Page 6 of Sweet Anarchy

Picking up the phone, I hit answer before it can go to voicemail. "Hello?"

Immediately, there's a lot of background noise. I can't place anything and at first, there's no one on the other end. I wait a few more seconds, ready to curse whoever is on the other end but then a deep voice travels down the line.

"Asher, this is Vito."

I stiffen, pressing the phone closer to my ear. "What's up?"

I don't know why, but I'm on edge. Rylee hasn't been gone long, so I'm concerned at why one of the Rebels would be calling. Blake and Zayn notice the change in my demeanor, pausing what they are doing to watch my cellular interaction.

"You need to get to the hospital. There's been an incident," Vito says smoothly. He's so calm that it terrifies me. Why the fuck would he be so calm after using the word 'incident'?

"What the fuck do you mean an incident?" I near yell down the phone.

Before he can respond, Blake rips the phone out of my hands.

"Who's this?" he asks, listening intently. His brow creases and his jaw ticks as Vito fills him in on whatever happened. I lunge at him to grab the phone back but he dodges out of the way, turning to Zayn. The two of them share a look, Zayn's face dropping as he grabs his car keys from his pocket.

"I'll drive," Zayn says, heading for the stairs.

Blake hangs up the phone, throwing it back to me before taking off after Zayn.

"Blake! What the fuck happened?" I yell, my heavy footsteps making the stairs creak as I charge up them.

"I'll explain in the car," he says, giving me nothing.

I follow them to the Jeep, wasting no time getting in. Zayn revs the engine, peeling out of the driveway.

"What the fuck happened?" I ask again when we are on the main road.

Blake sighs, choosing his words carefully. "We were wrong about the Norsemen. Rylee's fine. But… we were wrong."

"We need to call Bill," Zayn adds as he weaves in and out of traffic.

I fling around the backseat, not at all bothered that my brother is driving like a fucking maniac.

"Rylee's okay?" I ask, my voice stern with a warning for him not to fuck with me right now.

He nods, turning to look back at me. "She's fine, Ash. Don't stress."

How the actual fuck can I not stress about this? No one is telling me shit!

When Zayn pulls into the hospital parking lot, I throw myself out of the Jeep before anyone else can finish unclipping their seatbelts. I charge into the entrance, heading straight for the information desk.

"Rylee Selwood. Where is she?" I snap at the startled nurse.

"I beg your pardon," she says heatedly. "You don't speak to me like that."

I open my mouth to argue but Blake puts a hand on my shoulder, squeezing it.

"Our girlfriend, Rylee Selwood, was just brought in by ambulance," he says to the nurse calmly. "Where can we find her?"

"Oh, from the shooting?" the nurse answers, typing something on the keyboard.

"The shooting?!" I yell.

Zayn hushes me while people walking by look at me terrified. "Keep your voice down, Ash."

If looks could kill, my dear brother would have departed us. "Don't you dare tell me to be calm or quiet right now," I warn him. "No one is telling me anything."

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