Page 8

“Morning,” Sarah groans. “My head feels as though a marching band is playing lambada in it, but very false and very loud.” She squeezes her eyes shut and a pained look crosses her face. Sarah stayed over last night after the party, since she was quite drunk and didn’t want to go home. It was after one in the morning when we got back, and she was in no state to go home. So instead, we finished the open bottle of wine from the fridge, and Sarah slept on my sofa. She snored like a freight train and slept through Raven turning up at six this morning to take Nathan to college and drop off Flakey’s bag. She also missed their laughter at her mumbling in her sleep something like ‘don’t crack the eggs, you fool’. She’s blissfully unaware. I hand her two painkillers and a glass of water.

“Take that, it’ll help.” She gratefully grimaces at me but takes my offerings.

“No hair of the dog then?” She asks on a sigh. “Can I borrow your shades? Turn off the sun, it’s evil.” I can’t help the chuckle that escapes.

“What time do you have to pick Leo up?”

“I don’t. My parents will drop him off at three this afternoon. Oh my god, did I dream what happened last night? That decrepit asshole hitting on me, lifting my skirt, and then the guy upstairs bleeding? Did we hightail it to the hospital? It’s all vague today.”

“Yup, it all happened. Do you remember us putting him on his side, or not wanting to leave when I offered to take us home? I think Dougal took a shine to you until you ripped into him.” I wink at Sarah, who has the grace to look slightly embarrassed.

“Oh god, I didn’t read him the riot act, did I? Dougal, I mean?”

“Yup, sister, you kinda did, but not as much as you ripped Rusty a new asshole and offered to shoot him.” Sarah’s mortified, shocked look makes me crease up laughing.

I fall onto the other sofa, laughing my ass off, trying to tell her just what went off last night. She sits there, her hands in front of her face, peeping through the fingers, bright red and mortified.

“You had a proper potty mouth last night.” God, I love winding her up. She’s so funny when embarrassed.

“I’m never setting foot in that place again,” she groans while I desperately try to keep my laughter in check.

“Can I use your car to do some running around?”

“Sure. It’s not as if I’m in any fit state to drive,” she says.

“Right.” I get up, and grab my purse, keys, and Flakey’s bag. “I’m off to the hospital now, get this stuff dropped off and relieve Vegas. Raven won’t be back here after dropping Nate off. He’ll go straight to the clubhouse. You have the house to yourself, make the most of it. Go get a sleep in my bed and before you do, have plenty of water. You’ll feel better for it. I’ll be back at lunchtime. Gotta hit the shops and get some groceries after the hospital.” Ignoring her groan, I walk to the door, waving over my shoulder.

???

After finding Carl’s room and slowly opening the door without knocking, I see Vegas—hot as ever, giving my ovaries a workout—standing by the bed, listening to Flakey moan.

His shoulders are shaking slightly. Flakey looks terrible. Pale and pasty, not sure how else to describe it other than he looks like death warmed over. Not wanting to be caught sneaking, I open the door fully and breeze in with a smile.

“Morning.” I beam at them, trying to hide my shock at Flakey’s appearance. Vegas gives me a weird look, his eyes travelling over my body, leaving me suddenly feeling naked. Don’t flush, don’t flush! Shouldn’t be the problem as all the blood suddenly disappeared into my nether region. I drop Flakey’s bag on the chair, while Vegas says his goodbyes and stalks out of the door. I try not to turn to watch him leave.

“Right, sugar pie, you’ve got me for the next few hours to keep you company. Anything you want?”

“Na, darlin’, I’m fine for now. You don’t have to stay girl, I’m honestly fine,” just then the door opens and nurse walks in.

“Time for your blood tests and afterwards you’re booked for a scan. So, it’ll be a while before you’re back.” She apologetically smiles at me. I shrug my shoulder.

“No problem. I’ll do my shopping quickly and then come back. That okay with you, Flakes?”

“Whatever!” he grumbles. I take that as a yes, help the nurse transfer him into a wheelchair and walk out with them.

???

The whole way to the grocery store, I battle with my concerned about Flakey. He doesn’t look good. I feel like an ass. I’ve known him for years and years. He’s a good guy, but I let my dislike of the club blind me to the fact that most of them are good people. That must stop. They are my family, after all. The club isn’t the same as it was with Stone in charge. As if by telepathy, my phone rings. The display shows the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution. My heart sinks. I know who that is. I pull over to the side of the road and turn the engine off.

“Hello?”

“Hello, darlin’, how are you?” My father’s voice sounds cheery, as though nothing is wrong.

“Hi, Dad,” I bristle at calling him that, but I can’t do with a lecture today. “How are you? Everything okay? It’s all good here. Nathan left for college this morning. Raven took him and settled him.”

“I’m okay, sweetheart, just the same as always. How’s Flakey?” I don’t know why it still shocks me that he knows everything going on almost immediately. You’d think that it would be difficult to get the information where he is, but apparently not.

“He’s okay, I think. I went to see him a short while ago and they were taking him for tests, so I left, but I’ll go back later to keep him company for a bit.” No point making something up, he obviously has informants. Swallowing hard, I find that I really have nothing to say to him. Every time we talk, it brings back sour memories, and reminds me that he’s in the joint for a reason, never to come out again. Speaking to him unsettles me.

“I tried to call Raven, but he didn’t pick up,” he complains.

“He was probably driving or getting ready for church.” I don’t know why I feel like I have to apologize for Raven. I feel stupid for it but can’t help it.

“Ashley,” he says, his tone serious, “I’d love to see you next visit.” I knew it was coming. I haven’t seen him in years. Every time I went, it depressed me so much, I spent days in tears, feeling sorry for myself. Not him, never him, but for myself. So, I stopped going.

“I’ll try,” I find myself half-whispering.

“Please do. I haven’t seen my daughter in years. I know you’re angry and upset with me, but I’m your father, after all. I miss you and the boys.” It sounds more like a command than a plead, and that makes me bristle. The days he could command me are long over. In fact, they died out when Mom did.

“I said I’ll try,” I grate out between clenched teeth. “Sorry, gotta go.” I hang up the phone while he’s still trying to talk. I can’t deal with this shit.

To be honest, I’m furious and hurt. It bubbles away deep inside of me. The way he treated Mom, the beatings dished out, the constant presence of violence, drugs and guns. I hate him for what he turned our lives into. And there are days I hope someone will soon set the date to rid the world of his filthy countenance forever. Then I immediately feel guilty.

Luckily, Nebraska is quite a way. Over six hundred miles and around nine hours’ driving. That gives me a good excuse. With a busy job, I can’t afford to take a few days off to make the journey. He knows I’d never accept money from the club, so it’s a great excuse.

Sitting there for another few minutes, calming down a bit, I realize I need to speak to Raven later. He needs to know that Stone knows everything going on with the club and members. Taking a deep breath, I put the car in drive and pull back onto the road.

I need to calm the hell down before I do anything else.

Without planning to, I find myself in front of Ally’s. I park and walk into the empty diner. Ally looks at me, and without saying a word, brings me a cup of coffee. She sits down opposite me in a booth.

“Hey, girl, what’s up? You look as though you’ve seen a ghost peeing in your cornflakes this morning.” Her concerned gaze takes me in, and I laugh sarcastically.

“If only it had been a ghost.”

“Oh,” Ally looks down at her intertwined fingers on the table, “it’s that day. Sunday call day, huh?”

“I shouldn’t let it get to me, but he does it every damn time,” I fume. “He even knows Flakey is in hospital.” Ally looks at me, her eyes wide with surprise.

“Wow, looks like someone is tattling, or he has seriously good connections in there! I know exactly what you need right now.”

She gets up, goes behind the counter and comes back holding a large plate full of cupcakes with rude decorations and two large pieces of chocolate cake. She looks at the wall clock, shrugs, turns the open sign to closed, and locks the door. I laugh at her—she knows me so well. Inspecting the cupcakes, they put a silly grin on my face.

“I hope Sparks didn’t model for the penis decorations,” I joke, and Ally claps.

“Why didn’t I think of that? But I would need bigger cupcakes then, more like a tray.” She sniggers. “So, sister, spill. Auntie Ally will make it all better.”

Welling up, I pour my hate and anger onto Ally’s lovely table. It’ll need a double wipe and disinfecting before I’m finished spewing poison. It is only when Ally hands me a pack of tissues that I notice tears streaming down my face. Shit, I promised myself no more tears years ago, yet here I am, bawling again, and word vomiting all over Ally. She doesn’t stop me, nor asks questions. She’s just there, listening and radiating warmth.

“Ash, if you don’t want to see him, don’t. Don’t make yourself do something you have difficulties coping with. He’s where he is by his own doing. He doesn’t deserve nor need your empathy. The only one who deserves empathy here is you. You owe it to yourself to put your mental health first. If it doesn’t make you happy, stay away from it. You are a choice, not an option, and he chose his own fate, with no regards to you, or Nathan, or even Raven. You don’t want to see him? Don’t. I’m sure Raven understands, even if Stone doesn’t.

“In my humble opinion, Stone was and is a complete narcissistic asshat. My god, he has psychopathic tendencies. Stay well away, if you can. I’m willing to bet he’s putting pressure on you for his own ends. In fact, I’m so sure, I’d forsake tequila for an entire month if I’m wrong.” That statement has me sniveling and grinning at the same time. Ally could never go a month without her favorite tequila. She loves the stuff too much. But she’s right, and deep down, I know it.

“So, what else is on your mind? I know this isn’t all. Come and tell Auntie Ally where it hurts. Dr. Ally is in the house.”

“Err, everything else is fine, really.” I try to sound convincing, but even I can hear my bravado sounds as fake as Ally’s hair dye looks.

“Look, honey, you don’t have to tell me anything. Know that I’m always here for you, though. No questions asked, no judgement, and no fucks given whether others may think it’ll make you look bad. I’ve known you for a long time, watched you suffer, become a strong woman, and bring up your brother all alone. You don’t have to, Ash. I’m here for you and will keep whatever it is to myself. I swear on my bike and Sparks’s man parts.” That has me giggling. I take a bite out of my chocolate cake. Wow, the flavor explodes in my mouth, and I groan with pleasure.

“Oh my god, this is orgasmic.”

“Did I tell you how sad you are, girlfriend?” Ally shoots me an alarmed look. “You need a man. Now then, who can I hook you up with?”

She looks off into the distance, and I can practically hear the cogs in her brain turning. I have got to get her off this train of thought. No good will come from it.

“B.O.B. is doing a great job, thank you very much. He doesn’t leave dirty socks around, mugs in the sink, or oily footprints on the carpet. And he doesn’t want his dinner cooked or hogs the remote.”

“What you need is a hook-up, sister. A hook-up with the feel-good factor, delivered by a sexy hunk. Okay, let’s get our thinking caps on here. Who would qualify?” She taps her nails against her teeth, deep in thought. “Any hot men at your work?” She looks at me curiously.

“Nope, none,” I reply.

“Hmm, slim pickings around here unless you count the brothers. They are all quite nice on the eyes. Well, maybe with one or two exceptions. Ugh, when I think about Rusty or Spen, that is just . . . no . . . just no!” She shudders visibly, and I giggle.

Oh my god, Spen? He’s lardy, six-foot-two, has a mountain of a beer gut, and mostly greasy hair—well, the three odd strands he has left of it. His glasses are milk bottle bottoms and make his eyes look huge, he’s walked with a stick since he crashed a couple years ago, and he still thinks he’s God’s gift to women. How Debs puts up with him, I don’t know. She needs a medal.

When Ally mentioned Rusty, a chill crept up my spine, and I was instantly agitated. Memories I don’t want are coming up, and I can feel my breathing speed up. My vision blurs, my chest hurts, and then the shaking starts. I’m lost.

“Ashley! Ashley!” I hear Ally calling from far away, like through a long tunnel. “Ashley, what’s wrong? Breathe, Ashley, breathe!” she screams at me. “Ashley, for fuck’s sake, breathe!”

That makes my eyes connect with hers. “Breathe,” she repeats. “Follow my breathing. In through the nose, out the mouth. In through the nose, out the mouth. Yes, that’s it, in through the nose, out the mouth. Good girl. I’m here with you. Everything is okay.”

After five minutes, my breathing returns to normal and my vision clears. Ally hands me a glass of iced water. My mouth is as dry as Gandhi’s flip flops. She looks at me, her brows drawn together in concern.

“What the fuck, Ashley? You just had a full-blown panic attack. In my café. What the flaming hellfire is wrong? And don’t tell me you’re fine, because that doesn’t wash with me after that performance. I’m your friend and I love you like a sister, so tell me what the hell is going on.”

Oh my god, oh my god, what now? I can’t tell her everything. I just can’t. I look at her and press my lips together in defiance.

“Look, Ashley, something is going on and I’m not taking no for an answer. You either talk to me, or I’ll speak to Raven and see if he can get sense out of you.” Ally is angry and looks hurt.

“No, please, Ally. Please, please, please, don’t tell Jamie.” I’m all but begging on my knees. If he finds out, he’ll go berserk.

“You better get talking then, miss, before I lose my last bit of patience and drag you to the clubhouse,” Ally hisses.

I take a deep, calming breath and look around, my eyes flitting everywhere and anywhere except Ally’s face. How do I even start this conversation?

“Ally, I’ll tell you, but you must swear not to talk to any of the brothers about it, not even Jason. Swear or I’ll never speak to you again if you let me down on this.” I look at her, and she locks her eyes on mine. They are full of searching, trying to dissect my thoughts, which are racing around in my head in pure chaos. “I need you to swear, Ally.” She nods , waiting for me to start. I take a deep breath, let it out on a sigh, and begin.

“You know my mother died when I was young, right? You know she drank herself to death?” Ally says nothing, patiently waiting for me to continue. “I was about ten. The school bus dropped me off, and I couldn’t wait to see Mom, so I ran all the way to the house. I was so excited because I had gotten an A on a test and couldn’t wait to show her.” I swallow hard. “The door was open, so I walked right in. I could hear noises from the kitchen, so I ran in and there they were, Mom bent over the sink and Rusty fucking her with all he had. They didn’t even notice me for a while. It wasn’t until they finished that they looked to the side.”

Ally’s eyes go bigger and bigger during my tale, then she gets a look of disgust on her face. She takes a breath, but I raise my hand. I’m not done yet. Now that I’ve started, I might as well get it all out.

“I was frightened, confused, and couldn’t make sense of what I was seeing. My mother’s jeans around her ankles and Rusty’s around his knees made no sense to me whatsoever. He pulled out, waved his dick around, slapped my mom on the ass, and said ‘Bitch, you’re still a great ride. Next time, we might have to invite Ashley in.’ My mom gasped in shock, noticing me standing there, looking confused.” My eyes are burning with tears again, so I blink and swallow hard to stop them from falling. Ally’s mouth is hanging open, and the horrified look on her face speaks volumes. “He pulled his trousers up, grabbed me by the arm, and dragged me outside.

“He said to me, 'You can never tell your father what you just saw. Keep your mouth shut, or I’ll shut it for you. I’ll slit your throat and put you in a ditch where no one finds you, ever.’ I never told a soul. My mom died a week later. I know everyone was told she drank herself to death, but I found the autopsy report a few years ago. Accidental overdose and extremely high levels of alcohol. I never knew my mother to take drugs, and I overheard Stone once saying she never touched drugs at all.” I take a breather.

“My gut feeling now is that Rusty got her hooked on something that killed her in the end. I’m not saying he went out to kill her, but I think he had a part to play in her death. Whenever he sees me, he sneers at me, or reminds me to keep my mouth shut. I want to throw up. I feel so sick if he’s anywhere in sight.”

I gulp in a breath and wait for Ally’s reaction. For a long time, she says nothing. Then, she stands and paces the diner, making me even more nervous. Ally is not one to keep her opinion to herself. She disappears behind the counter, gets out two shot glasses, and fills them with tequila.

“Here, drink this. We both need it.” Her face looks grim. “I don’t know what to say, and that’s gotta be a first.” She sighs. “Ashley, I’m so sorry you had to go through that, and alone too. That must have been hellish. You were so young, had so much pressure. My heart is crying for you right now. But my brain is so mad.” She continues to pace. “I want to rip his head off and shit in the hole. That slimy bastard! I don’t know what to be madder about, the way he treated you, or the fact he went there in the first place. No wonder he didn’t want Stone or Raven to find out. He was the VP, for fuck’s sake, and still is the VP. That dickhead has a lot to answer for. Bad enough he took a brother’s old lady and wife, but his President’s? And to threaten you? I’m so furious, I want to shoot the bastard myself.” She rants on.

“Ally, stop,” I shout at her. “You cannot say anything to anyone. Not Rusty, not Sparks, and sure as hell not Jamie. I suspect what you said about tattling is right, and if anyone tattles to Stone, it would be Rusty. We can’t even tell Stone because he wouldn’t believe it. Rusty would just deny it, and I cannot cope with the drama. I told you because you made me, and because I trust you. Don’t make me regret my decision,” I plead with her. Ally has never looked at me more questioningly and serious.

“Ashley, Raven has to know. If it was my club and my family, I would want to know, and I would get almighty pissed if I found out someone I trusted knew all along and said nothing.”

“I know,” I nod, “that’s why I kept silent for so long. I don’t want Jamie hurting, and I sure don’t want him to be the next in prison for dealing with that slime bag. I need Jamie. I can’t lose him too. Not now, not ever.” My eyes are burning with tears.

“I knew he was and always has been a cockroach, but this? I didn’t expect this.” Ally groans. “Now I get why you were always so jumpy around him, why you always went the other way when he appeared, even if that meant leaving. How can I help?”

“You can’t, Ally, no one can. I’ll carry on as is and stay out of his way. The only thing you can do is not ask me anymore about it. Promise you’ll keep my confidence.”

“I swear, no one is going to hear it from me.” Ally looks at me. I can see she’s not happy and conflicted, but I trust she will keep my secret safe. At least for now. I’ll deal with everything as I go along, if I then have to. The door opens and Sparks steps in.

“Hear what from you?” I look at Ally in full panic mode. My breath starts coming in pants, and Ally puts her hand on mine, squeezing it gently.

“Damn it, Sparks, now we have to swear you to secrecy too.” My panic rises to an epic proportion.

“What’s going on?” Sparks quizzes, waggling his eyebrows.

“We were talking about Ashley’s secret crush, if you must know, and you came in too early. She hasn’t told me who it is yet,” Ally exclaims, winking at me, and I let out a slow breath of relief. Oh, thank God.

“I know who it is anyway,” jokes Sparks, pointing his finger at me. “She hasn’t stopped making moon eyes at Vegas for weeks.” He exaggerates wildly, but I can feel myself flushing beet red.

“Oh . . . my . . . God!” Ally shouts and laughs. “It’s true, isn’t it? It’s Vegas! Don’t even try to lie to me. The color of your face says it all. No one flushes like that if the person in question isn’t at least at the top of the rub bank material list.”

“What can I say? That pantie melting smile, no woman under fifty can possibly be immune to it.” I mock pout, batting my eyelashes at Ally. If you can’t beat them, join them. “And those man buns, in those jeans, that’s enough to make my knees wobble.” I fan myself with my hand. “That man is hot stuff!” Sparks is howling with laughter, and Ally looks at me as though I have a screw loose.

“Eww, disgusting,” Sparks grunts out, still laughing

“I swear, I’ll keep your secret. I don’t want to get a broken nose. My beautiful smeller means a lot to me, you know.” He can hardly get the words out through all of his chortling and snorting.

Secretly proud of my ingenious save, I get out of the booth. “Right, kids, I have to go. Have to get back to the hospital and then home to let Sarah have her car back.”

“Yours will be ready tomorrow. I have it on good authority.” Sparks winks at me. Ally unlocks the door, and I step out into the street, letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding.

-9- Vegas

A fter my little chat with Raven, I’m just too beat to ride home. I make my way upstairs to my room, unlock the door, and stop dead in my tracks. A very naked Tequila is spreadeagled on my bed.

“Hello, big boy, at last, come and play with me, sugar,” she invites me in her husky voice. I sigh. This is not what I need. The club sluts are getting a little brazen, and Tequila couldn’t take my kind of kink. I’m definitely not in a vanilla mood today.

“Not today, sweets. Go and play with the other brothers. Got stuff to do, sleep to catch up on.” She throws me a pleading look, but I just hold open the door. “Get out, Tequila. Come on, move,” I tell her in a more stern tone.

“Don’t be like that, Vegas. I haven’t sucked your cock in ages. I just want a taste, to relieve your stress,” she pushes.

“I won’t repeat myself. Get out! Now!” I growl at her, stand up straighter, and let my Dom out. Hand on my hip, my eyes shutter from all emotions. “I’ll give you five seconds to get the fuck out of my room. You’ll regret crossing me, Tequila. You’re a slut, and one I don’t want in my bed. Your pussy isn’t magic, just club pussy. Now, get the fuck out!” I watch her scramble off the bed, grab her clothes, and storm off into the hall.

“You are such a dick, Vegas,” she screeched.

“Yup,” I shout after her, “and don’t you forget it!” Smirking to myself, I close the door. Mission accomplished. I’m not keen on club bunnies at the best of times, refusing to put my dick where everyone else’s has been. Tequila has made the rounds of the brothers for years now. I wonder if she was here when Stone was in charge? The years have not been kind to her. Peroxide blonde bleached hair, wrinkles around the eyes, and wrinkly, large, pored hands show her age, and no boob job can fix that. She wears skirts narrower than my belt and to say her tops are almost nonexistent is putting it mildly. She looks and sounds . . . lived in.

I don’t discriminate against age, but I do have standards. If all that isn’t reason enough to stay clear, she’s Rusty’s go-to. That’s a red flag for me and no way in the world would I hit that. I’ve been a bit of a man whore in the past. I’ve used club bunnies and got my strange from the bar in town. But since I have specific tastes, it went nowhere. One night is all they get from me, and I make that perfectly clear from the outset. The only time I make an exception is if I have a mutual agreement with a sub, and that only happens at Violets. Hasn’t happened for a long time now, must be a year or so. I got my dick wet with strange in the meantime but feel the urge to get to Violets soon. My needs are building, and I need some release. That might chase Ashley’s face out of my mind. I sigh, sit down at my desk, and start on the hospital visitation schedule for Flakey. I pick up my phone and dial Ferret.

“Hi, Ferret. Raven asked me to do a schedule for Flakey’s hospital visits. Could you let me have the staff shift patterns for the next week, so I can work around them?”

“Sure, Vegas, anything else you need?”

“No, thanks brother, that is all. I’ll email you a copy when I’m done, so you know who’s at the hospital and how long for.”

“That’s cool. Don’t rush, just shoot it over when you’re done. No worries,” Ferret replies and ends the call.

It takes me a couple of hours to do the schedule after getting the information from Ferret. I send it back and ask him to send it to everyone. God loves a good, long group message on a smart phone. I decide to get a couple of hours’ sleep and relieve Raven. Not a lot else to do on a Sunday. Most who have families are home with them, Sunday lunch and all that. Not my thing. The shop is closed on Sundays, so no work to do there. I yawn and stretch out on my bed, setting my alarm for in two hours’ time.

I groan when the alarm sounds. It feels as though I only dropped off minutes ago. I go to the bathroom, relieve myself and sit my ass on the edge of the bed. I find the group message from Ferret, true to his word and efficient as always. Ferret’s a great brother. Things he can do with a computer are unreal. He’s a real wizard in his field and there aren’t a lot of things he can’t hack into or know a backdoor too. He also does all our security checks, makes sure our conceal and carry permits are up to date and runs the security business with Slender and Pennywise. Lightning Security is making a name for itself in the industry. I can’t help but smirk.

We’ll all turn law-abiding folks yet . I chuckle at the thought. Yes, we’re running our businesses legit, but angels we are not. We get our hands dirty if need be.

After grabbing some food, I’m on my way to the hospital. My phone vibrates in my jeans, making me pull over. I have a missed call from Pennywise.

“Hey, what’s on fire?” I ask as I return his call.

“Nothing’s on fire, bro. Keep your hair on. Just wanted to know if you fancied a few beers tonight, thought about going to Stormy’s, check out what’s going on. I don’t like what came up in church too much.” Pen sounds uneasy, and I can’t blame him.

“Sure, Pen, what time? I’m on my way to see Flakey. Meet you after that?” I offer.

“Sounds good. Make it eight?”

“Sure, see you at eight at the bar.” I hang up and am back on my way. I might even have time to catch up with Raven about what Flakey had to say.

As I open the door, Nurse Chloe is just leaving. She’s obviously on a late shift. She gives me a slightly evil grin as she walks out. Do I want to know? I think I’ll pass. That woman has devious written all over herself. Raven is sitting on a chair, trying hard not to laugh. Flakey looks pissed and grumbles under his breath something about evil women and where she can stick her bedside manner. I try not to snort.

“Hey, my man, Flakester, how’s it hanging?” I ask with a grin. Raven bursts out laughing

“Apparently not much longer if he doesn’t behave himself. She feels he may need something more than soap, or rather something less sausage with his eggs.” Raven is coughing and hardly able to breathe with his laughter, as he waves his hand to zipper area, showing just what the excellent nurse had meant, by making the universal sign for scissors with his hands.

“Oh, Flakester, will you ever learn?” I mock sigh at him. “Do I need to give you some more flirting lessons?” I bat my eyes at him.

“Fuck off, asshole. If you were a true mate, you’d tie her up and keep her away from me. That evil witch!” We both look up as Raven bolts upright in his chair.

“You can’t tie medical staff up for dealing with your sorry ass,” he gripes. I shoot him an inquiring look.

“Go home, Raven, and get some sleep. I’ve got this. I’m keeping our little boo boo man company. Pen and I are meeting for a beer later. So go home, rest, and do your Prez shit. Take it easy, man,” I tell him calmly. He works too hard and today has been rough. “I’ve done the schedule, and Ferret has sent it out. Flakey is covered. If you need anything, just let me know, okay?” I sincerely hope he takes my offer.

“Okay, I can see when I’m not wanted,” Raven jokes. “Flakey, behave and stop propositioning the nurses. It won’t improve the bed baths.” Someone comes in with Flakey’s meal, so I walk out with Raven.

“I’ll be back when you’ve eaten, bro. Just grabbing a coffee at the cafeteria,” I throw over my shoulder.

“Did he say anything?” I ask Raven as I close Flakey’s door, and Raven sighs.

“Let’s take a walk, get some java first,” he says. We make our way outside, coffee take-out cups in hand, and find a quiet spot.

“He mentioned Karen not pulling her weight. She makes out like she’s the bigwig, but Flakey does all the running and some of the office work, too. He said it made him more tired than usual, but the doctors aren’t sure what’s up yet. He’s waiting for more tests tomorrow.” He looks at me, rubbing the back of his neck, tense with a concerned look in his eyes. “I can’t help it, Vegas, but I have a bad feeling about this.” I nod in Raven’s direction. Something is not right here.

“Pennywise and I are going to pay Stormy’s and Karen a visit tonight. We’ll have a few beers and watch what is going on. Speak discreetly to some regulars.” I offer.

“Thanks, that would be great. When can you get hold of Neil? We really need another bar man,” Raven states.

“I can call him tonight and feel him out. Just have to get Ferret to do an in-depth security check on him, and I reckon he’ll be able to hit the deck running, so to speak.”

“Thanks, Vegas, I appreciate it.” He looks beat. If the circles under his eyes get any worse, he’ll pass for a panda.

“We’ve got this, Raven. Go home and rest, get some sleep. Anything urgent and we’ll call you. But you know we can handle this. So, take your own advice and get gone,” I tell him jokingly. It earns me a stern look, a nod, and a back slap for a goodbye. Raven turns on his heel and walks to his bike. I wait until he’s pulled out into the traffic, then make my way back up to annoy Flakey.