“The rest of you,” I nod toward the others.“I need you to guard Randolph’s room. We need to protect him until we can gather enough evidence to confront Allison.”
“Got it,” Matrix replies, signaling to the prospects to take their positions.
As they disperse, the weight of responsibility presses on my shoulders. It’s not just about justice for Jessica and her father anymore; it’s about protecting our entire community from this dangerous woman. If she’s killed before, then she can do it again. I’m not going to let another family suffer. I’m going to end her reign of terror before she can destroy another family.
After the doctors leave the room, I glance at Matrix.“I’m going to check on Jess.”
“We’ll be right here.”
As I step into Randolph’s hospital room, Jessica looks up from her father’s bedside. Her face is pale and filled with fear.
“I need to speak to Allison. Did she say where she was going?” I ask.
“She went to the cafeteria. She said she was hungry.”
“Stay here with Matrix,” I say, nodding toward him.“I’m going to have a little chat with your stepmom.”
“Be careful,” she whispers.
“Don’t worry. I’ll handle this.” I give her a reassuring kiss on the cheek before leaving the room.
As I stalk through the sterile halls of the hospital, my mind races with everything Matrix revealed about Allison. She has motive and opportunity, but I need more than that to confront her.
My gut churns as I push open the door to the cafeteria. The sterile smell of bland hospital food assaults my senses. Several people look up. A couple of younger nurses whisper something before giggling. Their eyes widen as they take in my club gear. I’m wearing my cut over a shirt, along with jeans and motorcycle boots. I guess they’re not used to seeing guys like me in places like this.
I scan the room, my eyes darting from table to table, but there’s no sign of Allison. A knot forms in my stomach, growing tighter with each passing second. Something isn’t right. I scour the rest of the hospital, checking every corner and crevice, but it’s like she vanished into thin air.
“Damn it,” I mutter. I pull my phone out of my cut and dial Scar’s number.“Pres, we’ve got a problem. Matrix brought you up to speed, right?”
“Yeah. What’s the problem?”
“Allison’s gone. She’s not in the hospital anymore. I looked all over, and she’s not here. She’s in the wind.”
“Shit,” Scar grumbles.“What about Randolph?”
“The docs are doing a tox screen to see if he was poisoned. I left Matrix and a few prospects outside his door. They’re not letting anyone in unless they show a hospital badge.”
“Nitro, Reaper, and I will meet you there in less than an hour. Sit tight.”
“Thanks, Pres,” I say, ending the call and feeling a flicker of relief knowing more of my club family will be here soon.
My mind races with questions: Why did Allison leave so suddenly? Is she back at the house hiding evidence? Or worse, is she planning her next move?
I pull my phone back out and hit redial.“Scar, can you swing by Randolph’s place and make sure Allison didn’t circle back to get rid of evidence?”
“Will do.”
After hanging up, I walk back to Randolph’s room. Matrix and the prospects are standing guard.
“Any sign of Allison?” I ask.
“Nothing yet.”
“I don’t like this.”
“Me either,” Matrix says.
When I walk into the room, Jessica looks up from her father’s bedside. She’s holding his hand and gently stroking her fingers over his. My heart breaks for her. I can’t imagine how scared she is right now.
