“I swear to Christ, Violet, if Harmon thinks—”
“Stop,” I hissed.
He scowled at me and I raised an eyebrow.
“Just keep it together until you’re out of the building,” I begged.
He continued to stare at me, and I slid my arms around his waist.
“See your mom, then lose your shit,” I ordered.
“Sir?” the nurse called. “I’ll take you to your mom now.”
“I’ll be in the waiting room,” I promised, releasing him, then watching him walk down the hall and into a room.
I took a few minutes to find a restroom before making my way into the waiting area, walking in to find Hatch and a guy about my age in a heated exchange.
“I warned you this would happen,” Hatch said. “You knew he’d be here today. What the fuck did you think you were doin’ comin’?”
“I didn’t want her to be alone.”
“Bullshit,” Hatch snapped. “You wanted to fuck with Jasper. I got your back, Harmon, but you know he’s like a son to me. He’ll trump you every fuckin’ time.”
So, this was Harmon. He looked gutted by Hatch’s avowal, and my heart went out to him. I bit my lip and stayed quiet, but he caught my eye, which made Hatch turn and face me.
“He back with his mom?” Hatch asked.
I nodded.
“Harmon was just leavin’,” Hatch pressed, focusing back on Harmon.
“Right.” Harmon nodded. “Tell Marlene I’ll come by—”
“AfterJasper’s back in Colorado,” Hatch said.
“No.”
“Harmon, don’t fuckin’ poke the bear. He’s patched into a one-percent club. You think you’re tough. He’ll make you a vegetable in less than a minute if you push him.”
“He would,” I butted in. “He took more than twenty hits at his patch-in and still didn’t go down. The president called it instead.”
“I can’t leave her like that, Hatch,” Harmon rasped.
“You have to.”
Harmon dragged his hands down his face.
“I’ll keep you posted,” Hatch promised. “Just give Jasper space, bud. Trust me.”
After a few tense seconds, Harmon nodded, turned around, and walked away, and I found myself relaxing. I hadn’t realized how nervous I’d been until he left.
“More than twenty hits?” Hatch asked, distracting me from watching Harmon walking away.
“Yep,” I said. “Dad called it earlier, and I’m glad he did. Patricide is frowned upon in society and I would have had to murder him if Aero was hurt worse than he had been.”
Hatch chuckled. “You’ve always been fierce, sweetheart. It’s one of my favorite things about you.”
I grinned. “Thanks.”
