Chapter 12
CHAPTER
TWELVE
Letti
We’re just about to hit the entrance to the highway when Icer’s phone pings with an alert.
It’s a different type of tone than the ones I’ve heard blaring from cellphones before.
It sounds like the emergency broadcast system that plays over the airways when the weather has gone berserk or a child is missing.
As it pierces my ears, all of the hair on my arms stand on end—a bad feeling congeals in the cab of this pickup truck like a blackened thundercloud waiting to strike with its wrath, the air thickens, making it hard to breathe and my heart begins to rapidly beat in my chest as he pulls over to the shoulder of the road and yanks his phone from his pocket.
That feeling that’s settled in my gut gets ten times worse when his face shuts down into a cold, callous mask. “We have to go back,” he announces, tossing the vehicle into drive, making a U turn, and pressing his foot down on the pedal.
“What happened?” I ask, reaching up above my head and grabbing the oh shit handle to ground myself with.
I’m afraid, but not for the reason I should be.
He’s handling the truck like a professional race car driver.
Even at the high rate of speed we’re traveling at, he’s in complete control.
He hasn’t jerked the wheel even once and he’s maneuvering us around the cars on the road rhythmically, like we’re dancing with them on the paved road.
“I don’t know for certain, but the alarm was triggered at the clubhouse,” he explains.
“What’s that mean?” I ask, reaching back into the back half of the truck’s cab and soothingly patting Elodie’s knee. She’s got silent tears streaking down her face but hasn’t let any sounds of distress escape her lips, which is worrisome. She’s too young to learn that trick.
Emotions need to be released, not pent up.
Sighing, he admits, “I don’t know, Letti.”
“Damn,” I whisper. I do not have a good feeling about this which seems to be a recurring theme these days.
“When we get there, I want you to stay in the truck with my princess. No matter what you see or what you hear, you don’t move an inch away from this truck. Got it?”
Glancing back at Elodie and seeing the pensive state she’s in, I tell him, “Yeah. I’m not going anywhere, Viking. You’ve given me a precious commodity to protect.”
“Where did this fucking traffic come from?” Icer asks through gritted teeth, smashing his fist against the steering wheel.
Sirens are blaring from in front of us, and they’re already starting to surround the club’s property with caution tape and putting up a blockade in front of the entrance for emergency vehicles.
“You can fit there,” I say, pointing at a break between vehicles that’s wide enough for him to parallel park in.
He effortlessly guides the car and reverses into the spot I pointed out.
Before he jumps out of the truck, he levels his gaze on me and orders, “Lock the doors behind me. If they force you to move, go down the road and take a right at the fork, it’ll lead you to the club’s cemetery.
Stay there until one of us comes to get you. ”
“Right at the fork, got it. Be careful,” I say, giving an order of my own.
“Always,” he says, nodding before slamming the door shut and waiting around long enough for me to hit the button that will secure us inside.
My eyes stay glued to him as he jogs through the fleet of cops and paramedics, pushing them to the side when they attempt to step in front of him to hold him back.
“Atta boy,” I cheer as my Viking man uses his body like a linebacker when one particular man in uniform plants his feet in front of him, holding his hands up in a stop motion. “Bowl him over! Knock his teeth out.”
“Auntie Letti, that’s not nice,” Elodie says, finally speaking.
“I know it’s not, Ellie Bellie, but that man wasn’t being very nice to your Uncle Icer,” I comment, knowing anything involving Icer will raise her temperature.
“Nail him in the balls, Uncle Icer!” Elodie shouts.
I’m not her parent so I don’t correct her crass language, I do however glance back at her with a stern, maternal look, letting her know that as a child, she should be more mindful of the words she chooses to use.
Though, if I’m being honest with myself, I couldn’t agree more with her given direction.
The men in blue of this town need to be de-manned and put in their place since they all walk around like peacocks, strutting and preening their feathers.
Given the opportunity, I’d pluck each one of them out individually.
One. By. One.
Rabidly laughing while they shriek in pain—I can be a vindictive bitch like that when someone I care about is caught in the crossfire of another’s maliciousness.
People need to learn to stay in their own lanes. It’s as plain and simple as that. If we all worried about ourselves the world would be a better place… that’s my opinion on it anyhow.
Everything grows still and quiet as Elodie and I keep our eyes on our surroundings. The anticipation of the unknown grates on me since the scene is far off so I can’t see what’s happening with the people I’m growing fond of.
As an ambulance whizzes by with the lights flashing, that unease that’s been gnawing at me since we arrived increases. I close my eyes and send my well wishes with whomever the patient is that’s being whisked away to receive emergency services.
Thankfully, we weren’t asked to move. As a matter of fact, nobody even glanced our way as the people in charge of keeping the perimeter clear, shuffled back and forth beside us. Elodie passed out in her booster seat a while back which made the time spent alone creep by sluggishly.
All of my coping mechanisms that developed as a kid have come out to play havoc on my body.
I’ve anxiously chewed on the skin surrounding my thumbnail to the point my cuticle’s bleeding.
My knees incessantly bounce, causing the truck to vibrate.
I’ve rocked my body from one side to the other to the point that I’m surprised I haven’t lulled myself to sleep.
A harsh and rapid tapping on the window has me yelping as I swivel in my seat and twist my head toward the driver’s side window. “Hit the switch, Letti,” Icer commands. “Gotta get to the hospital. Indiana was hurt in the blast.”
“Blast?” I repeat. On autopilot, I unlock the doors and watch as he swings it open and hops inside. “What blast, Viking?”
“Icer,” he corrects before answering, “from the bomb.”
“There was a bomb!” I screech. “And Indiana was hurt? What about Zoey? Is she alright? Tell me everything, Icer.” Like the smartass I am, I made sure to emphasize his road name by drawing it out.
Glancing out the side of his eye, he replies, “I’ll tell you what I can.”
That pisses me off so I cross my arms and give him a sideways sneer of my own, lifting my lips in a snarl to show my displeasure.
“Letti,” he sighs, but the way he said my name is laced with a warning.
It screams danger, but right now, I don’t give a damn about that show of manliness he’s exuding.
I’m not scared of him no matter how grouchy or growly he is.
If that’s his intent, he’s screwed because that ship sailed the moment he lifted me into his arms and carried me up those metal steps to freedom.
I saw that tender side of him and there’s no taking that back.
“Icer,” I say, mimicking his tone. “Spit it out.”
“It’s club business so I can’t tell you everything,” he remarks.
“Club business, shizmess,” I say, adopting his attitude by waving my hands through the air with a dramatic flair.
“Sounds like a load of malarky you bikers use when you’re being secretive.
I’m not asking about the inner workings or secrets of your little man’s club, Icer. I just want to know about my friends.”
“Little man’s club?” he asks, his brows raised, touching his hairline. “That’s offensive, Letti.”
“So are your secrets and bullshit answers, Icer.”
“Take it back. Don’t like it when you call me Icer. It sounds like you’re putting a curse on me instead of saying my name.”
“Don’t tempt me,” I hiss out. Not wanting to get into a pissing match with him, I repeat myself. “Tell me about Indiana and Zoey.”
He grunts before clearing his throat, telling me, “Indiana was being loaded up when I got there. He was unconscious. All I know is he was blown back from the blast. Zoey was fine as she climbed aboard to go with him.”
“Did the paramedics give you any indication on if he’s going to be alright or not?” I ask, deciding to take advantage of the fact that he’s speaking in more than one word syllables.
“Not that I’m aware of. We’re going to swing by the hospital and let Zoey put eyes on Elodie then we’re going to follow through with our previous plans,” he states.
“Icer. We can’t do that. Zoey and Indiana are going to need us,” I argue, appalled that he’d think about leaving his brother behind when his life is on the line and going to the damn zoo of all places.
“It’s Zoey’s wish, Letti,” he confides. “She doesn’t want Elodie sitting in the waiting room where her attention would be divided and have her distracted from the person who needs her the most. She needs to be with Indiana and not feel guilty about it.
I promised her that we’d swing by for a quick check in then head out so Elodie doesn’t understand the severity of the situation. ”
“I don’t like it but I understand where she’s coming from. How are we going to explain it to Elodie though? She knows something bad has happened and I doubt she’ll be her usual boisterous, happy-go-lucky-self until she’s settled at home with both of her parents.”
“Then we have to keep her mind occupied and busy so she doesn’t have the time to think about it,” he determines.
For his and Elodie’s sake, I hope it’s that simple.