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I don’t open my eyes when I ask, “What happened last night?”
She draws a breath. “After the fight, you and I were on our way to meet Lachy and Tom so you could pay your debt.”
“I don’t understand,” I interrupt. “We didn’t have enough money.”
Lachy clears his throat. “I, uh, may have placed a couple of bets on your behalf.”
My left eye flies open to find his sheepish gaze. “Why would you do that? Why would you risk it? I have no way of paying you back.”
His eyes narrow. “I don’t want your money, Harley. You’re as good as a brother to me, and I know if the roles were reversed you would do whatever you could to help me.”
Tears prick the corner of my eyes, and I nod at him. I would move heaven and earth to help my best mate. I force my eyes back to Lily. “Keep going.”
BY THE TIME Lily–or Isabelle–is done filling me in on everything that went down last night, I feel numb. After Lachy heard the first gunshot last night, he panicked and called triple zero.
Apparently, Zeke made up a story about how he snuck up on Declan’s guy and the second gun got knocked towards Lily–Isabelle. She shot Declan in self-defence. He’s going to survive, but he and his henchman have been arrested. Luckily, Zeke’s gun was not registered, and he and Lily were able to gloss over the details of how they were in possession of it.
Zeke agreed to go to the police station to give a statement about why we were all there in the first place and what happened so that she could come to the hospital with me. She didn’t want to leave me until she knew I was going to be okay. The others all have to go in and give their statements tomorrow.
“Am I going to be in trouble over the illegal fights?” I ask.
Tom shakes his head. “Zeke told them we went to watch him fight. He’s taking all the blame, telling them we had no idea it was an illegal fight club.”
It’s a lot to process, and I’m still recovering from a severe concussion. My brain feels foggy, and every time I try to remember any specific details of what they’re all telling me, my head starts to pound with a massive headache.
Lily–Isabelle–fuck, I don’t know what to call her, pushes her chair back and gets to her feet. She leans down and presses her lips to my forehead. “I’m really sorry, Herc. I never wanted you to get hurt.”
My brow furrows. “What are you doing?”
She glances at my brother before forcing her gaze back to me. “Lachy’s going to take me to the police station to give my statement, and then I’m heading back to Blue Haven to pack.”
“Why?”
“What?”
“Why are you going to pack? You’re not going anywhere.”
“But…” She looks at Tom again, and I reach over and grasp her wrist.
“Look at me, Kitten,” I say, squeezing her wrist until she complies. “You’re not going anywhere. I don’t care about who you are, or who your family is. That doesn’t change anything between us.”
“But…” she tries again.
“But nothing. I’ve lost enough people in my life, and I’m not losing you as well. Come here.” I tug her closer, ignoring the burn in my ribs as I reach up with my other hand to pull her face down to meet mine. “I love you, Lily–Kitten–Isabelle–whatever the hell you want me to call you. I bloody love you, and I’m not letting you run anymore. Whatever happens from here on out, we face it together. You hear me?”
Fresh tears pool in her eyes, but she nods. I thread my hands in her dark hair and press my lips to hers, pouring all of the emotion into that one kiss.
“Lily,” she whispers as she pulls away from me. “Call me Lily.”
“There’s one more thing,” Tom says. “Dad’s awake.”
FORTY-NINE
HARLEY
CONRAD IS SITTING next to Dad’s bed chatting to him when Tom wheels me into his hospital room later that afternoon. It’s the first time I’ve seen them together when Dad has been awake, and it’s strange to see their matching blue eyes staring back at me. The same ones Tom and I share.
Conrad has blond hair like his mum, but shares the same jaw structure as Dad. They both have the same dimple in their right cheek when they smile. Seeing these similarities now makes it glaringly obvious to see the family resemblance.
