I nod my chin briskly and tuck my fingers in my back pockets. I've got a few guys patrolling the hospital's parking lot, canvassing the floors above and below this one. I'm damn near certain we won't be seeing this guy again, but at least we'll have a name and a face to keep an eye out for.
“He was clearly here to kill Sully,” Lyric tells me, crossing her arms over her full chest. It's hard for me not to look, to appreciate, even with Sully scowling and muttering under his breath from his seat on the side of the hospital bed. Fucking twat. “I'm assuming this man is a member of Mile Wide?”
I shrug my shoulders because honestly, I'm not all that sure about anything right now. It's likely the man that came into this room is yet another thug-for-hire asshole working for Clayton, but I'm not saying shit in front of Sully Rentz.
I turn my gaze over to the man and he glares back at me.
“Just because that man is gone doesn't mean there won't be another.” Lyric sucks in a deep breath and turns to face her brother, our arms brushing as we stand there like a unit. I wish I could be certain we were. But that fucking fight … bloody hell. No wonder I've never officially dated anyone before. It's murder on the soul. “You need to tell the FBI the truth,” she says, her voice low and emotionless. I'm not sure I like the sound of it, but her words … she's onboard with my plan? I don't know what to make of the situation.
“What?” Sully asks, his attention still focused on me and not on his sister. “Are you crazy? Do you even hear yourself right now?”
“Show some fucking respect, yeah?” I say as I give the guy my darkest look, crossing my arms over my chest to mimic Lyric's posture. “You're a lucky motherfucker, you know that? My boys wanted you dead, not hospitalized. Clearly, Mile Wide shares the same sentiment. You want to live? Close your damn trap.”
Sully cringes, but he doesn't respond.
“You're going to tell them that Brent dragged you into his business dealings with Mile Wide.” Lyric pauses and scrunches up that cute little face of hers. “Whatever those were …” She trails off and pulls her shoulders back. “What were you thinking, Sully? You're trying to make me out as the crazy person here. I wasn't the one taking dirty money from a motorcycle club.”
“No, you were just fucking the president of one,” he snaps, and I move forward, grabbing that fractured right arm in my fingers as Sully bites down on a scream. His face is pale and sweaty, his chin trembling as he flicks his green eyes over to me.
“Shut your goddamn mouth and answer your sister's questions. It's your bloody fault she's wrapped up in this in the first place.”
“My fault?” Sully continues, proving the boy's not as smart as he looks. “The FBI's interested in her because of you. This is on your shoulders, not mine.” I jerk his arm to the side and clamp a hand over his mouth to stifle his scream.
“If I were you,” I growl into his ear, “I'd quiet myself down before I decide to break your jaw and have the doctors wire it closed.” I release him and take a step back, satisfied by his pinched expression. “The only time I want to hear you talking is if you're answering your sister's questions.”
“What were you doing with Mile Wide?” Lyric asks as I take my place beside her again. If she hadn't been packing, hadn't been prepared, tonight could've ended differently. I dig my fingers into my arms and try not to hate myself for wanting her so much. A real man would let her go, wouldn't he? Push her away to keep her out of danger? Shit.
“Brent and I were greasing wheels to keep Mile Wide's product flowing, keep their members out of jail.” Sully sucks in a rattling breath, repeating information I've heard before. “We both have buddies in law enforcement in So Cal, in the Mendocino County DA's office …” He trails off again as Lyric clenches her teeth. “They were paying us to keep things running smoothly.” He shakes his head. “But it wasn't his idea to get involved—or even mine—it was that guy, Landon.”
Sully's green eyes go wide and fly up to my face. As much as it kills me to hear this cocksucker speak my dead brother's name, it's the truth. The ugly, awful fucking truth. I nod my chin slightly, encouraging him to keep going. Maybe some of the boys wouldn't agree with this, maybe they'd think Lyric already knew too much, but this is my call. My fucking call.
“Landon came to me,” Sully says, like that absolves him of all his culpability. “We'd bumped into each other a few times at the bar and,” he scrubs a hand down his face, “he just sort of talked me into it over time, told me it was no risk.” Sully scoffs and shakes his head.