“I’ll see what I can do. Hey, is Evie…I don’t know, how is she really doing? You know I think about her a lot. I just…I wish I could catch him, man.”
Warren had been the first of his friends to get to the hospital. Ian had been on a plane the second he found out, but Warren had been there when Eve had come out of surgery and the doctor had informed them of all the damage. He’d been the one to stand outside the room while Alex cried over his wife’s body. Warren had kept everyone off him. “We’re still standing.”
It was the best he could say about them. And they might not be standing when Eve found out where he was going and why. He wasn’t sure what would be worse—Eve being pissed or not caring at all.
“All right. Give her my love. We all miss you, man.”
A knot sat in his chest. He’d really loved working with those guys. For a long time it had been him and Warren and Tommy and Leon. Tommy and Leon were gone now. They’d been a tight-knit little family, but when the chips had fallen, he’d come back to Ian and Sean.
Simon stepped up, his cell in hand and a frown on his face.
“Give me a second, Warren.” He muffled the phone against his shirt. “What’s going on?”
“Ryan just left me a message looking for you,” Simon explained. “He’s been trying to call you.”
He’d noticed and Alex had let it roll to voice mail because Ryan Church managed Sanctum, and right now Sanctum was at the bottom of his priorities. Besides, Ryan’s next call would likely be to Ian. “Why didn’t he call Ian?”
“I think Ian is the problem, McKay. He didn’t say exactly what was happening, but he said Ian’s in trouble. With traffic we’re at least forty minutes away.”
Alex held the phone back to his ear. “I have to go, Warren. Just e-mail me the files if you can. Thanks for everything.”
He hung up and they took off for the parking lot. No matter what was going on in his world, he would drop it all for Ian.
Chapter Three
“What do you think this is about?” Liam asked, pulling his SUV into the parking lot at Sanctum.
Eve shook her head. She’d gotten a phone call from Ryan almost thirty minutes before. He’d been a bit cryptic, asking her if she wouldn’t mind coming down to the club and dealing with an issue they had.
Alex was stuck in traffic. Ian was nowhere to be found, and Jake and Adam were apparently somewhere in the West End eating chicken wings. That left Liam driving her to the industrial-style building where Sanctum was housed. She’d argued that she could drive herself. She was perfectly capable, but Liam had professed a sudden and deep desire to visit the club he loved during daylight hours.
Yeah, like she couldn’t figure out what that was about. The men of McKay-Taggart were all alpha-male, protect-the-women types. When Grace went out for a coffee run, one of the men inevitably decided that he needed to go, too, and she either found herself with an escort or an errand boy. It was just the way they were. These men had seen all the crap that could happen to a woman on her own and had made a conscious decision that it damn straight wouldn’t happen to one of theirs.
“Did Ryan say anything?” Liam asked, peering out the front window at the unobtrusive exterior of the club. Eve knew exactly why he was asking. He was debating just how much ammo to take. She wasn’t foolish enough to think he was questioning whether or not he should take a piece with him. Oh, no. He always had a gun on him. He just needed to know if he should carry an extra clip or two.
“Well, sweetie, he called me so I don’t think the club’s under siege. I think we can safely bet this is a purely therapeutic visit.” Sometimes Ryan called her in to interview potential members. No one got into Sanctum without a thorough screening. It was the same for new employees.
But he’d been awfully evasive about this visit. And she never did emergency interviews.
“Just stay close to me,” Liam said. He never bothered to hide that thick Irish brogue anymore unless he was undercover. Liam was finally comfortable being Liam.
Could she be Eve again?
She slid out of the SUV, her heels hitting the pavement. She loved the black and gold Givenchys, but maybe the first thing the new Eve should do is buy a pair of flip-flops. She was pretty sure the new Eve wanted some comfy shoes. Not anything horrible. She could find designer flip-flops, surely. And maybe the new Eve could ease up on the diet a bit. Once a week. Twice. Maybe a little chocolate every now and then.