JJ taps away on his phone then informs us, “It’s a six-hour ride.”
“We’ve got thirty hours to get there, get some sleep and be ready to ride,” I tell him, and he walks out.
Sparky slams his bottle on the bar and stretches his arms above his head.
“I’ll be back by sunrise tomorrow,” he tells me and leaves me alone in the bar.
I can’t stand the silence or the ghosts I can imagine yelling at me from the other side, I head home and find Alannah sat at the kitchen table, her mug of coffee gone cold, and her staring into space.
“Hopper called. He agreed to meet.”
“Well,” she says then clears her throat. “When you save our son, you can fix your relationship. You know as well as I do, the club will break if you’re both at odds.”
“Shit will get fixed, darlin’, I swear it to you.”
“That’s all I need to hear. I won’t have my family fighting like you did the other night. Not ever again.”
“I hear ya.” I pull out a chair and join her. “You’re not only worried about Leo, what’s going on?”
She glances out of the window in the direction of Leo’s house.
“Holly’s worrying me. She's acting like Leo’s on a run, and that he’ll be home at any moment.”
I admit her reaction took me by surprise. I was ready for the tears and fear, but it never came.
“She’s lookin’ after three kids, two of which are babies, she’s probably keepin’ it together for them.”
Besides, it’s nice to have someone still have solid faith in me to bring my own blood home alive and well.
Reaching for my old lady, I pull over to me and get her comfortable on my lap. I wind my hand into her blonde locks and massage the back of her neck.
“That feels nice but it doesn’t stop me from worrying.”
“I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“For how I’ve been over the last couple of weeks. To say it’s shook me is an understatement.”
“I’m still here so you couldn’t have been that bad,” she says, trying to lighten the mood.
“You don’t have to act like I haven’t been an asshole.”
“I’m not,” she tells me. She cups my cheek, and adds, “I need you to be an asshole now. You need to do whatever you have to in order to bring our son home.”
“I’m not talking about how I am with other people, I’m talking about me and you. I shouldn’t have pushed you out.”
“No you shouldn’t have but I get it. Just please, be my husband and the boys’ father. We need you.”
“I’m here, babe. I’m always here. This last couple of weeks won’t ever be repeated.”
She leans in and I savor her lips on mine. She deepens the kiss and then wetness slips between us. I pull back and her tears drop like boulders.
“Don’t lose faith now, darlin’.”
Between Leo being gone and Alannah’s strength waning, I need to step up and be the strength my family needs.
17
