10. Addison
CHAPTER 10
ADDISON
Son of a bitch is right.
“Change into these.”
I whip my head toward the door and spot a man I don’t recognize. He’s holding out what appears to be jeans and a long-sleeved tee, and a pair of boots are sitting on top of the meager pile in his hands.
“Who are you?” I ask, standing from the chair.
“Jackyl,” he states and strides across the room to drop the clothes onto the bed. When he faces me again, he continues. “I’m the club doc, and I’m gonna be late for work if you don’t hurry up.”
“Why do I need to hurry so you won’t be late?”
“Pres wants you to go with me.” Jackyl shrugs. “And what Pres wants, Pres gets.”
“He actually trusts me to leave the clubhouse with you?”
Shut up, Addi!
“Get changed. Can’t very well have you looking like a hussy at the clinic.” With that, he walks out of the room. “Meet me downstairs in ten!” he shouts.
Deciding to take advantage of this opportunity, I quickly grab the clothes and dart into the bathroom to change. Once I’m more comfortable, I splash water on my face and use my finger to brush my teeth.
My stomach growls, and I take that as a good sign. When I first woke up, food was the last thing on my mind.
I head downstairs looking as presentable as I’m going to get for not having time to shower. I don’t know where Jackyl works, but hopefully it’s nowhere too fancy.
Fancy? Not likely with this crowd.
When I reach the bottom of the stairs, Jackyl is waiting for me. He’s holding two to-go cups of coffee, and he hands me one.
“I hope you like it black,” he says.
“Black’s fine.” I take a sip of the liquid caffeine and sigh in appreciation. “Thanks.”
“Let’s go.”
He takes long strides across the room, and I have to quick step to keep up. Good thing I’m used to working around a lot of men.
“Where exactly are we going?” I ask once we step outside.
“I told you,” he says with a hint of intolerance. “I have to go to work.”
I roll my eyes. “Where do you work?”
Jackyl stops in his tracks and turns around, almost causing me to run into his chest. “Do you always ask so many questions?”
“I’m a detective, so yeah,” I deadpan. “And I only asked you one question which you still haven’t answered.”
“This is a bad idea,” he mutters.
“What’s a bad idea?”
“Pres wants you to come to work with me so you can see some of the good we do,” he explains. “But unless you shut the hell up, none of the work I do today will be good because I won’t be able to concentrate. And I need to concentrate.”
“Concentrate on what?”
“My patients!” Jackyl shouts. “I need to focus on my patients if I am to give them the best medical care possible.”
Stunned, I watch as he turns on his heel and walks away. He stops at a truck parked at the side of the building and yanks open the door.
“Are you coming, or do I have to go tell Crow you’re not cooperating?” he asks without turning around to face me.
Not ready to face Crow again, I rush to join Jackyl. We both climb into the cab of the truck, and cool air blasts from the vents when he turns the key in the ignition.
“Can I get my jacket and purse out of my car?” I ask quietly as he puts the truck in reverse.
He heaves a sigh. “Yeah.” Jackyl backs the truck up and swings it around so it’s facing my vehicle. “Make it quick.”
I arch a brow. “You’re not worried I’ll just hop in my car and drive away?”
He reaches under the seat and pulls out a pistol. “Nope.”
Dammit. He’s calling my bluff.
Even without the pistol, I wasn’t going anywhere. Not until I get what I need to take these assholes down.
Two minutes later, we’re heading toward the gate of the property. I dig through my purse for some Tylenol and wash two pills down with my coffee.
“I don’t suppose you know where my cell phone is?” I ask.
“I assume Crow has it.”
“Of course he does.”
“He’s not a bad guy, ya know?”
Leaning back in the seat, I take a deep breath. “He had me drugged and kidnapped. Forgive me if I fail to see the good in him.”
Jackyl remains silent for the rest of the drive. When we turn into the parking lot for the free clinic in town, I spare him a quick glance.
“You work here?”
“Yep.”
“They hired a criminal?”
“First, I don’t have a record,” he snaps. “And second, the club owns the clinic so even if I did, it wouldn’t matter.”
I don’t know what surprises me more: the fact that he doesn’t have a record or that the club owns the clinic.
“And here I thought you knew all about us,” he taunts as he parks and turns the truck off. “What happened to people being innocent until proven guilty?”
It irritates me that he has a point. The entire justice system is based on that one assumption: innocent until proven guilty. Never mind the reason I hate them so much, the reason I know they’re all guilty of something .
A knock on the window jolts me from my thoughts, and I twist in the seat to see Jackyl standing outside my door.
“Let’s go,” he calls through the window.
Are all bikers this bossy?
I climb out of the truck and follow him inside. He’s greeted by several women, and he’s polite but professional with each one.
“Ladies, this is Addison,” Jackyl introduces. “Addison, that’s Anna, Melanie, and Sandy. Sandy is the receptionist slash office manager, and the other two are my nurses.”
“It’s, uh, nice to meet you,” I say.
“Another intern?” Sandy asks Jackyl, her tone condescending.
I stiffen at the slight, but he just chuckles. “No, not an intern. A friend. I expect you to make her feel welcome.”
“Hey, aren’t you a cop or something?” Anna asks.
Tell her. Ask for help.
“I am,” I admit, and Jackyl cuts a sharp gaze at me. “The chief thought it would be beneficial for each of his officers and detectives to volunteer in the community, and I figured the free clinic was the perfect place.”
“Oh,” Melanie says. “Sort of like take your daughter to work day.” Her words cut deep. I wouldn’t know what that’s like because my dad never took me. “But instead, it’s take a cop to work day.”
Before I can comment, the front door flies open, and a woman with a girl no older than five or six in her arms. The little girl is crying and holding her arm at an odd angle.
“Dr. Smith, thank God,” the woman says frantically. “Chessy fell off the slide at the park, and?—”
“Anna, get supplies for a cast,” Jackyl orders as he gently takes Chessy from her mother. She curls into his chest, and he’s careful not to jostle her arm. “Miss Dunn, go with Sandy to fill out the paperwork. Melanie and Addison, follow me.”
Jackyl carries Chessy to an exam room with an X-ray machine. He sets her on the long table.
“Go ahead and lay back,” he instructs. “Melanie’s gonna hold your arm in place so we can take some pictures, okay?”
Chessy nods and uses her good hand to wipe away tears.
“I’ll be very careful, okay, sweetie?” Melanie coos as she lifts the obviously broken limb. “We’re gonna hold very still while Dr. Smith takes those pictures.”
I remain in the hall and watch the scene unfold. Within these walls, Jackyl is a completely different person than he was when it was just him and me in the truck.
The rest of the morning flies by as patient after patient requires medical attention. Jackyl handles everything from Chessy’s broken arm and cast to an elderly woman who suffers from diabetes. He shows each person respect and compassion, and I find myself hoping that if I ever need a doctor, he’s around.
“Crow’s on his way,” Jackyl states when his latest patient walks out the front door.
“I’m not staying all day?”
I want to, which is odd.
“Clinic’s only open until one on Sunday,” he says. “And I’ve got other business to handle before going back to the clubhouse.”
“Other business?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“Club business.” He smirks. “In other words, none of your business.”
“Right. And secrets are obviously the way to get me to change my opinion of you.”
Jackyl shrugs. “It has nothing to do with you and your opinion. Club business is club business. It’s as simple as that.”
“Doesn’t sound so simple.”
“It’s simple.” I whirl around at the sound of Crow’s voice, and he’s narrowing his eyes at me. “Just because you want it to be complicated doesn’t make it so.”
“How long have you been standing there?” I ask, my eyes darting from him to Jackyl and back again.
“Long enough to know that it’s going to take more than a field trip to change your mind about Soulless Kings.”
Resigned to the fact that he’s determined to see this through, I let my shoulders fall. “Then what’s next on the agenda?”
“Lunch.”
“Lunch?”
Crow nods. “Gotta eat, right?”
“And what makes you think I won’t try to signal someone for help if you take me somewhere public?”
He shifts his stare to Jackyl. “Did she try to escape or tell anyone that she’s not here of her own free will?”
“Nope.”
Crow returns his attention to me. “That’s how I know. If you wanted to get away, you’d try. Fortunately for me, you’re so determined to prove your opinions of us that you’ll do whatever it takes to find what you need to do that. Even if it means being held captive.”
Son of a bitch is right.