He nods and I watch as he walks over to the truck. He sits behind the wheel for a couple of minutes and then brings the engine to life.
Once he’s gone, I nod to JJ and then down at Harper.
“Take her home,” I mouth to him.
“I’ve tried,” he mouths back.
Taking a deep breath, I ignore the pain returning in my chest.
“Harper,” I say and get her attention. “We’ve got to move him, you should go home. JJ will go with you.”
“You can’t move him yet...”
“He’s already been out here too long.”
She looks up at Dad, and a tear rolls down her cheek. “Tell him, tell him to leave him for a little while longer.”
“I don’t like it either, but he wouldn’t want to be laid out here like this.” He holds out his hand, and she begrudgingly takes it.
“Mason and Myles will look after him,” he assures her.
My sister points her glare at me and tells me, “Find out who did this, Leo.”
Someone caused this and I'm not going to stop until we find out who it is.
“Sparks, come on, let’s go.”
I look to Dad. “Where the fuck are you going?”
“Someone has to tell Libby, and it won’t be you.”
Sparky slowly heaves himself up from the ground, and with one last sorrowful glance at our fallen brothers, he joins Dad and I remain watching them leave.
I stand, rooted in place, overseeing the twins respectfully remove the bodies of our brothers.
1
Leo
The plan not going as expected is an understatement and now there are brothers looking at my hands like they’re covered in blood.
I slide my boots on and lean over to tie the laces. A strange sense of calmness settled over me during the last few hours, but it was a violent calmness that hasn’t faded as more hours have passed. I placed the call to all chapters to ride hard to town after Dad left with Sparky to go tell Libby about Dex. I didn’t care to hear what numbers we are down. I will find out when they get here, and we can sit down and talk face-to-face.
Storm clouds hover above the club as I quickly glance out of the bedroom window, there is no sun shining as it should be. I shrug into my cut, check my guns are loaded and slide them into the holster strapped to my chest. I check my knife is clipped into its sleeve around my ankle. I grab my smokes and the two burner phones I've been using and go to leave when Holly wakes.
“You’re leaving,” she notes, eyeing the clock.
“I couldn’t sleep, got too much to deal with.” I cross the bedroom and lean on the bed, kissing her good morning. Yesterday is a blur and one I don’t want to repeat.
“Are you ready?”
The chapters should be arriving this morning ready for the funerals, and with the brothers come their old ladies.
She nods. “Are you?”
“Do you remember what I told you?”
“To keep my ear to the ground with the old ladies.”
