“Yes, sir. It is.” Morgan reached out and shook Viper’s hand. “It’s been a long time.”
“I’ll say. Last time I saw you, you were just about to start high school.”
“That was about ten years ago, sir.”
“Damn. Where has the time gone?” Viper chuckled. “How’s your dad been making it?”
“You know Pop. He’s always into something.” Morgan shook his head and smiled. “Driving Mom nuts with all his projects around the house.”
“Sounds about right.” Viper took a quick glance around the alley. “You find what you were looking for?”
“No, sir. Didn’t find anything suspicious, so I’d say the anonymous caller had it wrong.”
“What exactly did they say?”
“Just that they saw someone dump a body in one of your dumpsters, and that we needed to come check it out.” Morgan shook his head. “Probably some asshole trying to cause y’all some trouble, but I don’t see any reason to waste any more of your time or mine. We’ll get out of your hair and let you get back to your night.”
“I’d appreciate that.”
“It was good to see you, Viper. You should stop by and see Pop sometime. I know he’d enjoy seeing ya.”
“I’ll do that.”
We all followed them back around front and waited as they got back in their patrol car. Before Morgan closed his door, he said, “You guys have a good rest of the night, and just give me a call if you come across anything we should know about.”
“Will do.”
Once the cops pulled out of the parking lot, Viper looked over to us and said, “Something isn’t adding up.”
“I can’t disagree with you there.” Hawk ran his hand over his face with a grumble. “Somebody dumped the girl here for a fucking reason, and we gotta find out what it is.”
Viper let out a deep breath. “I’m gonna need you to check out the surveillance footage from tonight and see if you can find out anything.”
“You got it, Prez. I’ll get right on it.”
Viper turned his attention to me. “I want you with the girl. As soon as she comes around, I want her talking. I need to know anything and everything she can tell us about what went down tonight.”
“Understood,” I answered with no complaint.
Even though I was the enforcer and not a fucking babysitter, there was something about this girl that had me wanting to keep an eye on her. So much so, I was already itching to get back. As Viper started walking over to his bike, he called out to Menace, “Let me know if you find anything.”
“You know I will.”
Hawk and I got on our Harleys and followed Viper back to the clubhouse. I didn’t want to look too eager, but I couldn’t help myself from speeding ahead of the others. I wanted to get back and see how the girl was doing. She was in pretty bad shape when we left her with Doc, and there was a good chance she wouldn’t pull through. While death was something I’d become accustomed to, the thought of this chick dying didn’t sit too well with me. Actually, a lot about this whole situation didn’t sit well with me, but there wasn’t a fucking thing I could do about it.
As soon as Viper and I got back to the clubhouse, I headed straight for the infirmary. I walked in and my stomach twisted into a knot when I caught sight of the girl sprawled out on the gurney. Her clothes had been removed, revealing the horrific state of her battered body. Deep bruises covered her torso and face, her eyes were swollen shut, and she was lying perfectly still as Doc finished stitching up one of her larger wounds.
The sight shouldn’t have fazed me. I’d mangled plenty of men over the years, but seeing her like this brought bile up to the back of my throat. In just a blink, I was thrown back in time with images of Lindsey at the scene of the accident.
Blue and red lights were flashing, cops and medics were rushing around like madmen, but Lindsey lay perfectly still—she was bleeding, her face almost unrecognizable, and her clothes were tattered and soaked in blood. The medics raced from one area to the next, doing what they could to save Lindsey and her friends, but one was already gone with another barely holding on. I stood there helplessly, watching as they zipped up the body bag, concealing her friend’s mangled body.
Sensing that my mind was somewhere else, Doc gave me a gentle nudge as he asked, “You all right over there?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“You sure? ’Cause considering everything, I’d understand if you weren’t.”
Doc was one of the few people who knew the whole story about my past. While it wasn’t a topic either of us discussed, it meant something that he was looking out for me. Trying my best to collect myself, I let out a deep breath and stepped over to the gurney. “I’m sure, but what about her? How’s she doing?”
“Been touch and go, but she was lucky.” He finished the last stitch, then started applying a bandage. “The guy who stabbed her either had no clue what he was doing or was a pro ’cause the internal damage was minimal.”
“I take it she hasn’t said anything?”
“No. She’s been out since y’all brought her in.” Doc looked over to me. “I’m sure Viper is eager to get her talking, but it’s gonna take some time. Poor kid’s been through a lot.”
“So, how long are we talking about here?”
“That’s up to her, brother.” Doc took a sheet and covered her. “The fact that she’s made it this long shows she’s got some fight in her. She’s gotta hold on to that, and maybe...just maybe, she’ll make it through this.”
“Damn.” This girl had me all kinds of fucked up. The memories I’d worked so hard to push to the back of my mind had risen to the surface and were gnawing at me, pulling me back into the darkness. It was a feeling that had me wanting to shut down and forget this shit ever happened, but I didn’t have that luxury—not when I had no idea who the girl was, and I had no doubt that Viper would feel the same. “Viper’s gonna come unglued.”
“It is what it is.” Doc shrugged. “I’ve done what I can. Now it’s just a matter of waiting. I’m gonna go get some shut eye, but I’ll check on her in a couple of hours.”
“I’ll stay here with her just in case she decides to wake up.”
“Don’t think that’s gonna happen—at least not for a while.” He checked her stats once more. “I’ve given her some pretty heavy sedatives and pain meds. I figure she’ll be out for a while.”
“I’m still staying.”
“Suit yourself.” He motioned his hand behind me. “There’s an extra cot around back and some blankets.”
“Thanks, brother.”
“Let me know if you need anything.”
I nodded, then watched as Doc left the room, leaving me alone with our broken stranger. I stood over her, and I could once again feel the darkness inside of me brewing in the pit of my stomach. As I stood there, I studied the marks on her body. Fuck. Every goddamn inch of her had some kind of a bruise or scratch. I couldn’t be sure, but I got the feeling that it wasn’t just one guy who’d fucked her over. It was several. Just thinking about what they’d done to her made me want to hunt the assholes down and kill them with my bare fucking hands. I knew I needed to get a fucking grip. I didn’t know shit about her. For all I knew, she could’ve had this shit coming to her, but the mere fact they all jumped her at once showed what fucking pussies they were.