I find myself nodding and I stand, keeping her in my arms. Taking Holly’s car, I drive into town keeping my eye out for Hopper or his men. It's quieter than usual and by the time I pull up outside Kristen’s house, I've only seen three people around.
Zach answers the door, and Rayna runs inside while he steps outside. Kristen and I have an understanding of keeping our distance from one another. I light a cigarette while Zach lights one of his joints.
“How is she?” I ask.
“Do you care?”
“Brother, Slade has been an uncle to me my whole life. I wouldn’t wish this on any old lady.”
He sighs. “Sorry, it’s been a lot. She's surprisingly doing better than I expected but she’s broken.”
“I’d offer my condolences but I'm the last person she would want to see.”
He snorts. “Yeah, she’s already talking about banning the club from the funeral.”
“That ain’t gonna go down well, brother. In fact, it’s not gonna happen.”
“I know, I'm dealing with it.”
Taking a long drag, I exhale as I say, “I’m going to need you at the club later today.”
He sighs and I urge, “You need to be seen, brother. Someone wearing our patch got your dad killed, along with Dex and Shane, and a prospect. I want them seeing you, I need them seeing you.”
He tips his head and promises, “I’ll be there.”
Sparky's behind the bar pouring a shot of tequila. He looks like shit and I'm sure he’s still got Slade’s blood up his arms. He knows I'm here, but he doesn’t speak, and he doesn’t look my way.
The guns are still laid out and I backtrack home and find Holly playing with both babies.
“Is Rayna over at your parents?”
“Nah, she wanted to go see Kristen. I just got back.”
Coming over to me, she wraps her arms around my neck and kisses me. “I’ve got Bonnie coming to help set up the mainhouse for the old ladies soon. She's worried about Sparky so I’m guessing she wants to be close by for him.”
“He’s over in the bar, he’s not looking great.”
“How long are you here for?”
“As long as it takes me to go around the house and collect the guns I've got stashed here.”
Frowning, she asks, “I thought you said the house was clear.”
“I lied.”
Dropping her arms, she goes to walk off but I stop her. “If you didn’t know, it didn’t hurt.”
“I don’t care about the guns. We don’t lie, or I thought we didn’t.”
“Hey, I'm sorry. Okay?”
She nods but I don’t believe this is over. Though it’s over for now. I manage to track down five shooters and take them over to the bar. I dump them with the rest.
JJ walks in and asks, “What’s the plan for today?”
“Now? Go round and collect all the guns you’ve stashed and bring them here.”
“I don’t have much left after...”
