“No,” I replied honestly.
Gray’s mouth quirked up at the corners.
“Here you go,” Dad said, sliding my glasses back on.
The front door opened, but there was so much going on in the kitchen that I couldn’t see who it was. Dad turned to look.
“Where is she?” Bas demanded. “Harper?”
His voice was frantic. Panicked. High and trembling. He shoved through the men until he was standing just a few feet away.
Tears filled my eyes as he stumbled to a stop.
“Oh fuck,” he whispered.
Then he dropped. Just dropped. The floor vibrated as his knees hit the tile.
I was on my feet without thought, brushing off my mom’s arm as I tried to reach him.
“I’m okay,” I said, tears dripping down my cheeks. “Bas, I’m fine.”
“What the fuck happened?” he asked, glancing toward the body.“Jesus, fuck, what happened?”
“I just—he came in and—” I started to blubber as his hands found my hips.
“Everyone out,” Grandpa Dragon ordered. I barely heard him.
Sliding my fingers into Bas’s hair, I held him against me as he pressed his face to my stomach. He tugged me down to sit between his bent thighs, and I inhaled the scent of rain and leather and Bas as he shuddered.
I wasn’t sure how long we sat like that, but eventually my dad, Grandpa Casper, Gray, and Uncle Woody came back into the room speaking quietly.
Bas rose to his feet, lifting me with him. He didn’t let me go as he turned to face them.
“Woody’s got a fingerprint reader,” Dad explained, jerking his head toward the little device. “Gonna see if he’s in any of the databases.”
“Why does it matter?” I asked tiredly. Everything felt a little foggy, like I couldn’t quite grasp any thoughts. My hand was fisted so tightly in the back of Bas’s shirt that it was beginning to cramp.
Grandpa Dragon stepped into the room. “Take her back to the clubhouse,” he ordered Bas. “Lily, too.”
Grandpa Casper walked over to Gram’s purse that had spilled out all over the counter and plucked out a set of keys, tossing them to Bas.
I couldn’t look away from the tissues, wallet, lip gloss, mints, loose change, scrunchie, and other random bits. Somehow, Gram had the instinct to grab the pistol she carried in her purse just from me calling her name.
Bas held the keys for a moment and then looked at Grandpa Dragon.
“Take ’em,” Grandpa ordered again.
Bas must’ve been following what was happening better than I was because he tossed the keys back to Grandpa Casper. “You’ll want her car in the garage,” he said quietly. “If that’s the way you’re playing this.”
“Could argue that she left it at the club,” Grandpa replied.
“Not worth the hassle,” Bas said.
Grandpa nodded.
“Can you sit on a bike?” Dad asked.
“Yeah, of course,” I replied shakily.
