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Ash grinned dopily for a moment. “Yeah.”
A long sigh down the phone brought him back down to reality with a bump.
“So, how long has he been gone then?”
Nix and Ash and Penny exchanged looks.
“Could be about twenty minutes or so. He’s on my bike.”
“Okay, so not long… fuck… what do you want to do? Give him time to cool off, leave him to make his own way back?” Colt suggested.
Ash shook his head. “No, that’s not how we work, Prez, we need to get him. He’s ours, we can’t just leave him-”
“Fuck, yeah, I hear you,” another long sigh came down the line from Colt. “Okay, I’ll go get him myself-”
“Wait, you sure? We could get a lift back to the clubhouse in Penny’s car, assemble the committee, figure out which routes to cover-” Ash began.
“Nah, it will take too long that way. Anyway, I know where he’s gone. He’s fucked off to that roadside bar in Vegas he was arrested at last time, do you remember?
“Oh, yeah.”
“On that little shit’s turf, that other MC, what was it called?”
“No idea, Prez.”
“The one that runs the protection racket for that other Armenian family… oh fuck I wish I could remember names…”
“Well if you can’t, they are probably all small fry, not a threat.”
“Is Penny there?” Colt asked.
Ash looked at Penny, who was hovering at his elbow. She’d panicked, she’d cried, not just graceful little sobs, but she was now a red-faced, red-eyed mess. Poor darling.
Ash put a hand onto her shoulder. “Yeah, she’s here.”
“Put her on,” Colt barked.
Ash held the phone up for Penny to take, but she didn’t, she kept her hands wrapped around her body. “He left, he left, he left…” she muttered.
Ash put the phone on speaker. “Penny, it’s Colt,” Ash said, beckoning Nix over with a terse nod of his head. Nix came and put a hand into her hair, bringing her into his chest.
“Penny, this is not his fault, okay, this is the deal, being with an addict, in active addiction, okay, he’ll fuck up-”
“He… left.” Penny gulped.
“Yeah, well, we are going to bring him back. This is what it is Penny, this is why I didn’t want you getting involved-”
“Prez, not the time to say I told you so,” Ash interrupted.
Colt sighed down the line. “Yeah, I hear you. I’m sorry, Penny, you hear me? I’m sorry I treated you like shit, and I’m sorry Lyle has left… Just… dig deep, sweetheart, okay, if you’re doing this, then we’re all doing this. This is what it is, he’s done this before and he’ll do it again and you gotta be strong to pick up the pieces and carry on. So… are you doing this?”
Ash bit his lip as Penny tried not to hyperventilate. Nix kissed her forehead gently. Ash squeezed her arm and held Nix too tightly.
She took a brave, deep, shuddering breath. “Yes, I’m doing this,” she looked up at Nix and at Ash, hurt and strength in her eyes. Good girl, Ash thought. “We’re doing this,” she repeated.
Colt’s voice came back down the line. “Yeah, okay then. Well, I’m going to get on my bike and ride toward Vegas. I might be able to catch him unless he’s riding like a bat out of hell. Hopefully I’ll be back by tomorrow morning with a chastened Lyle in my grip,” Colt’s voice was hard.
“I should come with you, you need others to guard you-” Ash began.
