“If she’s taking them, they’re not working, but your mom and old lady are watching her.”
He finishes his cigarette and tosses the butt out of the window. He leans his head back and closes his eyes. I settle on the road and for the first time in the last few days, I can see us coming out on top.
24
Alannah
Rocking Wolf to sleep, I close my eyes and relax in the rocking chair. Holly is dealing with Roman and Rayna. Harper is bathing Gunner. The house is settling down. For now, it’s peaceful. I recall Cas’s phone call and how we’ve never shared a goodbye like that before. My heart fractured with every word he poured down the line. Spending two days believing he was already dead isn’t something I can ever do again. My mind needs to shut down and rest, but I haven’t been able to sleep in days.
There's a knock at the door and I answer it before it disturbs the peace. King, from Luca’s chapter, is stood on the porch. His jaw is tight, and he can’t quite meet me in the eye.
“What’s going on?” I demand.
“Maybe I should take the kid before I tell you,” he suggests.
“I’m more than capable of listening and holding a baby. Spit it out.”
“We just got word that JJ and Myles are dead,” he says and stares down at his feet. “You should sit down,” he points over to the porch chair.
“Tell me,” I choke out, my heart pounding in my chest.
“They found Cas with them, too. He's gone. I'm so fuckin’ sorry, Alannah.”
What the hell is happening to this club? Hopper is no different to any other enemy the club has faced. It’s unfathomable to believe this is how it ends, or that my husband has been taken out.
“Cas? My husband, Cas?”
“Yes.”
I stumble back and fall onto the swing seat. Wolf sleeps peacefully in my arms, unaware of how much death has been around him in his short life. I was once told Pope was dead and he later walked through the door. A flicker of hope ignites in my heart.
“I need proof,” I tell him. “It means nothing until I see his body.”
He's kept his promise for over thirty years. He vowed he’d never leave me, and I know how lucky I am that he’s been able to keep it for so long. Besides, if he were gone, one of my sons would have told me.
“Where are my boys?”
He lifts his eyes and death oozes from him. A rumble of thunder rolls across the sky, and rain drops begin tapping against the porch roof.
“Where is Leo and Luca, King?”
One of the brothers runs over, shoving his phone toward King. He presses it to his ear and turns his back to me.
I have no idea how I'm still breathing. I always thought I'd feel it if anything happened to Cas. We’ve spent too many years together to not feel one another when something goes wrong. Unless that’s just me and wishful thinking.
King turns slowly, and this time he meets me eye on and holds it.
“That was Zach, I hate to be the one to tell you that...”
“That what?” I shriek.
His mouth opens then closes, nothing coming out of it. Standing, I cross the porch and snatch the phone from his hand.
I call Zach myself and wait with bated breath for him to answer.
“Yeah?”
“What’s happened? King isn’t telling me shit.”
