11. Smitty
SMITTY
It was after ten before we rolled into the hospital parking lot.
Neither of us had talked much on the drive, and I was okay with that.
I needed the time to think and clear my head.
I figured Drifter felt the same. It couldn’t have been easy for him to come back here, even if he had moved on with Raelyn.
The past has a way of sneaking up on you and biting you right in the ass. I knew that better than anyone. It had only been a few days since mine snuck up on me.
We'd stopped once for gas and grabbed burgers we barely touched before getting back on the road. Drifter spent most of the drive staring out the passenger window, and I spent mine wondering about Anslee. Was she already asleep? Was Brooke rocking her before bed? Had she asked for another story?
It was crazy how a little girl I'd never met had taken over every thought in my head, and it was even crazier that just thinking about her made me feel whole in ways I never thought possible.
I was wondering what it would be like to hold her for the first time when Drifter pointed toward the hospital entrance. “Just pull up here.”
“You got it.” I eased the truck into the parking spot and killed the engine. “You want me to wait?”
“Nah, come on,” he answered, already reaching for the door handle.
I nodded and followed him up to the front door.
They slid open, and the second we stepped inside, I was hit with the stout smell of disinfectant.
The waiting area was quieter than I expected.
A handful of folks were watching the news on the TV mounted in the corner, while others were sitting off to themselves.
As soon as we rounded the corner, a man stood and started towards us.
He was wearing a cut, which meant he was a brother, but I had no idea which one.
He was probably pushing fifty, built, and salt-and-pepper had taken over most of his dark hair.
But there wasn’t anything old about the way he carried himself.
My eyes dropped to the Vice President rocker on his cut, and that’s when I realized it was Ace, KC’s second-in-command and a good friend of Drifter. He looked his brother up and down for a half second before a grin broke across his face. “Well, I’ll be damned.”
“Hey, brother.” They shared a quick, brotherly hug. “It’s been a while.”
“You can say that again,” Ace muttered. “I missed your drive-through.”
“Drive-through?” Drifter scoffed. “Is that what we’re calling it these days?”
“Just calling it like I see it.” Ace smiled. “Good to see ya, brother.”
“You too. Wish it were under better circumstances.”
“You and me both.”
Drifter looked over to me and said, “This is Smitty. He’s one of the new Little Rock crew.”
“Good to meet ya.”
“You too.”
Drifter wasted no time before asking, “How’s Stone?”
“He’s hanging in there.” Ace glanced down the hall. “Still in and out, but Coop says that’s to be expected.”
“How bad was it?”
“Bullet missed his heart by a damn miracle.” Ace blew out a slow breath. “Second one got his shoulder. Collapsed a lung and did some damage on the way through, but the doc said his numbers have been improving since they brought him in.”
“That’s good. Relieved to hear it.” He paused for a beat, letting the relief set in before asking, “You got anything on who did it?”
“Not yet. Mercy’s been digging since we got word of what happened. He’ll get what we need, but it’ll take some time.”
“That’s something we don’t have.”
“I feel ya, brother, but we’re all hands on deck. We’ll find them and make ‘em pay. You have my word on that.”
“I’m here. Just let me know what you need me to do.”
“Why don’t you start by going in to see him?” Ace answered. “I know it’d mean a lot to him to know you were here.”
Drifter nodded and followed him into Stone’s room.
I hung back. It wasn’t my place to join.
These men had history that stretched back longer than I’d been old enough to ride a bike.
Drifter didn't need me hanging around while he saw one of his best friends and his former president after he was almost murdered.
I walked into the waiting room and slipped my phone from my pocket before sitting down in the corner. I pulled up Brooke’s contact and stared at it for a moment. I wanted to say something to her. I just wasn’t sure what. So, I decided to test the waters and keep it simple.
Me:
Thanks for meeting me today.
It was late. I wasn’t sure she would even respond, and then I saw the three dots.
Brooke:
It was good to see you and finally get the chance to talk.
Me:
Yeah, it was.
Can I ask a favor?
Brooke:
Of course.
I hesitated. It suddenly felt stupid even to ask, like it was too much, too soon. Then, I reminded myself that she was my daughter, too.
Me:
Could you send me a picture of Anslee?
I hit send before I could overthink it, then glanced around the waiting room.
There was a guy sitting across from me with the glow from two computer screens reflecting off his face.
His fingers never stopped moving across the keyboard.
If it hadn’t been for his cut, I would’ve thought he was the hospital’s IT guy.
My guess was that it was Mercy, KC’s computer guy.
Every club had one guy who could dig up information the rest of us couldn't.
According to Drifter, if you gave him a name and enough time, he'd know where you lived, what you drove, who you owed money to, and what you'd had for breakfast. I found it hard to believe that he could compare to Shep.
That man was like a damn computer wizard, but from the looks of it, Mercy was going to find the answers he was looking for.
I left him be. I saw no point in bothering the man. Hell, whatever was on those screens was well above my pay grade. So, I got up and walked over to the vending machine. I grabbed a soda and a pack of crackers before heading back over to my spot in the corner.
I’d just sat down when my phone buzzed with a text. I grabbed it and eagerly opened the message.
Brooke:
I couldn’t decide which one to send.
I have entirely too many.
Two images came up. My thumb hovered over the screen for half a second before I opened it, and once I did, my heart nearly exploded in my chest. Anslee was sitting on the hardwood floor with colorful blocks scattered around her.
There were a couple of tall towers behind her, and judging by the grin on her adorable face, she'd built every bit of it herself.
The second picture showed Brooke holding Anslee in her lap, and Anslee had a chocolate chip cookie in her hand and chocolate on her face.
Damn.
Anslee looked even more like her mother than I’d realized. She had her hair, her smile, and even her mouth. But those eyes were mine. They were the same shade of blue I'd stared at in the mirror every morning for as long as I could remember.
I zoomed in, noting the tiny dimple in her left cheek and the way her nose crinkled when she smiled. She looked happy. They both did, and that meant more to me than anything else.
Me:
Thank you.
Brooke:
There are so many.
I will get you some printed.
Me:
I’d appreciate that.
Is that one of your Granny cookies in her hand?
Brooke:
It is.
As you can see, she loves them.
Me:
Because they’re the best ever.
Brooke:
Aren’t they?
Me:
Without a doubt.
Can’t remember the last time I had one.
Brooke:
We’ll have to rectify that.
Me:
Please do.
Brooke:
You’d have to share with Anslee.
Me:
Wouldn’t have it any other way.
She’s perfect, Brooke.
Perfect wasn’t the right word. It wasn’t enough.
There weren't words big enough for what I felt looking at her or her mother.
My thumb drifted over the picture again.
Eighteen months. All because I'd gotten in my damn head and was worried about being good enough.
I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes.
I don’t know what the hell I was thinking.
Even now, just thinking her name made my jaw tighten. I’d been working with Cyrus for over six months when she first showed up at the shop, and from the second Cyrus introduced us, she was on me. She was constantly touching my arm, laughing at stupid things I’d say, and finding reasons to show up.
She was Cyrus’ granddaughter. I couldn’t be a dick. So, I played it off and did what I could to ignore her without being rude. I figured she would eventually get bored and move on. And she did, but it wasn’t until after Brooke saw her kiss me.
It was hard to discover that keeping the peace had cost me a hell of a lot more than a paycheck. It had cost me Brooke, and it cost me the first year and a half with my daughter.
The sound of voices coming from down the hallway caught my attention.
I stood and peered out the door just in time to see Drifter coming out of Stone’s room.
His expression told me everything I needed to know.
His brother was alive but seeing him lying up in that hospital bed had hit him harder than he'd expected.
He scrubbed a hand over his beard as Ace walked over to him. They talked for a moment, then they started in my direction. I stayed where I was, pretending to be more interested in my soda than their conversation. Drifter came over and asked, “You good?”
“About to ask you the same.”
“Better now that I had a minute with Stone.” He motioned his head over to the guy in the corner. “We were just about to see if Mercy’s found anything on the guys who did this.”
“Mind if I listen in?”
“Absolutely.”
I followed him and Ace across the room to where Mercy was sitting. He was still hammering away at his computer and didn’t even notice when we walked up. Ace nudged him with his knee. “Any luck?”
“Getting there.”
“Gonna need more than that.”
“Got into the city’s network, and I was able to track down the camera footage.” He looked up at Ace as he told him, “It’s a tough watch.”
“Let us see.”