Page 74 of Zen's Crash

Rigs points at one of the prospects. “Get Silver the hell outta here. She just got herself a shiny new thirty-day ban. If she starts trouble again, it’s a perma-ban.”

Silver throws a beer mug at Rigs. “Why you gotta punish me when I didn’t start it? That Evan prospect is lying about me. I just wanted to look at her earrings and she went crazy.”

Rigs just shakes his head. “Watch your mouth. That boy’s my son, and he doesn’t lie. But you sure do. Wade, get her outta here before I change my mind and ban her for life.”

“Yes, sir.” Turning to Silver, he takes the new mug she grabbed, removes it from her hand, and puts it back on the table. “Come on, we gotta get out of here. You really shouldn’t be drinking leftover beers. You know that, right?”

“You’re really handsome. Want to stay with me tonight?”

“Not in a million years. I already see one of the club girls here, and she would snatch you bald if she heard you proposition me.”

Cindy and I wander over to Kayla, who’s still crying as Evan dabs at her ear with some gauze from the first aid kit lying open on the table.

I ask, “Do you know what you’re doing there, Evan?”

“I took a first-aid class. All the prospects take that and CPR. It’s part of our training.”

Kayla stops crying long enough to say, “I could really go for some CPR right now.”

Evan leans down and gives her his version of CPR, which is a lingering kiss. “There, do you feel better now?”

She nods, clearly still as besotted with him as ever. “Yeah, I feel a hundred percent better. Want to go for two hundred percent?”

“I would, but the doctor I called for you just arrived.” Rigs bends down and tilts Kayla’s head to the side to get a better look at her injury. “That doesn’t look so good, Evan’s girl.”

Evan states sternly, “Her name’s Kayla.”

Rigs grins up at him, clearly having forgotten how upset he was a minute ago. “I know. I was just trying to lighten the mood with a joke.”

Kayla gives him a wan smile. “I will never get tired of being called Evan’s girl.”

“My son’s going to get a club name one day, and we’ll all have to use it—even you, Evan’s girl.”

“His club name should be Hero, because he saved Siege’s sister’s life that time,” she announces.

“Yeah,” Rigs responds with a grin. “My son’s real proud of that heroic act.”

“I am too,” Kayla tells him.

“Me too,” Rigs says. “He’s a good kid, and he’ll always treat you right.”

We’re all totally stunned, because it sounds like she’s finally getting Rigs’ blessing at long last, and we all thought he hated her. Well, I guess not, because he gives her a little hug and then moves back so the doctor can get to her. “Let Dr. Patch fix that ear of yours. It’s too pretty to get mangled by a club whore.”

“Club girl,” Kayla intones.

Rigs smiles, “Yeah, we call them club girls here.” I’ve been around long enough to know Rigs always calls them club whores. I don’t know if it’s because he’s religious or just old-school, and that’s what they called them back in the day. They say he was the very first club brother to get patched into the Savage Legion, so I figure he’s just old-school.

Cindy and I wait while the doctor examines Kayla’s ears. “You’ve torn the lobe.”

I speak up on Kayla’s behalf. “Can you fix it, Dr. Patch? I’d be willing to pay for the surgery.”

“Yeah, I can make it look as good as new. You bring her into my outpatient clinic bright and early in the morning, and I’ll work on her. In the meantime, I’m going to clean and bandage it up. I’ll give her some low-grade painkillers to take if she needs them, because this is going to start throbbing in a few hours.”

“Will I still be able to wear earrings?” Kayla asks. It’s clear where her priorities lie.

“Yes, but you’ll have to wait three months to get it re-pierced,” Dr. Patch answers as he dabs her ear with antiseptic.

I glance at the doctor and then to Evan. “That’ll be great, Dr. Patch. After you’re done, Evan can take her to his room and give her more CPR. I know how much she loves that.”

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