Page 73 of Seduction

He also dismisses Trixie when she returns.

“You wanna tell me what happened, Chopper?” I ask as I clean the cuts on his face. Nothing requires stitches, but I still need to check the rest of his body.

“I was on my way back here and some asshole came a little too close. I swerved and ended up in a ditch.”

“Did you get a look at the vehicle?” Gage asks.

“Late-model sedan… dark. Nothing remarkable about it.”

“We got Tek checking traffic cams,” Razor says.

“Anything hurt?”

I help him remove his cut and shirt, then check his ribs.

“Just my leg. It got trapped under the bike for a bit.”

“Okay.” I turn to Gage. “Help me get him into bed.”

Once we have him settled, I do a more in-depth check, concluding that nothing’s broken. He does have a sprained ankle, so I wrap it and finish cleaning him up. I give him some painkillers, and then Gage jerks his head at me to follow. Back in the bar, I see Ellen walking in with Mikey skipping ahead of her. He spots his uncle first and rushes toward him.

“Uncle Gage!”

Gage picks him up, swinging him around. “Hey, little man!”

Ellen smiles at me over her brother’s shoulder, then transfers her attention to him. Not wanting to give anything away before I talk to him, I head to the chapel to wait for Gage. When he walks in, he drops down into his chair at the head of the table, growling in aggravation.

“You think it was deliberate?”

“Probably,” I answer. “They didn’t stop.”

“They weren’t trying to kill him, so it has to be a message.”

“Yeah, but what?”

“I don’t have a fucking clue.” He expels a frustrated breath.

“Think it has something to do with the job we did before you left?”

“Maybe, butJefeassured me it was dealt with. I’ll give him a call, and then we wait to see what Tek comes up with.”

“Yeah. I just wonder if they were following him, or if they just happened to see him on the road.”

“Exactly. I don’t believe in coincidences, bro. Maybe they have eyes on us.”

“It’s a possibility. Tek wants to upgrade our security equipment. I told him to come up with some figures and I’d run the idea by you.”

“Do it. I don’t care what it costs. Until we know what’s going on, no one rides alone. The women have someone on them at all times, even the Hounds. Depending on what we find out, I’ll decide later if we need to bring everyone in.”

“Lockdown? Shit. We’ve never had to do that before.”

“I’m not taking any chances, E.”

“I agree. I’ll get the Hounds and the prospect to start gathering supplies.”

“And I’ll talk to the men.”

“Got it.”