from some redheaded chick at the bar a couple days before my attack. She gave it to me when I was outside for a cig, and I couldn’t get my damn lighter to work. Invited me to come see her on the stage sometime. I think she ended up going home with Numbers that night. So, that’s nothing.”
“And the pills? From the freezer?”
“Shit, man. I forgot all about those. I wouldn’t be in this damn bed if I’d remembered I had them.”
“Tell us what happened,” Gunner prodded.
“It’s embarrassing as hell, but I was attacked by a young girl. God, she probably only weighs a buck twenty soaking wet, but when my back was turned, she hit me with something. The last thing I remember is a searing in the back of my head. I dropped like a ton of bricks and everything went black before I even hit the floor.”
“Who is she?” Bones asked.
“Just some desperate college student I used to sell Adderall to. She contacted me, asking for more. I tried to blow her off, told her we don’t do that shit anymore, the club is going in a different direction…you know, the whole thing. I completely forgot that I had a stash in my damn freezer. Anyway, she wouldn’t take no for an answer. Completely freaked out, came to Wheelz when I was getting the place ready to open for the day and demanded that I supply her with the medication. Said she couldn’t handle her schoolwork without it.”
“And when you didn’t?”
“She was pissed and kinda acting nuts, and I made the mistake of thinking she was harmless. Turned my back on her. You know what happened next.”
“She must have thought she killed you,” Gunner said. “That’s why she set the pool table on fire. Sounds like one crazy bitch.”
“What’s her name?” Bones asked.
“Samantha. Samantha Adler.”
My heart stopped and time seemed to slow. I couldn’t catch my breath as I recognized the name. I hadn’t met her, but Naomi had told me about Samantha. She was the woman Naomi rented her basement apartment from, she lived in the same house.
She babysat my son.
Fuck.