best of him. He’ll pull through this, if for no other reason than to prove that he can.”
She wiped the tears from her cheeks, then rested her head back on my shoulder. I knew I hadn’t eased all her doubts, hell, I had plenty of my own, but at least I’d given her a little hope to hold on to. She’d need it if she was going to make it through this thing with Gus—we all would.
10
Alyssa
I knew something was wrong. I could see it on Beckett’s face when he went rushing out of the house. I’d hoped that he would touch base the following night and tell me what had happened, but he never showed. That’s when I started to worry and tried calling Clay. When he didn’t answer, I tried calling Landry, but again, no answer. It was after ten. They both should’ve already been home. That, and the fact that Clay always answered when I called, made me even more concerned. I knew there was a possibility that they were just busy or might’ve been in bed, but after the way Beckett had left the night before, I couldn’t help but think something was really wrong. I was growing more concerned by the second, so I got in my car and drove over to Clay’s. Just as I was pulling up, I spotted Landry getting out of her car. When she noticed that I’d parked behind her, she started walking towards me. Even in the dark, I could tell from her expression and body language that she was exhausted. I rolled down my window. “Hey, Landry.”
“Hey, girl. What are you doing here so late?”
“I know I’m probably being crazy and all, but I tried calling y’all and when neither of you answered, I got worried. I thought I’d run by to make sure everything was okay.”
“I’m sorry.” Landry sighed. “I saw that I missed your call and I was meaning to call you back, but with everything that’s going on, I forgot.”
“So, there is something going on?”
“Yeah.” Landry’s expression grew somber as she said, “Gus was shot the other night, and we’ve been spending a lot of time at the hospital.”
“Oh, no. Is he okay?”
“Honestly, we aren’t sure.” I knew how much Gus meant to both Clay and Beckett. He was like a father figure to the entire club. All the brothers loved and respected him. I could only imagine how distraught they were over him being shot. “It’s pretty bad. They were afraid he wouldn’t pull through, but right now, he’s holding his own.”
“That’s awful.” I didn’t know much about the club life—just what I’d heard from my uncle, Viper. He was the president of the Ruthless Sinners in Nashville, and like Gus, he had a reputation for being hardcore. There weren’t many who were crazy enough to mess with him, and I had no doubt that the same held true for Gus, making me wonder who would’ve gone after him and why. “Do they have any idea who shot him?”
“If they do, they aren’t saying anything, but that’s no surprise.” Landry shook her head. “When it comes to the club, they’re all tight-lipped. Never really know what’s going on. It’s just part of it.”
I’d noticed that neither Clay’s bike nor his truck were in the driveway, so I asked, “Is Clay at the hospital?”
“Yeah. Even though the doctors won’t let them see Gus, they still want to spend as much time as they can there.”
“I understand.” As much as I wanted to ask her how Beckett was doing, I knew I couldn’t. We’d both agreed to keep our “friendship,” or whatever one wanted to call it, under wraps, so I’d just have to wait and see for myself when he finally came to see me—if he came to see me. I knew Landry was tired, so I put my car in reverse and said, “I’ll let you get to bed. Be sure and let me know if there’s anything I can do to help.”
“I will, and I’ll be sure to have Clay give you a call tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Landry. I’ll talk to you soon.”
I pulled out of her driveway and headed back home. When I walked in, I couldn’t believe how empty and hollow the house felt without Beckett there. I missed him. I missed him even more as I got into bed and rested my head on the pillow. My heart ached as I reached over and ran my hand across the spot where he