The Athens’ clubhouse was quiet. It was eerie, especially considering the fact that there were twice as many Brothers packed into the space. But no one had time for talking. We’d lost a Brother today.
Caleb was a prospect, but a Brother none the less. He’d saved my ass – whether purposeful or not, by barging into that room. I would be forever in his debt. And I would make sure he got the send off that he deserved.
Optimus said he had a family, but that they couldn’t care less whether he was dead or alive. He’d made friends with one of the club kids at school and had come around a few times for family gatherings. The second he hit eighteen he was here pleading his case to prospect. Caleb was clumsy, and not the brightest spark, but he had a heart of gold. It surprised me that the club girls were probably hit the hardest by his loss.
“We weren’t allowed to sleep with him. It gave us time to develop a friendship that we possibly didn’t have with the fully patched members,” Chelsea explained from her perch on Optimus’ lap. “He was sweet, funny too. Harm loved him, they were always giving each other hell.”
I nodded. Optimus gripped his girl a little tighter as she sniffled. His body had been left with Doc, he had connections at the morgue and would get done what needed to be done, without the police or anyone else asking questions that we would refuse to answer.
“Even after he shot her, Harmony was still protective of him,” I agreed.
Chelsea chuckled. “Yeah, but she was planning her payback. I think it involved something like an ice cold bucket of water while he was sleeping though, as opposed to a bullet through his chest.”
I shuddered.A bullet that was meant for me.
“Any ideas about what happens now?” Wreck asked as he plonked himself into the seat beside me.
I shook my head. “Mix and Wrench are on it, they’re trying to find a different angle. Hopefully, they’ll hit something soon.”
“Your girl is hardheaded and strong, Kit. She’ll hold on,” Optimus assured me. Chelsea following with a very serious nod.
“I’m gonna head to Harm’s room. Get some rest. Let me know if something comes up.” I knew rest wouldn’t be easy, but I also know that since I got the news yesterday, I hadn’t slept a wink. I needed it if I was going to find my woman and bring her home.
“Yeah, Brother.”
Harmony’s room was basically untouched. No one had been in there since she had left the previous day. The bed was unmade and her guitar and school books were left lying in the mess of blankets. A little over twenty-four hours she’d been gone, but I hadn’t seen her for almost a week. I missed her like hell. It had been a rough ride for the both of us. Me trying to convince her she could trust me, her fighting it the whole way.
Stubborn ass.
Now I’d let her down again.Three strikes and you’re out?Isn’t that how it went?
Even if she refused to see me after all of this, I would still fight for her. I’d prove one day that I was good enough, and that she was safe. If I made it in time.
I stripped off and curled under her covers, her smell attacking my senses and alerting my body. It didn’t matter who you were, or how long you’d known someone, the reality was that when you found that person who was your perfect fit, nothing else mattered. Not time, not age, not even occupation or the color of their hair. You took that shit, threw it out the window and held onto that person like your life depended on it. Because it possibly would.
Now I had found my other half, seeing a future without her just looked like a black haze – ultimately not worth the effort to fight through the darkness.
At some point during the night, I must have drifted off. A strange ringing woke me, the sun streaming through the open curtains making it hard for me to open my eyes. The ringing stopped. I checked my phone, but I had no messages or missed calls.
You’re fucking dreaming.Then it started again. I climbed up and attempted to follow the noise around the room, holding my ear to different things. When I found Harmony’s school bag tucked under the bed, I remembered that Rifle had said he’d found it in the car and had one of Optimus’ boys throw it in her room.
The ringing stopped, but I pulled the bag out, searching through the contents until I found her cell phone. Checking the missed calls I found five from her mother. I sighed, this wasn’t really a conversation I was awake enough to have, but I guess nothing could make me feel as useless as I do right now, even a reaming from her mother.
I pushed the call button and sat down on the bed, scrubbing my face and attempting to wake myself up.
“Harmony? Oh my goodness, thank God. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for two days.” Helen sounded frantic. I knew they had a good relationship, but I didn’t know she’d be this panicked.
“Hey Helen, it’s Kit,” I grumbled.
“Oh, Kit. Sorry. I’ve just been calling and calling and was starting to get worried.”
Yeah, probably for good reason too. “Yeah, sorry.”
“Kit…What’s going on…”
“Look, I’m not really sure how to explain this to you –”
I heard her gasp. “Oh God, he did it. He found her.”