Page 32 of Fixate

Ingrid weakly smiles. “It’s the club, darling. Something always happens. The days don’t discriminate.”

“This is bad, though, right? The Bratva reaching out like this again. It’s been quiet for a while, and now this. Hurricane is not gonna sit on this. He’s going to want to hit them back.”

Ingrid slowly inhales through her nose and nods. “Unfortunately, that is how this all works. It also depends on how Hoodoo recovers. At the moment, it’s a waiting game, but there will definitely be consequences. This isfarfrom over.”

“Right now, though, I just want to see Hoodoo. Tell him he’s an idiot for putting himself at risk like this.”

Ingrid pulls me to her again in another embrace. “You know, Maxxy, if you’d just admit it to yourself, maybe you might find happiness instead of trying to be in fight mode all the time?”

I pull back, scrunching my brows. “What do you mean, fight mode?”

She sighs, looking into my eyes. “Darling, I love you, but you have such a huge wall of protection built in front of you, and it’s stopping you from experiencing life. You’re so scared of actually connecting with people that it’s preventing you from living…” She takes a deep breath. “Maxxy, you’re missing out on everything great life has to offer. And when shit like this happens, it kinda puts it all into perspective, don’t you think?”

My eyes shift out the window, and I watch them take Hoodoo off on a stretcher toward the ambulance. He’s hooked up to a bunch of machines and covered in a plastic bubble. My stomach twists seeing him so vulnerable. “Do you think I can go to the hospital with him?”

Ingrid smiles at me knowingly. “When we’re all allowed out, we’ll all be going.”

“Good… good.” I begin pacing again, gnawing on my lip to the point I taste the tang of blood, just waiting for a signal for me to take off after the ambulance.

And it feels like it takes hours.

The biohazard crew takes so damn long I feel restless.

I walk over to Hurricane and glare at him. “What’s taking so long, Pres? We need to get to the hospital!”

He looks at me, and it’s only now I realize that he’s talking with Detective Cain. I widen my eyes and take a step back. “Sorry, I’m just restless.”

Cain looks at me and raises his brow. “Understandable… Hurricane tells me that Hoodoo went out to check on the drone. He opened the hatch, and inside was the white powder. Is that how you saw it go down?”

I glance at Hurricane because he’s left out a crucial part of the information. About the note that Hoodoo had. Then I remembered he burned it on purpose, and at the time, I guessed it was for a reason, and I am seeing that reason right now. “Yes, Hoodoo shot down the drone, then went to check on it, and that’s when he touched the substance. He told us all to remain indoors while we called you guys.”

Cain writes something down in his notepad and nods his head. “Mm-hmm… and you honestly have no idea who would be targeting you like this?”

Widening my eyes, I shake my head, then look straight at Hurricane, who infinitesimally shakes his head. “No, sir.”

“All right. The FD says the clean-up is almost done, but they have cordoned off some areas where the strychnine was found. Those areas will be taped off for a minimum of forty days until the contamination time has passed. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to enter the taped-off areas.”

Hurricane nods his head. “We understand. Thank you all for arrivin’ ’ere so promptly and helpin’ out.”

Cain narrows his eyes on Hurricane. “I’m going to be following this up, Hurricane.”

“Okay, you do what you gotta do.”

Cain spins on his heel, signaling to his men, and they all walk out of the clubhouse together.

I turn to Hurricane, my eyes wide. “So it was strychnine?” I ask.

He dips his chin. “That’s what they’re thinkin’. His symptoms, how the powder looked, and how it was delivered all point to that. Of course, they’re gonna do a thorough test at the hospital before they start narrowin’ down his treatments, but they’re pretty sure.”

“Poor bastard. Do they think he’ll be okay?”

Hurricane grips my shoulder and stares into my eyes with an honest gaze. “We really don’t know. We just gotta head down there and be with him. Prepare ourselves for whatever scenario we’re faced with.”

My stomach twists, bile rises in my throat, my skin prickles with goose bumps, and they’re not the good kind. “Can I come?” I ask.

Hurricane pulls me to his side and starts walking with me toward the clubhouse exit. “You can ride with Kaia and Immy. Keep my girls company, okay?”

I smile because I know he thinks he’s trying to make it sound like I’m doing him a favor when I know he’s sending me with them so they can keepmeoccupied.

---