Sixty-One
A s soon as Has left us, Seth and I fell into an awkward silence for a moment, and finally I had to break it. We never used to struggle for things to talk about, but our relationship had been strained ever since Has and I got together.
“Has said I should be calling you Stitch, now that I’m staying here.”
My brother’s eyes widened at me, and he shoved his hand through his long blonde hair.
“It’ll sound weird coming from you, but I’ve said it before. That’s who I am now, not just here, but everywhere. You think you can do it?”
I passed him his coffee and we moved over to the sofa, sitting beside each other on the sofa and angling to face each other.
“I mean, I can try, but it’s a lifetime of calling you by one name, and as good as my intentions are, I’m going to slip up.”
He shrugged, mock scowling at me.
“I’m taking no offence, by the way, from the fact that you waited until your precious boyfriend said it before you took it seriously. You know, I’ve only said it like a dozen times, but oooh Has says …”
I slapped his shoulder, and pulled a face at him.
“Is this going to be a problem with you two? I know you didn’t want me here, but I’m here to stay, Se… Stitch . Ugh, that feels so weird.”
My brother looked away for a moment, his jaw clenching, the familiar stubborn expression on his face.
“Please.”
“I wanted you safe, and away from club shit, and instead you’re right in the thick of it, and you’ve been in danger more times than I want to even think about. That’s because this asshole can’t keep away from you. If he’d just stayed away, you’d be safe and away from here. You’d be back at school, and not worrying about all this crap.”
Idiot. I slapped his arm harder this time.
“That’s crap and you know it. If I wasn’t here, and this person was still out to get club members, there’s no guarantee they wouldn’t have taken me from my old house just to get to you. The only difference is that you might never have known until it was too late. Being here, contrary to what you might think when you’re being a stubborn ass, is where I’m safest. Where you and Has can both watch over me.”
Seth caught my hand and squeezed it, but this time there was guilt on his face.
“We both failed though, sweets. We were both too stupid or arrogant to keep you as safe as you should be. And now… what, you gonna be his old lady? My little sister is going to be a biker’s old lady?”
“It’s good enough for your old lady, Seth.”
“Jesus. Look, just don’t let him hurt you or something. He does anything you don’t like, and you come to me, okay? And don’t stay with him out of guilt or anything, if you’re not happy. You come first, always.”
I shot him a smug look. “Funnily enough, that’s how Has feels too.” He nodded and then grimaced, closing his eyes for a moment.
“ Jesus , sweets. Oversharing isn’t going to be a thing, okay? He’s one of my closest friends, and you’re my fucking sister.”
“And I’m going to be his old lady, Seth. Stitch . Oh god, this is too hard!”
“You’ll get the hang of it. I had to get used to answering to it, sweets. And look, I’m not saying don’t make a life for yourself with Has… if you had to fall for one of these fuckers, I’m just glad it was him and not one of the uh… less uh… well, more uh… Jesus . I guess I’m trying to say he’s one of the most decent. Even though I tried telling you otherwise, he’s a good guy and I trust him. Of course, I never thought I was trusting him with my sister, so I’m probably going to have an issue with it for a while. I’ll try though, okay? He’s at least one of the level headed ones, and not prone to rages like some of them. Or me, I guess.”
His phone buzzed, and he reached down to the table and tapped the screen, to answer on speaker.
“I’m with Elise, Reacher. Everything okay?”
“Not fucking really, no. We just had to pull Has off Ice before he fucking killed him. You wanna get down to my office, and help me deal with this shit?”
Oh god. He really just said that.
“Is Has okay?”
Reacher groaned. “I can’t promise that, because I’m planning to knock their heads together. I thought this shit was over with those two.”
The call ended abruptly, and Seth stood up, tucking his phone in his pocket.
“I should get down there and, uh… shit … You’ll lock up after me, right?”
“I’m coming with you, dammit. What if he’s hurt?”
Has-Been
B eing hauled into Reacher’s office with a pounding headache and earache, and with blood pouring from my nose, really wasn’t how I’d wanted to end my day, but it couldn’t be helped. Ice triggered me with that fucking phrase ‘golden boy’, and I wondered if he even realised the unbearable connotations that nickname held for me.
“Sit the fuck down while we wait for your VP,” Reacher barked at us, glaring until we both followed his instructions and dropped into the seats across from his desk, probably looking exactly like sullen teenagers sent to the headmaster’s office.
The door opened and Stitch stepped in, with Elise hurrying behind him.
“Seriously?”
Stitch shrugged at Reacher, as she rushed to my side and started fussing over me.
“I was hardly going to leave her alone right now, was I? So what the fuck happened?”
He closed the door and walked around to lean against the desk beside Reacher. Ice just shrugged, and I shot him a glare. Seriously? He starts shit with me, and sits there shrugging like a prick?
“I swear to god, someone speak now, or I’ll kick both your asses. Do we really have to go back to the way things were with you two assholes? I thought you sorted your shit out.”
Ice groaned, leaning forward on his chair, with his elbows on his knees.
“It was just a dumb idea I had, that’s all.”
What? I cocked my head at him, wondering what the fuck he thought he was doing.
“Excuse me? You thought you’d come at me for some ‘idea’? Who the fuck even told you to say that to me?”
“Say what?” Elise was using her sleeve to mop at the blood on my face, and I pushed her hand away before she ruined her clothes completely. I wasn’t exactly deserving of her concern, for getting in yet another damn fight. Especially with this prick… again.
“It’s okay, babe. I’m fine.” I wasn’t, but I didn’t want her worrying. Ice was silent, touching the side of his face briefly and wincing. Yeah, that’s right, asshole. You took that one good and hard.
“Spit it out, Ice. I’m down to my last fucking nerve here,” Reacher snarled at him.
“Well, it seems like whoever is fucking with us might have some kind of a beef with Has. Think about it, the attacks on Elise, the attack on him, even Torch, who’s one of his closest friends. You could even start to wonder if this asshole is behind all the porn videos of him showing up everywhere. He’s clearly seriously tech-savvy. I just… I guess I figured if it looked like I was on the outs with Has-”
“What? You thought you could save your own fucking bacon? You asshole! You complete and total fucking-”
Reacher slammed his fist against the desk, and silenced my tirade.
“Enough! You were trying to see if this fuck will trust you?” Oh. Maybe it made a little sense, but I was still pissed as hell.
“You agree with this shit?”
Reacher glanced at Stitch, who shrugged.
“You should have come to us with this first, Ice. You don’t go rogue on us without it being planned first.”
“Uh, how about you don’t attack a brother without fucking warning him first?” I snapped, and Ice chuckled.
“So you could be prepared for it? It had to look real, dickhead, and since we were always enemies before, I figured it would be more believable if I’m suddenly offside again.” He sighed, offering me a weary grin.
“Sorry, though. I shouldn’t have come at you like that. I know you’ve had a rough time lately. Maybe I should have discussed it with you all first. It was just like a sudden lightbulb moment.”
“So you’re not really jonesing for coke? Was that all bullshit just to draw me in so you could turn on me?”
“Wait, what?” Reacher looked worried, and he wasn’t the only one. Stitch moved around the desk to crouch in front of Ice.
“Is that happening, man? Are you struggling right now? You know we’ve all got your back, right?”
Ice looked frustrated, and flipped me off like it was my fault.
“I was just… I don’t know, mouthing off. Getting into the zone. Whatever. Of course I always want a fix, but I don’t, because I owe it to Lissa to stay clean, even if I can’t do it for myself.”
The room fell silent, and then I had to ask. I knew I would be opening a can of worms, but I had to, because it was eating at me. It made me feel fucking itchy with disgust, and needing a thousand showers, and I had to know where the fuck he’d seen references to it. Had he looked into me? Did he know shit he shouldn’t know?
“Why’d you say it though? ‘Golden boy’, what the fuck… where did that come from, Ice? I need to know.”
He looked confused, as did Stitch as he stood up again, briefly grasping Ice’s shoulder.
“What’s wrong with that?” He asked, staring at me like I was some kind of fucking exhibit in a zoo.
“Yeah, Has. Is there an issue with that name?” Fuck. I couldn’t tell them. I couldn’t talk about this with them, not right now. I stood up, needing to get out of that room, but Stitch blocked my path, frowning as I tried to sidestep him.
“I’m done here. Let me out.”
“Has?” I took Elise’s hand as she approached me, kissing her fingers.
“We’re done, Pres.”
“We’re done when I say we are, brother. What’s wrong with the term ‘golden boy’.” I literally felt myself flinch that time, and Reacher’s face dropped as he took in my reaction. He cleared his throat, rubbing at his eyebrow piercing as he normally did when he was agitated.
“ Fuck . That’s what they used to call you?” He didn’t have to elaborate, because everyone in the room grasped his meaning instantly. The silence this time was heavy and pressing in on me, like it was a physical body coming at me. Ice cursed, turning to apologise to me, but I couldn’t hear it right now.
“Jesus, just let me out,” I practically whispered. Stitch backed up and let us leave, closing the door behind us. Elise wrapped her arms around me, the instant we were away from them.
“Just take a minute, Has. Take a deep breath for me, and let this go. He didn’t know. He couldn’t, right?” Right. So why did it still cut like a fucking knife?