Heads shake and murmurs of no float around the table.
“Someone’s out for us, or me, what the fuck ever. I wanna know who and why. I can’t be bleeding out at a stop light. If it weren’t for the driver beside me getting my attention and pointing the shooter out, I might not fuckin’ be here right now.”
My head is killing me, and I slam the gavel down and plan to track down some painkillers. I make it halfway across the bar when Harper’s blowing up my phone.
“Hey, what’s up?” I answer.
The line’s quiet and I check the call is still running.
“Harp’s? You good?”
Angel walks by me and I tap his arm, silently ask for his phone. I’m about to use his phone to call JJ when she says, “I’m outside.”
10
Luca
Ipush open the door and Harper’s sat in her car by the curb. She doesn’t seem set to get out, so I open the passenger door and slide in.
Something has to be wrong. Gunner isn’t with her. She’s alone. Her hands tremble still gripping onto the steering wheel. Has she stopped taking her meds? Besides Tor and my mom, Harp’s is special to me.
“Does JJ know where you are?”
“Yeah. He’s watching Gunner. I won’t be staying long.”
“What’s going on, Harp’s? You don’t come all this way on your own for a fly through visit.”
She finally looks my way and that’s when I see disappointment in her eyes instead of the mania I was expecting.
“I know what you did to my mom.”
I almost sigh with relief. If this is what this is about and not her suffering from another episode, I’m good with it.
“Are you here for an apology, cause I’m not looking to say sorry for looking out for my mom… and you.”
“To be honest, I don’t know why I’m here. I’ve been spinning this over in my mind for a while now and while I know I’m not angry with you anymore, I wanted to talk to you in person.”
“Harp’s, your mom is selfish to the core, and trust me, I am too so I know when I see it. She’s been shit to you, she’s treated you like crap your whole life, you can’t say it hasn’t been easier for you since she left.”
She looks away but she knows it’s the truth.
“It wasn’t your right.”
“Maybe not, but you’re my sister and between you and my mom, if I can make your lives easier, I will, and I’ll never regret it.”
“She said you threatened to kill her if she ever came back. Is that true?”
I nod. “Shit’s moved on now I’m here in the city, but if I found out she had returned, I would’ve made a special return home to end her.”
She gasps. “No matter if it hurt me? And don’t say it would’ve beenforme. It would be for you, cause you wouldn’t like her not doing what you told her to do.”
I sigh. “You know me better than I thought.”
She goes quiet and I ask her, “What do you want from me, Harper? You here cause you want her to come back to Willow’s Peak?”
She laughs. “I don’t know if I want her back full time, but maybe to visit. Gunner’s circle is small.”
I snort. “Gunner has family.”
