“Should be here any minute,” I assured her.
“I can’t believe they hit me,” she said in disbelief. “I wasn’t going that slow. YouknowI wasn’t going that slow because you didn’t even catch up to me.”
“I know,” I replied, because it seemed important to her. “Come on, let’s get a little closer to the road.”
I helped her to her feet and walked her slowly up the small hill.
“Hey Bas,” she said, leaning against my side.
“What’s up, sweetheart?” I asked, scanning the road as we got closer.
“Where did the pistol come from?” she asked distractedly. “And why is it in your hand?”
“Just bein’ careful,” I answered, stiffening as headlights cut through the night. I didn’t relax again until the car pulled over and familiar shapes shot out.
“Harper?” Lily called.
I tucked my pistol into the back waistband of my jeans.
“Hey, Ma,” Harper called back, beginning to cry again. “I wrecked Dad’s truck.”
“Who gives a shit,” Lily replied as she reached us.
“Knew I shouldn’t have let you borrow it,” Leo joked at the same time.
“I’m sorry,” Harper hiccupped.
“You okay, Harpy?” he asked gently, tipping her head back as Lily held her steady, hands wrapped around Harper’s biceps. “What happened?”
I kept scanning the night around us.
“I was driving home,” Harper rasped. “Bas was following me on his bike, but I left a little before he did. Some asshole was tailgating me for a while with his brights on, so I slowed down, thinking he’d go around me, you know? But he didn’t. He just rammed into the back of the truck!”
“You see what they were drivin’?” Leo asked as Gray’s pickup came to a stop behind my bike.
“No,” Harper replied. “But it was tall. I remember that because the lights were coming in the back window.”
“So, not a car,” Leo said.
“Not a car,” Harper agreed. She sniffled and then groaned in pain. “It had to be a truck or an SUV. They completely smashed your tailgate and bumper.”
“Don’t worry about the truck,” Leo ordered.
“You okay, sis?” Gray asked as he reached us, Frankie with him.
Harper turned her head toward him and smiled. There was blood in her teeth. “Yeah, I’m fine.”
“Ouch,” Gray said, leaning forward a little to get a better look at her forehead.
“What the hell happened?” Frankie asked me.
“Someone rear-ended her,” I replied.
“Seriously?” She looked over at the truck.
“They hit her hard,” I said grimly.
“So, not an accident,” she said under her breath. “What the fuck?”
