Chapter 22
First Crack in the Armor
Thunder
“She said…” Liz stopped talking, and when I looked up to check on her, I could tell she was trying to gather her thoughts.
Her brow creased as she searched for the words to tell me how her appointment had gone.
“She said…I’m better.” Liz took a minute before she continued. “More words…in a sentence.”
I sat back in the booth, watching her. She was excited, and while she didn’t bounce, she constantly fidgeted against the vinyl.
Smiling, she’d say something, but it would drop as she processed her next sentence.
She wasn’t unhappy. I’d been on the receiving end enough times to know better.
This was her content, so I’d brought her to the burger joint for a treat.
“I understand…more.” Liz took a sip of her soda before leaning her elbows on the table. “She said…good work.”
“Did you tell her you’ve been having more blackouts lately?” I trusted my wife, but there was one thing I’d learned: to watch her. If she didn’t want something out in the open, she deflected by omission, like she’d done with the new hip brace.
“Yes.” Liz rolled her eyes at me, and I wanted to lean over and kiss her. “I told…her. No testing.”
“She say if she would eventually, or just not right now?” I’d thought the blackouts were getting better.
Normally less than fifteen minutes at a time, and she didn’t lose spatial awareness.
That was no longer the case. When she’d hung up the phone with Alex, she’d been out for over an hour, and when she’d awakened, she hadn’t remembered she’d been in Flo’s living room.
“Not right now.” Liz scanned the menu as if this was her first time here. It was probably a ploy not to answer me, but I’d let it go for now. “She says…stress.”
I made a noise. “I’m not losing you because no one’s listening. If they get worse, we’ll figure something out, even if that means getting a second opinion.” I was serious, and by the way her head snapped up from the menu, she didn’t doubt me.
“Bob...by,” she said after the waitress had left with our order. Liz didn’t smirk, but the edges of her lips tipped up as if she were up to no good. I said nothing, waiting for the con. “Games…today.” Her smile genuinely widened.
“For who? You’ve been making Kyle play with you.” She had done the one thing I hadn’t wanted her to do—get attached. “It’s a good thing I know where you sleep at night. Otherwise, I’d think you were replacing me.”
“Never,” she giggled.
I couldn’t help the smile I felt appearing on my lips as I watched her.
When she’d said she wouldn’t run off and do something foolish, all I’d felt was relief.
Our marriage was becoming real, whether or not she realized it, and I couldn’t have been more ecstatic.
I was about to tease her some more when my phone rang.
The screen lit up as I brought the phone up to the table.
“Alex,” I said to her.
“Answer.” Her good humor was gone.
I pulled a trick from his playbook, bringing the phone up to my ear without saying a word.
“These games are tedious.” Alex’s accent came clear through the line.
“Yet, you’re still playing them.”
“No, you’re predictable. A stop at that medical complex, followed by the burger joint she likes. She orders the number two special, no mustard. Doesn’t like it. I can clearly see the two of you through the window. If I wanted you dead, you would be right now.”
“Predictability.” I let out a dry chuckle.
“It’s a schedule. You of all people should understand that.
” I didn’t give a fuck. For almost a year, I’d dedicated my life to this schedule so that Liz could get the help she needed.
My thoughts turned a little darker. She wouldn’t need the help if he’d raised their son to be a decent human being.
“If you can see us, you’re close enough to have lunch.
” I hung up on him, moving to the other side of the booth next to Liz.
“Invited him?” She was just as confused as I was at my actions.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to articulate what was going through my mind when I’d offered.
I wasn’t at my breaking point, far from it, but something about his snide tone irritated me.
If he actually joined us, he’d be able to see the damage left over from the accident.
If he cared as much as he supposedly said he did, he’d feel it.
I didn’t go one day without hiding behind my smile.
I turned towards her, wrapping my arm along the edge of the booth, when a shadow passed over the table.
“You’re here?” Liz spoke first. Her eyes were wide as her jaw dropped.
Sitting on the other side of the booth was Alejandro Rodriguez, El Sombra Roja.
“Mi amor.” It rolled off his tongue, and I wanted to take my soda and fling it at his expensive dress shirt.
He’d rolled up his sleeves, no cufflinks, yet I could clearly see the hand-sewn slits.
No suit coat, but he wore the silver watch Liz had said she’d given him. “Robert.” The disdain was real.
“Alex,” I spat.
We said nothing else as the server appeared to take his order.
“I’ll have what she’s having.”
Of course, he would. We sized each other up across the table, refusing to see what Liz had seen in the other.
I wouldn’t be the first to turn away, but I could see Liz sneaking peeks at each of us.
She’d stay glued to my profile until her eyes went across the table to him.
When she thought she’d snuck enough glances at him, she’d quickly focus back on me.
I wasn’t angry with her, but I wanted her attention. She was mine.
“This is…silly.” Liz was the first to speak, and Alex’s head tilted in her direction. This was the first time he’d heard the stutter, and I studied his face as the confusion settled in, but he brushed it off.
“No, what’s silly is you think your place is here.” He leaned forward with a gleam in his eye. I didn’t like it, thinking he was going to interrogate her.
“My place…has never…been…with you. It’s with…my family.”
“It’s with me.” He crossed his arms over his chest, staring her down. I would have stepped in, but she squared her shoulders, prepared to fight. “It’s with your son.”
“No.” She shook her head. “You…took…Pe…Pe…Peter. Not mine.”
He sat back in the booth, still analyzing her. “When did you start to stutter?”
The server picked that moment to pop up with our food.
I wasn’t sure I was going to eat, but I wouldn’t show weakness in front of him, even if I had to choke down the fucking burger.
The server must have sensed something was off because she dropped the food and ran.
I didn’t blame her there either. If I could, I would have grabbed Liz and taken off, too.
Alex started in on Liz as soon as the server was out of earshot. “Why? How?” he asked one question after another, and I could tell she was having a hard time. I prepared to step in, but before I could say anything, she placed her hand on my arm.
“One…question. At a…time.”
“If you stress her out, I’ll bury you.” I leaned forward, my elbows on either side of my plate.
He chuckled, shaking his finger at me. “If we weren’t on opposite sides, I might like you.” He mirrored my position, lowering his volume. “My father put a gun in my hand when I was four. Don’t think I won’t end you and then come home to my wife…” He looked at Liz. “…with not a care in the world.”
“I’m…right…here.” Liz closed her eyes. “His wife.”
He sat back, his gaze never leaving her.
She opened her eyes, sitting up straight again.
“Accident.” She didn’t break eye-contact with him.
“Lope…Lope…Lopez. Hit my…house. Came here…Pe…Pe…Peter biker.” She stopped, taking a sip of her soda.
“Jumped.” She brought her hands up and circled her head.
They stared at each other, daring the other to speak first.
Neither one moved, but Alex’s breathing picked up, and when he noticed, he pulled his poker face firmly back into place.
“Peter is my heir.” Alex’s brow creased. “There’s no reason for him to be with the Knights.”
“He was…prospect…for the…Shield. Didn’t…recognize…him.”
“Peter’s never been this far north. He’d have no reason.” Alex didn’t believe her. “He sends me constant updates.” He stood up from the table, throwing a hundred-dollar bill down. “Wait for my call.”
***
Liz hadn’t been able to keep her eyes open on the way back to the clubhouse, so I’d taken her straight to our room and put her to bed.
“Bob…by? How…did…I…do?”
I said nothing as I sat on the edge of the bed, linking my fingers with hers. Bending down to kiss the top of her knuckles, I laid my forehead against the back of her hand. “You were a queen.”
“Ti…tired.” Her eyelids fluttered, and I waited until she fell asleep before I stood. I had to tell Sabre what happened in case today’s excitement leaked. I quietly left the room and headed toward Sabre’s office. When I reached his door, I knocked and waited.
“Come in,” he called.
I opened the door and stuck my head in. “You got a minute?” I was pretending as if everything was fine. If it had been, I wouldn’t be at Sabre’s door.
He shifted the papers and waved a hand towards the chair in front of his desk. He scanned my face, and whatever he saw couldn’t have been good. “What happened?”
I quickly explained the events that had transpired from the time Liz and I had walked out of her appointment until I’d brought her back into the clubhouse and put her to bed.
“Fuck,” he said, rubbing his hand over his eyes. “Fuck!” He picked up his phone, quickly setting it back down on his desk. “When you take Aunt E, which car do you use?”
“Grease gives me a club car.” I couldn’t put Liz on my bike, and I wouldn’t buy a car no one would consistently use. Instead, I’d made a deal with Grease to borrow one of the club’s each week.
He picked up his phone again, hitting a button before placing it to his ear. “Hey, I need you to scan for a tracker. Fuck it. Check all the club’s cars for them.” Sabre hung up, closing his eyes.
“Liz poked a decent-sized hole in his control. Challenged him when she said Pulse had been a prospect.” I shook my head, replaying his reaction.
“She got underneath his skin, but this is the part that hasn’t sat well with me since.
He said Pulse sends him updates.” I let Sabre sit with that for a second.
“Pulse is dead. How’s he contacting Daddy from Hell?”
“Who’s contacting Daddy on his behalf?”