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“No, he’s still with us, hooked up to machines, but he hasn’t woken up.”
His chest heaves with a relieved sigh.
Releasing me, he asks, “Where’s Luca?”
“He went out for a smoke. What do we do now?”
I’ll honour my best friend’s wishes, but for today, I’ll honour Alannah’s. Like she said, he isn’t in the ground, and for that, I’ll step in and keep the club moving forward.
“We’ll find Luca and send him back to sit with Cas, then we’ll head to the club.”
“What about Ethan?” Ricky mumbles through a yawn.
“We keep him around until Cas is back,” Slade replies defensively.
“And if Cas doesn’t come back?”
I start back down the corridor. “We’ll deal with that if it happens.”
Outside, Luca is sitting on a bench, blowing a shit ton of smoke from his lungs. The fucker knows we’re approaching, but he doesn’t acknowledge our presence. He’s so like his dad, it’s scary. Cas was always unapproachable, but once you knew him… well, he was still unapproachable, but he didn’t put you off as much.
“Is he awake?”
“No. We’re heading back to the club, and your mom wants you back with her.”
“Yeah, I’m just finishing this and I’ll join her.”
“Take her a coffee and something to eat. If your dad wakes up to her looking like shit, he’ll be pissed.”
“When, notif,” he grunts, dropping his gaze from mine. “And remind my brother our dad is in the fucking hospital. He should be here.”
I follow Slade and Ricky to where they parked the van, and the stench of Cas’s blood fills my nose. Cramming up front with Slade, Ricky takes the wheel, and nothing is said during the drive to the club.
When, not if. I seem to be the only one preparing for the worst. The fucker has overcome so much, but the journey to the hospital yesterday has shaken me to the core. It was different, and not because of him declaring his final wishes as he bled out, but because I saw who he is fading in his eyes. Cas is a fighter, no doubt about that, and there’s nothing more a man fights for than his life when he’s been shot.
He knew it himself that this was different.
Pope is perched on a chair by the bar door when we drive through the gates, and Bonnie is sitting on the steps leading up to the main house.
“Give me five minutes. I’ll track down Leo, and then we’ll figure out our next move.”
Climbing out of the van, I leave the door open for Slade and walk toward Bonnie. She stands the closer I get and walks into my arms.
Burying my nose in her hair, she smells like home—my home.
“How is he? I texted Alannah, but she hasn’t replied.”
“Her phone battery died a couple of hours ago, and there’s no change with Cas.”
I’m not ready to let her go when she pulls away, so I pull her back against me.
“You need to eat and shower. You stink.”
Kissing the top of her head, I release her and grab her hand. In the house, chatter comes from the kitchen, but it’s quiet, and I find Leo with Rayna on his lap at the table. Holly, with her damaged hands, sits beside them.
How fucking cosy does this look?
Slumping onto the chair opposite of them, I gratefully accept the mug of coffee from Bon while focusing my attention on Leo.
