ambulance, Addy shouting to wait for her before hurrying across the lot where Stone was talking to Hawke. They stood next to the ring where Linc sparred with Jagger.
Did they know what happened here? Had someone called them? Was the fight over and done? I jerked my arm in front of me and looked at my watch, noting it wasn’t time for him to even get in the ring yet. He still had a few minutes to go, according to what we were told. Then it was anyone’s guess as to how long the fight would last. If it were a normal bout, Linc would annihilate his opponent in less than fifteen minutes, even without having fought in weeks, but tonight he had to lose, and make his defeat look real. There was no telling how long that would take, although I doubted it would last any more than a half hour. Then again, I never thought someone would have the balls to bring a van here with the sole intention of blowing it up, so maybe, just maybe, any source of reality I still possessed was hampered.
I felt like my ability to reason, to comprehend, to justify… to hope, had all but been abolished.
“Hey,” I shouted, jogging up to Tripp. His hand was on the door to the clubhouse.
“What’s up?”
“Do the other guys know what happened here?”
“I’m just about to call Ford.” He proceeded to explain when I shot him a look. “I don’t want to call Jagger or Linc because I don’t know if they can even answer the phone right now, and I’m sure they have eyes on them. I don’t want them to give anything away with an expression or say anything.” His cell appeared in his hand.
“Give them the description of that fuckin’ chick. I know she’s got somethin’ to do with them. Maybe she’ll show up there.” I realized the possibility of that woman being associated with the Reapers was almost a given, but the chances she’d show up at the fight were probably low.
“I doubt… you know, never mind. I’m not gonna doubt anything from here on out.” Tripp yanked open the door and disappeared inside.
“Chels knows what she looks like,” I shouted after him, right before the door closed.
I stood there motionless for what felt like forever, even though I realized it was only minutes. When was Prez gonna release us to take down the Reaper locations and search for the women? Was he waiting for another call from Griller before doing anything? Or was he banking on the element of surprise.
Looking around the lot, I didn’t see him anywhere, but the second I opened the door to go inside and join the others, I heard an eruption of voices coming from Chambers, betting Ryder was doing most of the yelling.
I stepped inside the room; the look Zoe’s dad shot me prompting me to nod. We were on the same unspoken page, needing to strike now if we had any chance of getting them back alive.
40
“Any word on Cutter yet?” Trigger asked, looking more worried by the second, a sentiment we all shared. They’d carted him off still unconscious, and with him being so close to the blast, we didn’t have a clue as to what kind of condition he was in. Add his age on top of it all, and all we could do was hope for the best until we heard something.
“Addy texted me and said they took him right into surgery.” Stone typed out a message on his cell, then hit the side button to blacken the screen.
They’d only been gone for forty-five minutes and it took nearly twenty minutes to get to the hospital, so I was relieved to hear they’d started working on him right away. At least he was still alive.
“Are we sure that cruiser is gone?” Ace fidgeted next to me, bouncing his leg so fast he intensified my unease.
Right after they hauled the van away and had talked to everyone present, the lead detective told us they would have a unit posted nearby in case the explosion was deliberate, which we knew it was. It took some convincing, but Prez succeeded in telling him we didn’t need anyone watching over us, that we’d be fine. Besides, we didn’t need anyone hanging around. Cops watching our comings and goings would only lead to suspicion.
“Last I checked,” Hawke responded, looking as wound up as the rest of us.
“So, what now?” I all but barked the question.