Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90919 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 455(@200wpm)___ 364(@250wpm)___ 303(@300wpm)
“Jesus,” Frankie choked out. “Is he all right?”
“Cian said it’s not lookin’ good,” Bas replied, walking over to the front door. He paused to push his feet into his wet boots.
“You said she,” I called, standing slowly from my chair.
“What?”
“You asked if she was okay,” I reminded him. “You asked where she was.”
Bas looked at the ground for a moment before meeting my eyes again. “Aisling was missing, but Cian found her. She’s safe.”
“But she’s not okay,” I said softly.
“Not sure on specifics.”
“Give us half an hour,” Frankie ordered, pointing at Bas as she crossed the room. “We’re going with you.”
“Don’t think you’ll all fit on the back of my bike,” Bas replied, his joke falling flat.
“We’ll take the Tahoe,” Frankie countered flatly. She continued down the hall. “Half an hour, Sebastian! We’ll meet you at your house. You leave without us and I’ll make your life a living hell.”
“See you in half an hour,” Lou said as he opened the door.
I followed Frankie down the hallway and stopped in her doorway.
A few seconds later, Lou pushed in beside me. “It sounds like they’re already dealing with a lot. They shouldn’t have to entertain us, too. Are you sure we should go out there?”
“They wouldn’t have to entertain us,” Frankie reasoned, dropping her suitcase onto the bed. She looked at me. “He isn’t just our friend. He’s family. What do you think the club will do?”
“They’ll probably ride out there. A few of them, anyway, to stand vigil at the hospital,” I replied quietly.
“Right,” Frankie said with a nod. “If Cian’s family lived here, they’d already be taking shifts at the hospital, making sure everyone was fed, keeping an eye on Sean, all of it.”
“You should call and talk to your dad,” Lou murmured, reaching out to squeeze my hand. “Let him know we’re going and see if he and your mom are going to head out there.”
I nodded.
“I’ll never hear the end of it if we’re one minute late,” Frankie said, shooing us away. “Go pack.”
I called my dad as I walked back to my room.
“Hey,” he answered. There was some sort of loud machinery noise in the background. “Right in the middle of somethin’, kid, can I call you back?”
“Just wanted to let you know that we’re all driving out to be with Cian,” I said quickly. “You wanted to be the first to know, remember?”
“What do you mean, be with Cian? His family stuff that bad?” The background noise faded away.
“He told Bas that Richie was shot and Aisling was missing,” I replied, the words sounding farfetched as they came out of my mouth. “I guess Cian found Aisling? But she’s not okay. I’m not sure what that means, just that she’s not good. And Richie’s really not okay. I don’t know how bad it is, I just—”
“Shit,” Dad said as my words trailed off. “I like that guy.”
“Everyone likes Richie. He’s the nicest guy on the planet.”
“Like Aisling, too,” Dad mumbled. “I’ll call around and find out what the fuck is going on. You leavin’ now?”
“Meeting Bas at Titus’s house in twenty minutes,” I confirmed.
“Who’s drivin’?”
“Frankie.”
“Shit,” he grumbled. “Okay, check in with me, yeah? And answer the phone when your mother calls—you know she’s gonna.”
“I will,” I said, grabbing my duffel bag out of the closet. “Do you think the club will come?”
“We’ll be right behind you, baby,” he assured me. “Drive safe.”
“We will.”
Ten minutes after we’d hung up, I was grabbing my toothbrush out of the bathroom as I hauled ass toward Frankie’s Tahoe. Ten minutes after that, we were parking in front of my brother’s house.
Five minutes later, we were following behind three motorcycles as we pulled onto the street.
It wasn’t until a few hours into the drive that the overwhelming instinct to be with my friend was overshadowed by the reality that the last time we’d seen each other, we hadn’t exactly parted on good terms.
I’d called him a coward, for God’s sake.
“What?” Frankie asked, looking over at me.
“What?” I asked back.
“You made a noise.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“You really did,” Lou piped up, lifting her head from the paperback she was reading. She leaned forward between the seats. “It was a groan.”
“Why didn’t you remind me that Cian is probably going to tell me to go fuck myself when we get there?” I asked, twisting to look at Lou.
“He’d never tell you that.”
“After that little scene the other night, he definitely will.”
“Doubtful,” Frankie argued. “I bet he won’t even think of it.”
“Yes, he will.”
“Cian loves you,” Lou said kindly.
I huffed in disbelief.
“Okay, maybe he doesn’t want a relationship,” she conceded. “Though, I don’t really believe that. But you’re one of his best friends either way—he’ll be happy you came.”
“He’s not gonna give a shit that you want to jump his bone,” Frankie said, rolling her eyes. “He’s just going to be glad you’re there to support him.”