Chapter Twenty-Eight
“Everything’s going to be okay.,” Natalie says.
“The waiting gets easier,” Tara says.
“Bullshit. The waiting never gets easier, you just get used to waiting,” Kaitlyn says.
The sound of bikes approaching makes us all jump up off the couch and rush to the door.
“Oh no. Someone’s hurt,” Natalie murmurs when she sees Evelyn jump out of her car with her bag in hand.
It’s not unusual for her to meet the guys after a run to check them over. Her face gives her away, though.
Something’s wrong.
“You need to call in help,” Reaper tells his sister as he jumps off his bike.
“He’s already on his way,” Evelyn tells him.
Evelyn looks over at Hades. “You’ll help until he arrives?”
“I got you,” he tells her.
I scanned the crowd looking for him.
“Where is he? I don’t see him,” I say, not bothering to hide the fear in my voice.
Kaitlyn reaches out and squeezes my hand in hers. “I’m sure he’ll be here soon.”
A truck comes barreling down the driveway and comes to a stop right in front of the clubhouse. I feel as if the world comes to a halt when I watch my dad jump out of the back seat, covered in blood.
“Can I get a little help over here!” Dad yells.
I watch in horror as Evelyn starts barking out orders and they pull Bullet out of the back seat of the truck.
“Jacob!” I scream.
I fly down the porch steps, rushing toward him.
“Keep her back!” my dad barks.
Reaper catches me and wraps his arms around my waist.
“Let me go! I need to see him! Let me go!” I scream as I kick and scratch at him.
“Goddammit, Harlee, calm the hell down,” Reaper yells.
I watch in horror as the guys carry Bullet inside and to Evelyn’s medical room.
He was so pale.
“Tell me he’s alive,” I plead, begging for anyone to answer me.
Evelyn pauses as she moves to pass by. “I’ll do everything I can.”
When she fades into the clubhouse, I drop to my knees, bawling.
This is all a bad dream. This can’t be happening. Not to my Jacob. He’s too good. He’s too pure to die so young.
Reaper lets go of me and moves to comfort Natalie.
“Harlee, baby…” Dad says softly.
I look up at him and glare when I see he’s approaching me like I’m a wounded animal.
“What happened?” I demand.
Panic crosses Dad’s face.
“Dad…”
“Harlee,” Reaper says, making me look toward him. “We infiltrated Dansworth’s property. While we were moving to get your friend out, Bullet was stabbed by someone who was missed in the shuffle.”
“Someone who was missed in the shuffle?” I repeat.
How the hell does that happen?
“Unfortunately. We were successful in getting Adalyn out of there safely. She has been taken to a safe house for the time being.”
“I don’t give a fuck about Adalyn. I want to know how you guys missed someone and Bullet might pay the price with his life!” I yell.
“Leave us,” Dad tells them.
“Honk,” Reaper warns.
“I got this, Reaper. She’s my fucking daughter,” Honk tells him.
I look down at my hands and see that I’ve drawn blood from my nails digging into my skin. I hear the shuffling of footsteps moving away from me, but I don’t look up.
Because if I look up and see the sorrow on their faces, I’ll lose it.
“This is my fault,” Dad says quietly as he moves to sit on the ground. Close enough but just far enough out of reach.
“What happened, Dad? I need to know.”
“They paired us together, and I was angry. I wasn’t thinking clearly, and I got distracted. When I was moving down the hall to find your friend, he was trailing behind me. A guy came out of nowhere and stabbed him. I killed the guy, but it was too late.”
I cover my mouth as I sob.
Bullet. Not my Bullet.
“I’m sorry, Harlee.”
“This is all your fault.”
“It is,” he agrees easily.
“Mom would be so fucking angry with you.”
“I know. I’ve done a lot of shit recently that would really piss her off,” he says sadly.
“I can’t lose him, Dad. I can’t do that again. You want to banish him? I will go with him. I won’t be without him. You better hope he lives through this.”
“You would leave me for him?” he asks, sounding wounded.
“I would. I looked to you after Mom died. I needed you to show me how to move forward, and I guess you did. You showed me to bury my grief in alcohol. I was doing drugs, Dad. Bullet would pull me from parties barely conscious. You left me long before I could ever leave you. He is the one who pulled me out of the dark hole I was hell-bent on dying in and made me see that there was more to life. He is helping me heal. I won’t lose him. I can’t. I won’t survive.”
“Oh, Harlee…” Dad says, his voice cracking. “He loves you. He told me he loves you.”
“I love him more. I’ve loved him for a long time.”
“I know, Harlee. I know. Your mom and I talked about it.”
“You did?”
Dad laughs softly. “Yeah, she told me that you two were inevitable and that we needed to prepare ourselves. I just didn’t believe her.”
My mom knew. She knew that I loved him.
Mom, please don’t let him die. Please. I need him. I can’t live without him either.
“Harlee, breathe,” Dad snaps at me.
Blinking, I realize my hands are clammy, I feel lightheaded, and I’m breathing roughly.
“Is she okay?” a deep voice asks.
I look up and see a man I don’t recognize jumping out of a truck.
“She’s fine. It’s her man in there. Evelyn needs you,” Dad tells the man.
The man gives me one final glance before he heads in to try and help save Bullet’s life.
“I’ll make this right, Harlee, I promise,” Dad murmurs softly.
Still, I don’t move. I stay right there on the ground in front of the clubhouse waiting. For hours we sit on the gravel, not speaking. When the sun starts to go down, one of the brothers brings me a sweatshirt, but I don’t put it on. I need the cold to feel alive.
My ass is numb, and my legs are asleep. I don’t care, though. The only thing I care about is him.
“Harlee…” a voice says softly.
I look up and see a bloodied Evelyn approaching.
I stumble as I jump up, but my dad catches me.
Once again, like we did years ago, we hold on to each other as we wait to find out if someone else we love lives or dies.
“How is he?”
“Easy…” Honk murmurs.
“Will you stop babying me?” I snap as I drop into my chair without thinking about it.
I hiss in pain as my stitches protest.
Son of a bitch, that hurt.
“If you would have let me help you,” Honk mutters as he takes a seat next to me.
I don’t know what the hell happened when I was out, but the man has done a one-eighty where I’m concerned. He’s all for Harlee and me being together and has been hovering over me ever since I woke up.
Harlee’s just as bad.
Between the two of them, I haven’t had a moment alone in days.
Brothers start to filter into the room.
“Should you be up yet?” Colt asks.
“Evelyn said it was fine.”
Hades shakes his head. “She said that you could get up and walk around the room but to take it easy. You lost your spleen three days ago, and that’s not counting the other damage that knife did,” Hades says.
“Who invited you again?” I half joke.
Reaper walks in and shuts the door behind him. We all fall silent as he moves toward his place and takes a seat.
He bangs his gavel once before he looks up. “First order of business, I again would like to congratulate Bullet on surviving. I am under strict instructions from my girl to tell you that you are never allowed to get hurt again. Everyone give it up for Bullet.”
The brothers go wild, hooting and hollering.
I raise my hand and wave it off.
“It’s not a big deal,” I tell them when they quiet down.
“It is, and we all know it. Own it, brother. Not many people can say they’ve been hurt the way you have twice and came out the other side of it,” Midnight tells me.
I tip my head in acknowledgment.
“Okay, second order of business. We have Adalyn hidden away at a safe house. Dansworth is still in the wind as well, so it’s not safe for her. We need to move her from the safe house, though, since it was on loan. Does anyone have any recommendations on what we should do with her?” Reaper asks.
“We could send her to Texas. I’m sure Savage would take her in,” Colt says, referring to his cousin, who is also the president of the San Antonio chapter.
“We could even send her to Chicago,” Kicks says.
“We could, but do we want to risk sending trouble to another chapter’s doorstep? She’s his daughter. He will look for her,” Hades adds.
“We could always set her up with a new identity and send her to somewhere on the East Coast,” I say.
Harlee would probably hate it, but she would deal.
Trigger nods. “I could set everything up. It wouldn’t be hard, but if we aren’t willing to send her to another chapter because she’s in danger, do we really want to send her off by herself?”
The guys mutter in agreement.
Honk clears his throat. “I have an idea.”
We all turn to look at him.
“We’re listening,” Reaper tells him.
“What if she stayed with me?”
“You want her to stay with you?” I ask slowly, unsure that I heard him right.
He shrugs. “It’s an option. Dansworth wouldn’t think to look for her at my place, but it makes sense. I have room, and she’s friends with Harlee. It would be like when Harlee used to have sleepovers with her girlfriends. I’m sure Harlee would like it.”
“You realize we are talking about a twenty-year-old woman, right? Not a twelve-year-old girl,” Wrath asks.
“I realize that,” Honk grits out.
“Would it fuck with your sobriety?” Reaper asks, making him flinch.
“No. As long as she knows the rules and doesn’t try shit, we should be fine,” Honk tells him.
Reaper’s eyes meet mine. “What do you think?”
“I think it’s his house, so it’s his choice, but I don’t think Harlee would have any problem with it. She’s asked about her a couple of times since I woke up, so I know she’s worried about her,” I tell him.
Reaper nods. “Good. All in favor of Adalyn moving in with Honk and staying under our protection, say aye.”
“Aye,” we all say in unison.
The conversation turns to an upcoming run, and I tune out.
My side is starting to ache something fierce.
I look at the clock and see that I’m due for another round of over-the-counter pain medication.
When I told Evelyn that I didn’t want any narcotics, I thought she, Harlee, and Honk were going to lose their minds.
While I don’t have an addictive personality, I wasn’t willing to risk it.
Harlee means too much to me, and I’m not willing to risk putting her through watching someone she loves get lost to addiction.
“There is one last thing we need to discuss. Bullet taking Harlee as his old lady, officially,” Reaper says, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“Wait, what?” I ask as I look around. “I didn’t bring that to the table.”
“I did,” Honk says, catching me off guard.
“You did?”
Honk nods. “It’s about time you make an honest woman out of my daughter.”
“I didn’t think you wanted us together.”
“I don’t, not because I think you are wrong for her, but because I don’t want history to repeat itself.
I don’t want my daughter to experience the grief of losing a partner, but I realized recently that it’s going to happen, no matter what.
Death is inevitable. I’ll be honest, losing my girl fucked with me, and I was blind to see what was in front of me.
I’m sober now, and my eyes are open. I know that you two love each other, and I won’t stand in your way.
So if you want her to be your old lady, I give you my blessing. ”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
Holy shit. I wasn’t expecting this.
“You made the kid speechless,” Wrath teases.
“Are you sure?” I ask, meeting Honk’s eye.
“I am.” He pulls out a leather jacket, handing it over to me. “This was.” He chokes up for a moment. “Eleanor’s. I had it outfitted with your name on the back. I would like you to give it to her.”
He rubs his hand over the worn leather. It’s seen better days, but I know it will mean the world to Harlee.
“I would be honored,” I tell him.
I turn to look at Reaper. “I would like to make her mine.”
Reaper smirks. “All in favor of Harlee going from a sister to an old lady, say aye.”
“Aye,” we all say in unison.
The loudest vote came from her dad.
Holy shit. This is happening. She’s finally mine.