Page 21 of His Flawed Ride (Sons of Lost Souls MC #16)

Chapter Nineteen

Leo

N o one can see me as I watch on from the corner of the bar. The urge to pop a bullet into Nora’s head is on the verge of taking over me.

Stood with the sheriff, Nora is getting yelled at by Harry’s sister and Grim stands beside his old lady not putting an end to this shit show. The sheriff keeps glancing around but I’m not going to step in and help her do her job. I need to see how Nora deals with this.

“Tell me where he is!” the sister shrieks losing all of her patience.

“I can’t keep telling you the same thing if you don’t listen!” Nora yells, but it’s the guilty fucking glances she throws Grim that has me not believing her so how can the sister, especially as she’s the one who’s looking for guilt.

Pulling out my phone I shoot a text to the sheriff.

Get this shit sorted.

I watch as she looks down at her phone and then straightens up. She steps between Nora and the sister and quietens them both down.

She speaks quietly and I can’t catch what’s being said. But the end result is the sister off of my property.

I make my way over to Grim and Nora and she can barely meet my eye.

“What was that about?” I ask wanting to hear it from them though I know already.

“The sister isn’t giving up. She’s convinced Nora knows where that asshole is,” Grim tells me.

“I see. I’ll talk to the sheriff and get her to end this once and for all.”

“Leo!”

Over my shoulder, Dad stands with Sparky and beckons me over. Thankful to get away from Nora, I walk over to my father.

“We heard you got a call from Slade,” Dad says.

“Yeah, he’s on his way back with Lily.”

“I hear you wouldn’t give the cash to get her back,” Dad says.

I shrug. “It didn’t matter in the end. They got her back without handing a cent over.”

“You think that’s gonna matter to Slade? She’s been beaten to nearly an inch of her life, Leo.”

Looking to Sparky, I say, “Dramatic, much?” Looking back to dad, I ask, “Are you telling me you would’ve given him thirty grand of club money for a woman who knew exactly who she was getting involved with?”

“I don’t know.”

“Fuck, yes you do. You would’ve made the same decision as me. You’re doubting it now cause it’s Slade. As far as Lily’s concerned, you wouldn’t piss on her if she was on fire.”

“Can’t disagree with you on that, but Slade has given years of his life to this club, not to mention the loss of his daughter along the way. He’s loyal and strong, sometimes it’s not a question of who you’re paying to get back, but who you’re paying it for.”

This isn’t the shit I want to hear. “I stand by my decision. Slade has the cash to pay if it had to come that. As it stands, she’s on her way here, which is why Slade went there in the first place.”

Dad shakes his head. “You can tell your sister. And make sure you use a sympathetic tone if needed.”

“You’re her dad, you should be the one to tell her,” I argue.

“Nah, you’re calling the shots. This is on you.”

Dad and Sparky walk off and I want to punch something. Choosing to get this over with, I head over to Harper’s.

I knock and let myself into the house and find her out back with JJ and Gunner.

“Hey, can I have a word?”

“Sure.”

I sit on the lounger besides her and desperately want to light a cigarette.

“What’s happened, Leo? Just spit it out.”

“Slade and Zach went to get your mom back with Shane and Myles.”

“And?”

“Hopper has beaten her, bad. He dumped her outside the motel the guys were staying at and they’re on their way back. They’ll be another day or so.”

“She’s alive?”

“Yeah, just in bad shape.”

JJ moves to sit next to her and asks, “The last I heard, Hopper wanted thirty grand for her, why kick the shit out of her instead?”

“I don’t know,” I tell my VP.

Harper’s mind is racing but not a word leaves her mouth until she stands abruptly and looks down at me.

“Are you going to send her away?”

I make sure to word the next sentence out of my mouth carefully.

“I get that she’s your mom and no matter what she’s done to you, she’s never going to deserve the violence that she’s been through, but she brought another club to town that could’ve ended with one of us dead. I can’t take that lightly.”

“Don’t you think she’s paid the price for that?”

“It’s not about that, Harps. She’s not trustworthy. If you tell me you’d trust her with Gunner, then I’ll take your word but that’s not gonna happen, is it?”

She loses the fight in her eyes and sits back down on the lounger.

“So what’s gonna happen to her?”

“She’ll probably stay at Slade’s while she heals, but after that, I want her out of town. Slade offered to send her off and set her up somewhere else, he can do that when she’s able.”

“No, I want her here. I’ll help her heal.”

“Babe, she’d be better off with Slade. I don’t want Gunner seeing her like that.”

“Then you better keep him distracted because she’s staying with us.”

She leaves no room for argument and crosses the lawn, scoops Gunner up onto her hip and heads into the house.

“How bad is Lily?”

“Bad.”

“Great, she’ll be here for weeks.”

“Not if I can help it.”

“Hopper will expect comeback on his attack on her.”

“He can expect all he likes. Lily has fucked up for the last time, as soon as she’s able, she’s gone.”

I’ve warned the brothers that we’re not standing for any danger toward the club, that goes for everyone. I don’t give a shit who their family is. When it comes to the patch, you’re with us or you’re not.

Softly tapping Roman’s back as I hold him to my chest, I stare out of the window and into the darkness surrounding the club.

There is so much uncertainty up in the air, but one thing that needs sorting out is how we deal with Hopper.

I couldn’t give a shit about his violence toward Lily.

I give a shit about the disrespect and the fact he still has to pay for the trouble with the Southern Chapter. For Ricky.

“He’s been asleep for over half hour.”

I turn and Holly is sat up in bed. “So have you. Enjoy it.”

“I can never sleep properly without you.”

One thing that hasn’t changed is the stability in my marriage and thank fuck for that because I don’t have the energy to deal with anything else snapping at my heels.

“I’ll put him down and join you.”

“Bring him with you.”

“We can’t sleep with him in the bed. What if we roll over onto him?”

“Are you tired enough to sleep?” she quips.

“Not really.”

“There you go. Come lay down with me.”

I settle into bed with Roman tucked in between us. Holly lies on her side and I do the same.

“What’s on your mind, babe? Talk to me.”

Sighing, I say, “The brothers knew I’d run the club differently, and I have been for a long while. Now the brothers are acting like yesterday was the first time wearing the patch.”

“All brothers or a few?”

“A few,” I admit. “I did the right thing not paying to get Lily back, and every fucker knows it.”

“It’s not just Lily, is it? Something is eating at you.”

I can’t talk to her about Nora. I stroke Roman’s cheek as he sleeps soundly.

“There was a point in my life where I couldn’t see the next day coming, and now I’m thinking about days to come as far as a year, five years, ten years.”

“What do you see in five years?”

I smile in the darkness. “The club is strong. Our reputation proceeds us. And then there’s us with a couple more kids.”

“What if it’s just still the two kids?”

“That’ll be okay too. I’ve got my son and my girl. I’ve got you. Wanting more is pure greed, but I wouldn’t miss it if we stayed the way we are.”

“It’s the giving birth part, I don’t know if I can go through it again, even the once.”

“It’s your choice, you want another kid, I’m good with it. You don’t, I’m still good.”

She reaches across the bed and places her hand on my cheek. “I’ve got more than I thought I’d ever have. I’m happy.”

“That’s all I care about.”

“The club will sort itself out, you’ll make sure of it. Stick to the way you want to run it, and the brothers will come around.”

She climbs out of bed and picks up Roman. “Get some sleep and I’ll deal with our son.”

My eyes shut before she leaves the room, and I drift off to the chaos racing around my mind.