I chuckle, knowing how feisty Sophie is. “Not even you are a match for her.”
He groans and runs a hand down his face. “Is she into women?” He smiles. “I think I can turn her.”
“She’s not into women. Well, not that I know of.”
Viper smiles smugly. “I think I can handle her.”
“Don’t whine to me when it all goes to shit.” When we were younger, she left a long trail of broken hearts everywhere she went.
He whacks my back. “Sweet! How long is she going to be in Crown Village for? You’ll have to introduce us.”
I shake my head.Idiot!He can’t help himself thinking he’s God’s gift to women. It will be entertaining to see him try and fail miserably.“I’m not too sure how long.”
I search the crowd for Zara. She’s talking to Iris. I go to them, and when I reach Zara, I press a kiss to her temple. She looks up at me and smiles, then I glance at Iris. “Hey.”
She grabs my cut. “What’s this?” She clicks her tongue.
“What do you think it is?” I ask her.
“Trouble!”
We laugh together.
“Can I see you before you go?” I ask Iris. “I want to ask you a few questions.”
Zara tugs on my hand. “I’m meeting up with her tomorrow if you want to come.”
My eyes flick between the two of them. “I will. If you don’t mind.”
“Zara!”
We turn to Helen. “It’s time...”
Zara’s breath hitches and she bows her head.
I lace our fingers together, bring her hand to my mouth, and plant a kiss above her ring. Her eyes soften, but I let her hand go so she can be with her parents. The crowd goes quiet when “Memories” by Maroon 5 plays.
The projector is showing a photo of Misty that was taken prior to her disappearance. Helen passes out roses to Zara and John, and they walk over and put them by the projector. Elena and Ava go around with their lit candle, lighting others.
When the song finishes, Twitch hands Helen the microphone. She looks out at the group. “I’d like to thank everyone for coming out tonight.”
As she says a prayer, I peer at the sky. There’s only a small beam of light left from the sun as it descends, and apart from her voice, it’s quiet besides the rides in the background. As I glance at everyone, I see Reaper off to the side, speaking to Parker, the police officer. There’s a line of my MC brothers around the back of the crowd, paying their respects.
“Please protect my baby girl, Misty,” Helen says, with tears streaming down her face. “We miss her every second of every day.” She chokes on her words, and even I’m having trouble keeping the tears at bay. I stride toward them, linking my hand with Zara’s once more. “Did you want me to talk?”
I had no idea what I was going to say, but I hated seeing Helen breaking down.
Zara shakes her head. “No, I will...” She looks at me with glassy eyes. “Can you come up with me?”
I squeeze her hand in support.
“Okay...” she says through a breath.
We step to Zara’s parents, and Zara gently takes the microphone from Helen’s hands. Helen sags into John.
“Heavenly Father,” Zara begins, glancing up at the sky, “protect Misty, my sister and best friend. Please watch over her and guard her from evil. Give her the courage to return to us, to reunite us... because she has left a hole in my family”—she looks at her parents—“in her friends”—she looks at Kane, then looks back at the crowd—“and in the community.” She takes another deep breath. “Help us find out what happened to her. Grant us peace. Amen.”
I wrap my arm around her waist. While holding her, I reach for the microphone. She passes it to me as she buries her face in my chest and cries, and every tear shreds me. I turn to her parents before talking into the mic. “Do you want to talk again or...?”
