His body jerks for the last time as he takes his last breath. Hopper dies in front of me and I fall to my knees beside his corpse.
“You looked every inch the president walking in here.”
Glancing up, Dad stands above me, his hands free and a grin on his face. He holds his hand out and I take his offer of help up onto my feet. As soon as I am, he yanks me to him and squeezes me too fucking hard.
“I thought you were dead,” he whispers. “Never been so fuckin’ scared in all my life.”
“I’m good, Dad. I'm here.”
He slaps my back and lets me go. I look around and take in the dead Hogs and drop the guns to the floor.
“We shouldn’t stick around, after all the gunfire, someone was bound to call the cops,” Luca says approaching.
He slaps Dad on the back and tells him, “If you keep getting us running around after ya, we’re gonna put you in a care home.”
I expect him to scowl. His laughter has to be down to shock and too much adrenaline. Whatever it is, it’s fucking weird to hear.
“Love you, too, son.” He then looks at me. “I love you both, nothin’ will ever change that.”
Luca arches his brow. “No one’s dying, father dearest. No need to get soft on us.”
“I can’t tell my boys I love them?” he asks lighting a cigarette he plucks from behind Luca’s ear, taking the lighter from my pocket.
“No, it’s weird.” Luca then looks to me and says, “We really should get out of here.”
Facing my club, different chapters, but still my club, I order, “Take what’s worth anything. Then burn it down.”
It’s a fucking massacre, we should at least clean up a little.
JJ comes up behind me and slings his arm around my shoulder. “I tried tellin’ ya dad you weren’t dead, no one would listen.”
Grinning, I tell him, “Let’s get the fuck home.”
31
Jj
No one is around and I jump out to open the gates myself. Leo said King, Warren, and Maxwell were left here but I don’t see them anywhere. I wait for everyone to ride in and close them back up and lock them.
Yelling comes from the houses and my gut sinks. Harper hasn’t been answering her phone and my mom, and Alannah, have been cagey. The ache in my shoulder intensifies and I jog around the bar to see the old ladies and the three brothers from Luca’s chapter crowded outside Shane’s house. I still don’t see my old lady.
“Where’s Harper?”
Holly turns around and melts when she notices Leo coming up behind me.
“She’s locked herself in the house, she won’t open up for us.”
She darts around me and throws her arms around her husband. Giving the house my attention, I ignore my mother and everyone else and climb the porch steps.
Since I haven’t seen anyone with my son, I'm betting he’s in the house with her. The windows are sheeted up and I pound my fist on the door.
“Harper, baby, I'm home. Come open the door!”
I don’t hear anything and bang again. “Baby, come on. I've been on the road for days, I wanna shower and I need to see you!”
Something is knocked over inside and then there’s a bump against the other side of the door. It doesn’t open and I rest my forehead against the wood.
“Baby, I haven’t seen you in days, you know how much I miss you when I'm away. Unlock the door, and let me in.”
