Fifteen
A fter mouthing off at Reacher, and getting a gobful of anger from him, I backed down and sat at the new tech station they’d set up, away from my damn room. It didn’t take me long to take the videos down. It was a simple hack, to get into the back end (pun intended) of the porn site, and shut down the channel, but there were two issues there.
One, I had no idea if she’d posted them on other sites. Porn sites are like crabs. They’re everywhere. Secondly, I needed to find my way into her system, to find out where she’d stored the videos, and delete all copies, and even then, I couldn’t guarantee that they weren’t stored on separate memory devices. It was a minefield, and all for that prick, Has-Been. Of all of my brothers in the club, he was the one I was least likely to bend over backwards to help.
“How’s it going?” Ryder sat down beside me, sliding a coffee in my direction. He’d been one of the guys who actually wasn’t present for my little rant, but Reacher had filled him in, because he needed to know there might be questions from anyone who didn’t know about the whole shitstorm with his old lady. The shitstorm I outed to the whole fucking club for him, like a complete dickhead.
“Don’t worry. I’m solving that asshole’s problems for him, like a good boy.”
He stared at me for a moment.
“You didn’t lose the attitude with your habit then?” Ouch .
I didn’t bother replying. Instead I was doing the best I could to stop that bitch re-uploading for a while.
“Ice… put yourself in his shoes for a minute. Would you really want that shit out there, for anyone to see? And Jesus… particularly for people you know to see? Wouldn’t you want the only person you know with the fucking skills to fix it, to be on your side?”
I stopped typing to glare at him.
“That’s exactly what I’m fucking doing, man. Dropping everything to save his ass, and you know what? It’s about time that all of you starting being a bit more careful about who you fuck, and who you chat up in fucking bars. I’m tired of being the one who has to keep fixing it for you. You think I don’t have stuff of my own going on?”
Ryder sighed. “I get that, man. We’re all here for you, but if this isn’t sorted asap, then there may be no way he can ever get away from it.”
“You do realise the internet is for-fucking-ever, yeah? It’s literally out there. Even if I take down every fucking video, from now until the day I die, there will still be one somewhere. No matter how many days, weeks, or months I spend scouring the web for his dick, I’ll miss it somewhere. Chances are, people with skills like mine have already squirrelled away a copy for their own spankbank. He’s literally fucked. Luckily for him, he got his end away in the process.”
Ryder got up and paced, while I finished spoofing the porn site’s email account, and emailed the bitch to offer her an ‘opportunity to reinstate her account’. Once she clicked that link, I’d have full access to her fucking system, and I’d find her cloud, and delete the fucking lot, even her fucking holiday pics. Sick bitch.
“Why do you even hate Has so much? You guys have never got on, but I have no idea how it started.”
I looked up from my screen to watch my brother pacing back and forth, but at least it wasn’t my carpet he was wearing out, right?
“No idea. I think he was just a stuck-up prick when we met, or I was, I dunno. Okay, I’ve done what I can. I’ve pulled the videos, and sent her a phishing mail from a spoofed email. As soon as she clicks on the link in it, I’ll be able to rape her system. Fuck! There’s a word I wish I hadn’t just said to you. Jesus. Sorry, man.” I actually felt bad, because he’d flinched at that damn word, and who wouldn’t if they’d fucking been there?
“You wanna know something about Has?”
I shrugged, really just wanting to see anything other than Has-Been naked, and wielding his dick, for at least five minutes. Honestly, I felt like I already knew more than I ever wanted to know about him.
“When you were in your coma, you know, we were on a rotation, yeah? Making sure you were never alone. Two of us at all times, just in case the cartel tried to come back and finish the job.”
“Yeah, Reacher said, and I appreciate what you all did.”
He stopped pacing, folding his arms.
“The person who opted to be there with you the most? The one who turned up for extra shifts, and waited around longer than anyone else? Has-Been . So you can be as much of an ass as you want, but you’re the only one being a prick. That guy has been there for you. Worried about you. Fought for you. Would have fucking killed for you. So maybe think about how well your brain might work, if you manage to extract your head from your asshole.”
He shot me a final glare, and headed for the door, and that’s when my phone rang, and my doctor lady needed my help.
“Ry! You need to give me a ride, man.”
He flipped me off as I chased him down the hallway.
“No way I’m having you on the back of my bike like a bitch.”
“Get the van, asshole. Doc Lissa needs help. She’s at the police station.” His attitude changed pretty fast.
Lissa
A black van pulled up outside the police station, and the side door slid away to reveal Ice, who hopped out, and reached over to help me up from the curb. He took one look at me, and let out a soft breath.
“Dammit, Doc. What happened?” He gently brushed his thumb across my tear-dampened cheek, and I bit my lip to try and hide how it trembled. He cursed quietly, and pulled me into his arms, his hand cupping the back of my head as he held me close.
“She okay?” He didn’t let me move, just shushed me, and let me take comfort from him for a little longer, before he pulled back and stared at me again.
“I’m taking you home.” I wanted to cry again. Or cry more, since I’d done plenty of that since I fucked up tonight. I didn’t want to go home, and I didn’t want to be alone. I wanted to be with him. I needed it.
He helped me into the van, through the sliding door he’d stepped through, and slid it closed, as I sat on the bench seat in the back.
“Sorry it’s not a nicer vehicle. It was all we had.”
The driver turned to stare at us.
“You okay?” He was looking at me, so I nodded and whispered my thanks. He looked nice. Friendly, even.
“Lissa, this is Ryder, one of my brothers from the club. Ry, this is Lissa, my rehab doc.”
The guy grinned at me.
“Best get you back then.”
He turned away again, and the engine, which hadn’t been switched off, rumbled, as he pulled away from the curb.
“I didn’t give him my address. How does he know where to go?”
Ice grinned, stroking my hair back from my face.
“Because it’s where he lives. I’m taking you to my home. To the clubhouse. I don’t think you should be alone after whatever the hell happened tonight.” Oh thank god. He was watching me closely, trying to read my reaction to his words.
“That’s okay, right? You’re not gonna accuse me of trying anything untoward?”
I shook my head, feeling the burn of tears once more. He stroked his fingers under my eyes.
“Shhh… whatever it is, you’re okay now. Gotta ask though, Lissa. Did someone hurt you? Who do I need to kill?”
I gasped, and he grinned.
“Don’t worry. We know how not to get caught.”
“Jesus, Ice.” We both ignored Ryder, still staring at each other like we were alone, and nothing else existed.
“Doc?”
“Yeah.”
“Gonna need some answers soon. Why were you at the police station?”
Oh god. I lowered my eyes.
“I don’t want to talk about it. I uh… I’m ashamed.”
His fingers gripped my chin, as he tilted my head back up.
“Did someone fucking touch you? Did some fucker put his hands on you? You don’t fucking feel shame for what someone else did.”
I tried shaking my head, but his grip on my chin was too firm.
“Words, Doc.”
I cleared my throat. “No, nobody did anything to me. I… I fucked up. I did something I can’t undo.”
The van slowed then, and the engine fell silent.
“We’re here, brother.”
Ice thanked Ryder, who said goodnight and hopped out of the van, leaving us alone.
“I’m taking you to my room now. I’ll get you a drink of something to calm your nerves, and we’ll talk, and then I’m gonna hold you while you sleep.”