She takes a pen out from the drawer and goes to sign where stated by the little stickers.
Dad crosses the kitchen and slams his hand down on the paperwork. “You can’t sign shit with Leo not here.”
“Yes, I can,” Holly sternly tells him.
“This ain’t you buyin’ a new purse, fuckin’ hell. You're about to bring another kid into the house!”
“Firstly, keep your voice down, the kids are sleeping, and secondly, Shane is dead, and his mother’s family will put him in the system. Wolf was born into this club, and I will raise him with Roman and people who knew his dad.”
“Still, Holly, this is something you should talk with Leo first before signing anything.”
“Cas, Leo and I have a deal. He deals with the club, and I deal with the kids and the house. This is me dealing with the kids and the house.” She looks to the stranger and tells him, “I will sign now, and my husband will sign when he gets home. I will cash the check and make sure Wolf gets every cent when he’s old enough to need it.”
The strange man nods and then leaves. There are no goodbyes or thanks for taking on his great nephew. Dad stands, glaring at Holly.
“What have you just done?” he asks quietly.
“I’ve adopted a boy who doesn’t have a father because the Mercy chapter were traitors. Leo won’t have a problem with it, I know my husband.”
Dad softens then his face masks over again. “Holly, what if Leo doesn’t come home? You’ll have three kiddies dependent on you.”
Her brows knit together but not in confusion. She's losing her patience. “Hewillcome home, and everything will be fine.”
She shoves the paperwork into a drawer and slams it shut, instantly regretting it. When none of the kids cry out, she exhaleslong and hard and takes the baby from me as he finishes his bottle.
“I’m going to take this one back to bed, I'll see you in the morning,” she tells me, then tells Cas, “Be careful out there, and bring my husband back. I'd gratefully appreciate it. I’d also appreciate it if you didn’t say anything to him, I will explain myself.”
She leaves Dad speechless as she heads up the stairs.
“It looks like you’ve got a new grandson.” I try not to smile, adding, “And I've got a new nephew.”
“Let’s just hope Leo approves of having a new son.”
“He knows his wife, she took on Rayna like she’s her own. It’s not surprising she wants to take on an orphan.”
“I ain’t saying it’s not a good thing, I’m saying it’s a huge responsibility and Leo should be involved before the ink dries on the paperwork.”
He walks over to the door and reminds me, “Lock up and get some sleep.”
He slips out the front door and I do as I’m told once again, and lock up behind him. I can’t help myself; I open the drawer and whistle when I check out the million-dollar check. No wonder Holly gasped and asked if it was legit. This is life-changing money. I put it back in the envelope and back in the drawer. Grabbing my phone, I try calling Jay and it rings out. Shutting off the lights, I climb the stairs. In the bathroom, I open the medicine cabinet and grab the bottle of sleeping pills.
Popping one into my mouth, I swallow it down. I catch my reflection in the mirror, and a dark grey lingers under my eyes. It drips down my cheeks. Pressing my fingers to my cheekbones, the grey spreads down to my jaw. I squeeze my eyes shut and slowly open them again. It’s not real. I back out of the bathroom and shut off the light. It was nothing but the light throwing shadows.
18
Leo
Ican’t tell if it has been three or four days since Hopper ran me off the road. Two layers of duct tape cover my eyes, and my wrists are red raw from rope burns. Pain shoots across my entire body, no matter how much I shuffle around to relieve the aches and stiffness. My ankles are bound, not one inch gives, making it harder to stay sat up when the van throws me around.
I've lost track of time, night or day, but I do know I'm hundreds of miles away from home. When I've been awake, the van has been constantly on the move. I think we’ve stopped once for what I guess was gas. Music blasted from the front, which again, I guess was to mask any noise I could’ve made.
“Shit will work out, brother.”
I look over at Luca and notice all the minor changes in him lately. Being the president of the Dog City chapter has made him grow faster and harder and he sits across from me as a man in his own right. He’s no longer the little brother who annoyed the shit out of me.
“It won’t if I don’t get this sorted and soon.”
“Mom was right, Dad just needs time. You know what he’s like when he loses someone he actually cares about. Fuck, they still bang on about the old guy from years ago who got killed.”
