Page 44 of Ruthless

"Don't move!" He was a rookie, that was obvious, and gung-ho.

Tanner and I exchanged knowing smirks. Some things never changed. Wear a little leather, biker boots, and a cut, and you were dubbed the bad guy before any questions were asked. "I called for an ambulance, too," I frowned. "Where the hell are they?"

The cop who'd been conversing softly with Della rose to his feet. "They're on their way." He made eye contact with his partner. "She collaborated his story. Said she doesn't know her attacker."

Two guys in blue uniforms rolling a stretcher appeared at the door, causing us all to step out of the way.

"So you said you found her this way, did you see or hear anything before then?" the younger cop asked, taking out a note pad.

Jesus, I didn't have time for this. I had to find Ginger. "No."

The older cop's brows suddenly shot up with surprise when he saw Tanner standing behind his partner, as if he’d just noticed him. "What are you doin' here, Tanner?"

"Deputy Callahan," Tanner acknowledged, before nodding toward me. "Rebel and I are old friends." He crossed his arms, and I could read the mutual respect in their eyes. Tanner's MC, the Sentinels, was the good guys who rode the streets at night helping keep the citizens safe. There were twelve men in his club, all retired vets.

"Old friends, huh? You can vouch for him?"

I snorted. I wasn't a good man, but the cop wasn't asking if I was clean or law abiding. He wanted to know if I was honest and could be trusted, if I had morals. I'd always leaned toward the right side of things, even when shit was about as wrong as it could get. I'd killed, but the fuckers that I'd ended had deserved it.

Tanner nodded without hesitation. "I can."

The cop nodded in return. "We'll follow the ambulance to the hospital and get a statement from the woman." Della was being lifted onto the stretcher, a neck brace surrounding her neck, whimpering softly.

"Is she going to be alright?" I asked.

One of the EMT's made eye contact with me while the other one covered her up. "We won't know the extent of her injuries until we get her to the hospital," he explained. "Just going by what we see I would say yes, but there could be internal injuries."

I nodded.

"You sure you don't know anything?" the young cop inquired in a slightly suspicious tone that I didn't like.

I pinned my gaze on him, and had to give him credit for not looking away. Whether it was because he was too young to know any better, had back up, or the gun on his hip, he was standing his ground. I smirked. "I told you, I found her like this. You think I'm stupid enough to beat a woman bloody and then hang around to call the cops?" Not that I would ever take a hand to a woman.

"She didn't say anything?" he persisted.

I ignored him.

"Let's get to the hospital," Deputy Callahan interjected. "Before they dope her up so much that she doesn't know her own name."

"Sounds like a good idea to me," I agreed, crossing my arms. I wanted them gone so I could move on to finding Ginger.

"One more question." I glared at him. His partner released a heavy sigh and glared at him, too. "Just in case we have questions later, what's your name, and how can we reach you?"

I wasn't going to give him my road name, and I sure as hell wasn't going to tell him that I'd been staying there in that apartment. "The name on my license is Michael Woods."

"That's two questions," Tanner grinned. "And you can reach him through me."

"Good enough, now let's move." It was clear that Deputy Callahan had had enough.

Thank fuck. We walked out ahead of them, and I heard the click of the door that revealed that one of them had pulled Ginger's door closed. Tanner and I walked quietly to where our bikes were parked and watched the police get into their cruiser.

"Thanks for coming, man," I said when we finally made eye contact. "I knew your club and the police had an understanding. Didn't feel like dealing with shit if it happened. I've got someone to find."

Tanner nodded in understanding. "Any time, brother. Callahan's alright, but Sanders is a hotshot newbie and likes to make waves. So what's going on?"

"I found the woman that I was looking for." I'd run into Tanner on Main Street earlier in the week and had told him that I was looking for a girl. I snorted to myself as I remembered that I'd walked up on him fingering a beautiful woman behind One Eye Saloon. "The woman who was just taken to the hospital is her best friend. The guy who beat her took Ginger, and I'm going to get her back."

"Shit, brother. What do you need from us?"

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