Solo by Carol Lynne Page B

had decided it would be best for Rowdy and Solo to stick close to the club until they knew for sure whether or not the police were looking for them.
    “More coffee?” Crane asked. He set a plastic bag filled with crushed ice on the table and gestured to Solo’s face.
    Solo realized he’d been staring at his phone. “Yeah. Thanks, man.” He put the ice to his split lip.
    “No problem. Any word?”
    Solo shook his head. “Still waiting.” He’d remembered the name of Blue’s mentor and had looked him up in the phone book. It hadn’t been an easy conversation, but a necessary one. He laid everything out for the older man, his name, his affiliation with the Grave Diggers and his love for Blue. After he’d finished, he asked Mr. Lee if he’d do him the favor of checking on Blue and asking Blue to call him. All he wanted was to hear Blue’s voice, to assure himself that Blue was okay.
    When the phone finally rang, Solo couldn’t pick it up fast enough. “Blue?”
    “Hey.”
    Blue’s voice sounded hoarse, but it was still music to Solo’s ears. “Are you okay?”
    “I will be. They’re letting me out tomorrow,” Blue said.
    “Yeah?” Solo’s heart soared. “Do you need a nurse? Because I know one who works for free.” God, if Blue let Solo in, he’d be the happiest man in the world.
    “I’d like that. There’s some stuff I need to talk to you about, but I don’t want to do it over the phone.” Blue cleared his throat. “There’s a spare key taped to the back of the shutter to the right of the front door. Would you mind picking up enough groceries to last us a few days?”
    “I don’t mind at all.” Solo couldn’t keep the smile off his face. He caught Crane staring at him and quickly schooled his expression. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
    “Were you worried about me?” Blue asked.
    Solo swallowed around the lump of emotion in his throat. “More than you’ll ever know.”

 
    Chapter Seven
     
     
     
    Solo stood back and scanned the bedroom. He’d arrived at Blue’s a few hours earlier, and had spent the time washing the sheets, remaking the bed, vacuuming, and putting away the groceries.
    With a grunt of disgust, Solo shook his head and picked up the vase of flowers. He’d bought the small bouquet of daisies and carnations at the grocery store, but had had trouble finding a vase in Blue’s kitchen. After almost twenty minutes of looking, he’d finally decided to use a drinking glass. The choice came with its own set of problems. The flowers were too long which meant he’d had to spend another ten minutes finding scissors to cut them down. Once they were the right length, he’d done his best to arrange the individual stems. Of course, that ended in the certain knowledge that he’d never have a career in floral design.
    Solo did his best to rearrange the flowers, wondering if he shouldn’t just throw them out before Blue got home and realized how bad he was at the whole romantic thing. His heart jumped when he heard the front door close. “Fuck.”
    “Solo?” Blue called.
    “Yeah. Coming.” With no time to get rid of the flowers, Solo set them back onto the table. He wiped his hands on his jeans as he made his way to the living room. A handsome older man had a hand on Blue’s arm as he helped him to the couch. Solo fought back a surge of jealousy. He had an idea of who the man was and knew there was nothing but respect and familial love between the pair, but he wanted to be the one to help Blue.
    “What happened to your face?” Blue asked, easing down.
    “Just working shit out with my brothers.” Solo shoved his hands in his back pockets, feeling useless. “Can I get you something?”
    “In a minute.” Blue gestured to the handsome man. “Mr. Lee, this is Solo, but I think you know him as Sam.”
    Solo shook the hand Mr. Lee offered. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
    Mr. Lee grinned. “Please, for the love of God, call me Martin.” He cast a narrow-eyed glance