Page 50 of Ride or Die
"So what's the deal with you and Wren," I ask him.
"There is no deal. She needs someone who will just sit with her," he explains. "Shade is always grillin' her with questions, playin' the protective older brother and it's not what she needs. I'm okay with sitting and not talking."
"Well, that's awful nice of you." His eyes move to me and I give him a small smile. He's not a bad looking man. He's got long, dirty blonde hair, currently pulled back into a bun and a beard that isn't too long. He's covered in tattoos, even his neck is covered. The sound of the gate opening draws my attention. Shade's car comes through and the gate closes behind it.
"Where's Buster?" My stomach turns. I go inside to grab my phone. No missed calls, no new texts.
"Is everything okay," Minx asks me.
"I don't know. Shade and Kicks just pulled up, but Buster wasn't with them," I tell her. "I was going to go over there and wait for him."
Minx looks at Raze who nods his head.
"I'll come with you," she says and we walk out of the house with Raze behind us.
"Stay here with the others," Raze says to Sketch. We walk to the clubhouse. When we walk in, it's pretty tense.
"Hey, Cali. Hey Minx," Tink says as we sit at the bar.
"Hey, Tink. How's it going," Minx asks her.
"Oh, it's goin'," she says and leans over the bar to whisper. "Porscha got shut down real quick by Shade. Y'all should have seen the look on her face."
"I can imagine," I giggle. "Do you know where Shade disappeared to?"
"He went down the hallway. Maybe to his room," she tells me. I hop up and head toward him. He's walking my way with his head hanging.
"Hey, Shade," I say softly. "You guys are back. Where's Buster?"
"He had to run some errands before coming back," he tells me.
"Oh, okay." I give him a small smile and head back to the main room.
"Did he tell you where Buster is?" Minx says when I sit back down.
"He said he had some errands to run before coming back," I tell her.
"I'm sure he'll be here soon." She tries to reassure me.
A sense of dread washes over me. Something isn't right. Shade walks into the main room and goes straight to Rascal. They're whispering back and forth for a couple of minutes. Rascal takes out his phone and walks outside. Shade pulls his phone out, glances at it and puts it back in his pocket. He rubs his hands down his face before going over to Clutch and Diesel. He whispers something to them and the three of them are walking back down the hallway.
"Something is going on," I tell Minx on a shaky voice.
"What? What do you mean? How do you know," she questions.
I shake my head. "I don't. I have this bad feeling in my gut. Shade was just whispering to Rascal. Then Shade, Clutch, and Diesel all went toward your dad's office. It's going to sound silly, but I can sense there's something wrong," I explain to Minx. She scans the room, her eyes landing on Raze. She looks panicked which makes him jump and make his way to her quickly.
"What's up?" Worry lacing his voice now.
"Do you know what's going on with the Riders," Minx asks him.
"No, I haven't been told anything. I've seen Shade running around but no one has told me anything," he tells us. I wrap my arms around my stomach. Rascal walks into the clubhouse with Emma, Rivet, Wren, and Sketch behind him. The girls are walking over to us and at the same time Shade is walking toward us too. He has his head down with a somber expression.
"Cali, I need you to come with me for a minute," he says to me once he's at my side. I shake my head, my chest tightening. He gives me a sorrowful look. "Please?"
I stand and follow him. We walk to Bull's office, where Bull, Clutch, and Diesel are all sitting there looking defeated.
"Cali, darlin', come sit," Bull says to me. I stumble into the room and make my way to the chairs in front of his desk. Shade stands behind me. "I have some bad news."
