Sonny didn't agree. The hand he'd left on my back after slapping it, slid up to rest on the shoulder furthest away from him. "No, Ris. I'm gonna go find him. Trip's coming with me. We don't know what other kind of pile he's dug himself into and you're better off staying here with Dex until all this shit gets sorted out."
The sound that came out of my mouth sounded like a squawk. "What?"
"You're staying with Dex. The house isn't safe and I don't trust you to stay with anybody else in the Club," he explained, squeezing my shoulder. "Hopefully I can find him in a few days."
But what would he do once he found him? The old man had obviously taken off because he didn't have the money to pay back the Reaper assholes. I almost, almost asked Sonny but by the look on the half of his face that didn't look like it'd gotten friendly with a baseball bat, Sonny had no limits on what he was capable of.
So making Curt Taylor find ten grand was going to happen one way or another. Of that I suddenly didn't have a doubt.
"Shit, Sonny," I whispered. How the hell had this mess fallen on us? On him? The one Taylor offspring who had less to do with his father than the other two. Christ.
The hand on my shoulder tightened. "Ris," he whispered, pulling me closer to him. The side of his forehead rested against the top of my head. "I'm coming back, all right? I swear to God I'm not leaving you here. I'm just gonna go find this asshole so we can get back to Tofu Tuesdays and shit," he assured me. "I'm coming back."
The intent behind his words weighed my sternum down. He was leaving. Leaving me in a new city all alone with his friend. I wasn't going to have a panic attack. I had a panic attack once when Will had first left, and then I'd dealt with it. But Sonny was coming back.
"It's only for a little while," he promised.
Leaning into his side, I nodded against him. I couldn't remember the last time anyone had hugged me like this. With so much reassurance and promises that I didn't doubt even a fraction that he wouldn't come back. It wasn't at all like when Will left. My own full-blooded little brother who gave me the quickest hug in history andpinched my armbefore leaving.
"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked him, pushing away the fact I hadn't heard from Will in months.
Sonny laughed just a little, low and pained. "I've been better. I'll be all right once this all gets straightened out."
I slid my arm around his back. "I'm sorry you got dragged into this mess."
"Me too, kid, but I'd rather it be me than you who gets caught up in the shit-hole he's dug himself into." Sonny sighedand it pained my heart."I need to get going though. Stay with Dex until I get back, okay?"
I wanted to argue with him but what was the point? We all had to do things we didn't want to at some point, and if the Reapers would beat the shit out Sonny for the mistakes of our estranged father, whatelse were they capable of?
"Maybe I should go to Lanie's," I suggested. "If they did that to you, won't they try and—"
"No, Ris. I'm a sign for the sperm donor, and Dex knows better than to be a dumbass. You'll be fine."
Oh man. This was a mess. A huge, surreal mess all caused by a man that had no connections to our lives anymore.
"You won't get in trouble at your job?"
Sonny laughed before loosening his hold on me and climbing to his feet slowly. "Don't worry about it. It's all good."
I blew out a breath and nodded, getting off the bed. His face looked bad, so bad, but Sonny was his own man. I couldn't and wouldn't beg him to stay.
"You got all your stuff?"
I nodded.
"Your bathroom stuff, too?" he asked.
In that moment, I suddenly wished that I'd had Sonny in my life from the very beginning. I mean, who else would remember bathroom stuff of all things? "No, I forgot."
He ruffled my hair lightly. "Go get it and I'll meet you outside."
I followed after him but split off to grab my toiletries from the bathroom. There wasn't much so it only took a second to put my things into my duffel. Just as I was about to walk out of the house, I heard Sonny and Dex speaking on the other side of the door.
"—been through too much, man. She doesn't need to go through anything else," Sonny spoke.
"I said I'd watch over her." That was Dex who replied.
"Fuck, I'll stay and this one can go with you." Another voice suggested. Trip, probably.
