Page 26 of Wild Card (Royal Bastards MC: Cody, Wyoming #1)
“Oh well, if Esmé wanted to come, then that makes it okay.” He laughs at her sarcastically, and she looks at the floor. “Go get in the car, I’ll get her,” he orders, and when I see her starting to obey, I grab her by her elbow and yank her back.
“Don’t listen to him… Stay,” I tell her, not surprised by the confusion on her face; it was barely five minutes ago I was telling her to leave. I’ll just add hypocrite to my list of fuckin’ toxic traits.
“Stay out of this,” Ruby warns me, and when Brett sniggers, I grip him by the front of his crisp white shirt, ready to drop my forehead on him.
“Esmé!” Ruby shrieks, and when I follow her eyes, I see that Esmé has dropped to the floor and is shaking like she’s having a seizure. I quickly release Brett and scramble onto my knees.
“Esmé…Ash, do something.” Ruby is screaming at me, and while I quickly put the girl into the recovery position, I yell out for someone to call an ambulance.
“Ash, is she okay?” Ruby needs me to tell her everything's gonna be okay, but I can’t offer her anything right now, not with her friend convulsing and choking up froth while I hold her in position.
“Ambulance is on its way,” Cass calls out, and I look to Brett, who’s just standing and watching his sister like he’s in some kinda trance.
“Did she take anythin’?” I ask Ruby.
“Esmé? No…don’t be stupid. She’d never take anything like that.” She shakes her head. “Please do something!” she screams at me, starting to panic.
“Does she have epilepsy or is she allergic to anythin’?” I look to her brother, who just shakes his head and stays silent.
“Ruby, you sure she didn’t take anythin’? She was lookin’ pretty buzzed when you arrived.”
“Ash, I know my best friend. She wouldn’t do drugs,” she tells me sternly, crouching beside her friend and taking her hand.
“Are you sure about that?” I look up and see Moby holding a baggy of pills in one hand, and what I’m assuming is Esmé’s purse in the other. Her body jerks are starting to subside, and when I call out for a blanket, Cass rushes off to find one.
“No.” Ruby’s head shakes. “Esmé wouldn’t, she’s not stupid. She knows what's been happening.” She bursts into tears, and since her fiancé ain’t seeming to do fuck all about it, I lean over her friend and put my arm around her, showing her the comfort she needs.
“We’ll fix it, she’ll be okay,” I whisper, looking down at Esmé and saying a silent prayer that Ruby won’t have to lose another person she cares about.
“You didn’t have to come here.” Ruby looks across at me from the visitors’ room. Doctors have been working on Esmé for two hours, and I’m not liking the fact we haven't had an update yet.
“I wanna speak to her when she comes round, find out who she got those drugs from,” I tell her half the truth, and when Brett steps back inside the waiting room, I can see how pissed off he is. He’s treating what happened tonight as an inconvenience.
“This is why I don’t want you going to those fucking club parties.” He kicks one of the chairs across the room and makes her flinch.
“Hey! Your sister didn’t get those drugs from anyone at the club. I can assure you of that.” I don’t care how fuckin’ worried he is about his sister, I won’t have him badmouth the club; we’re the only ones who seem to be doing anything about this problem.
“And how do you know? You've been in this town five god damn minutes," he snarls at me.
“I’ve been here long enough to see that every member of that charter loves this town and wants nothin’ but good for it. Can your daddy say the same?” I question him, knowing that Derek Porter only ever sees dollar signs. He don’t care about the folk in this town.
“Did you get hold of your dad?” Ruby asks him, trying to calm the mood.
“No, he’s not picking up, and I don’t know how I’m gonna stop this from getting out; there were a whole lot of people at that party.” He fists his hair and starts to pace.
“Is that what you're worried about?” I question him as Ruby sinks back into her chair, rubbing at her forehead like I’m causing her some kind of headache. “Your sister could have died tonight, and you’re worried about your reputation?” I look at the guy as if he’s got something loose in his head.
I still beat myself up every fuckin’ day for the fact that I wasn’t there when my mom and sister died. This cunt has no idea how lucky he is.
“Why are you here anyway? This has nothing to do with you,” Brett snaps back at me.
“It’s a good job I am, because while you’ve been off trying to handle damage control, I’ve been making sure your financée’s okay. Can’t you see how fuckin’ scared she is?” I yell, and when the door opens and Hack rushes in, he’s looking fuckin’ wild.
“Where is she? Docs won’t tell me nothin’.”
“Of course, they’re not gonna tell you anything, you’re not family,” Brett scoffs, and Hack barely gives the prick a chance to finish before he grips the fucker by the lapels of his jacket and forces him into the wall.
“There’s a time and place for your smug little comments, Porter, now ain’t it?” He drops him and takes a breath before he turns to face me.
“Ya heard anythin’?” he asks.
“No, nothing yet.” I shake my head sadly.
“Fuck.” Hack drops into one of the chairs and slides his hands through his long blonde hair. “How the hell did this happen? Esmé’s smart…she wouldn’t involve herself in that shit.”
“Moby found the pills in her bag.” I head over and squeeze his shoulder; we’re past the stage of pretending that he doesn't care for the girl. I can see he’s worried sick and ready to commit murder.
“Why? Why would she do it?” He looks at Ruby like she holds all the answers, and I can see that she’s close to breaking. “Who did she buy from?” He stands back up and hovers over her like he’s interrogating the poor girl.
“Hey, she don’t know shit; I already asked.” I try and cool him down, slowly pulling him away. “But we’ll find out.” I lower my head to his and stare him in the eyes. “We’re gonna find the person behind this.”
Brett doesn’t say a word, just stands with that same blank look on his face.
“Esmé Porter?” One of the female doctors comes in, and Ruby leaps straight up to her feet, bouncing on them and looking anxious.
“Is she okay?”
“She’s feeling very groggy. She had a very close call, but she’s going to be okay,” the doctor reveals, and unable to control her emotions, Ruby throws her arms around her shoulders and squeezes her tight.
“Can I see her? Please say I can see her. I’m not family, but I am her best friend, and her dad isn’t here yet. She wouldn’t want to be alone.” The words come outta her mouth so fast the doctor laughs.
“You can see her, but just briefly; she needs to rest.” She smiles warmly as Ruby wastes no time rushing off down the hall to be with her friend.
“Due to the nature of the incident, I’ve had to inform law enforcement; it’s hospital policy.” She looks toward Brett, then her eyes land on me and Hack suspiciously.
“Appreciated.” Brett nods his head before taking out his cell, pressing it to his ear, and leaving the room again.