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I shook my head quickly. “We got a doc on call and the first lady is a nurse. He’ll be fine. Just put pressure on it.”
My mind was racing as we tore down the highway towards home. How likely was this to happen again if I kept this to myself? Hammer wouldn’t take me disappearing off the map as an answer. If he was willing to come out of his hiding place to meet with me, he was willing to force my hand. I glanced at Sam in the rearview mirror and my fists tightened on the steering wheel. If I wanted to keep her safe, I needed to come clean to my crew. Not just a few of them. All of them.
“Tyson? No, don’t shut your eyes. Tyson!”
“Is he breathing?”
She didn’t answer me, too busy panicking and shaking him.
“Sam! Is he breathing?”
“Y-Yes, I think so. Please, Tyson, keep your eyes open!”
The more I thought about it, the more this felt like a warning. Hammer lost his mole in the crew when Allie shot Wrecker in the head. He somehow found out I was using and offered me a slot in his crew, but he followed up by hurting someone trying to help me. A clear cut warning that if I told anyone about what he said, he’d go after people who were more important than Tyson.
Pulling out my phone, I put it on speaker, pushing the pedal all the way to the floor in hopes of getting back faster.
“Clink?” Riley’s voice was confused. I never called her. Had no reason to until now.
“I need you and the doc to meet me. I got a civvie with a stab wound in the back.”
“Who?”
Letting out a breath, I fought off a grimace. “My sponsor.”
* * *
When we arrived at the clubhouse, the doc and Riley were waiting, along with the rest of the officers. They helped pull Tyson out from the backseat of Sam’s truck and disappeared inside. They’d bring him to the guest room so he could be treated. I came around front, but when I realized Sam wasn’t following, I swung around to get her. One look at her tearful, horror-stricken face nearly buckled me. Tyson was her friend for years. And it was my fault he got hurt.
“Come on, honey. He’s in good hands.” I reached for her, helping pull her out of the truck. She had blood on her clothes and her hands were clammy. I tucked her against me, bringing her inside.
I brought her to my room, grabbing some sweats and a t-shirt out of my dresser for her to change into. She looked like she was in shock and I wanted to stick around to help her, but I knew Croy wouldn’t be patient about this. He needed to know what was going on. Hell, they all did. Hammer was looking to poach, and that was a threat to our already shaky foundation.
“I’ve gotta run downstairs for a bit. I’ll ask one of the ol’ ladies to come in here and sit with you, alright? I set out some spare clothes and there’s a towel on the dresser that’s clean if you want to shower.”
Sam barely blinked, her pale face staring out one of the windows, but probably not really taking in shit. I brushed my lips against her forehead, squeezing her hands, before ducking into the hall and nearly crashing into Reaper. He looked suspicious, like usual, but damn, this time he had a reason to be.
“I know. I’m comin’. Can you have Quinn or Allie sit with Sam? She’s in shock.”
He studied me for a second before nodding once. Together, we walked back towards the guest room, where Croy and the other officers watched through the open door while Doc and Riley tried to save Tyson’s life. Quinn and Allie were inside to assist, getting water and towels and shit. Reaper stepped inside while I caught Croy’s attention, tipping my head towards the stairs.
“We need a church meeting.”
As Treasurer, I didn’t make calls like that. That was up to Croy, Nevada, and sometimes Knox when he was doling out Croy’s order. The fact that I was requesting it now was unusual, but it was fucking important.
It felt a little like I was marching onto death row. Not only was I about to admit that I was breaking the rules by using, I also had to admit that I’d met with Hammer on my own. That would paint me in a really bad light, and there was no telling how Croy would react. But I’d thought about it on the way here. If I took Hammer’s offer, I’d be no better than Wrecker. That little shit screwed us over selling to our rival, and he nearly got Reaper killed by giving up our supply locations. I couldn’t be that guy. It didn’t matter how badly I wanted to have free rein to use to my heart’s content. My brothers meant more to me than anything. And I sure as hell wasn’t going to side with the guy who killed Mass.
My leg started jiggling again as I sat in church, waiting for the rest of the guys to join us. Not just the officers, either. Croy demanded everyone join us, which was more than a little annoying. I didn’t complain, though. I didn't have room to. I just waited, my agitated movements making me jingle like a fucking reindeer on Christmas. Once the whole crew, or most of them aside from the prospects and a few watching the door as security, joined us, Croy looked at me, his face blank.
“You’ve got somethin’ to say, Clink?”
I nodded, staring at my hands. “Spoke to Hammer today. He’s lookin’ to poach our people.” Lifting my gaze, I locked eyes with Croy. “He started with me.”
Murmurs and protests started immediately. People called me a traitor before I even had a chance to explain myself. It was disheartening, to say the very least. My intention was never to betray my brotherhood. I’d gone inside with the intention of getting more information. And while I briefly considered taking the offer, I didn’t think I’d ever go through with it. It was the drugs that tried to sway me.
Croy leaned back, his arms crossed over his chest. Last time he suspected one of his own was betraying him, he started brawling. I kept waiting for him to lose his cool and attack, but he just waited until the room quieted.
“Tell me what happened.”
