AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Mason long forgotten, I numbly walk toward my father-in-law and, at first, see the tears staining Sparky and Dex’s cheeks. I watch their pain because looking down at Ricky isn’t something I can cope with right now.
Death comes for us all, but not like this. He came to save his son, and it cost him everything.
“Maybe if we get him to the hospital…”
“No, Aspen, he’s gone. He ain’t coming back.”
My gaze finally lowers and rests on his face. A trail of blood from the corner of his mouth has run down the side of his face. The bullet hole on the left side of his forehead is a stark reminder he is, in fact, not coming back from this.
I always thought the Simmons had the perfect family. Of course, the males were in a motorcycle club, but the love they all shared outweighed the cons their lifestyle brought their way.
My hand slips to my stomach, needing to protect my baby. Not that there’s any danger around me now.
It amazes me that you can be around someone, and then, within hours, they’re gone. Never to be seen or spoken to again, no matter how much you wish it differently.
Oh God, Mason.
“Has Mason and Myles been told yet?”
Cas comes up beside me, staring down at his brother’s lifeless body.
“They’re not exactly in any position to hear it right now,” he tells me.
“What do you mean? What is it no one’s telling me?”
“Aspen…” A van I recognise as one of the club’s speeds by us on the dirt road and toward the house. “Mason and Myles are gonna be brought out in seconds, and I’m gonna need you not to lose your head, okay? They’re both clinging to life, and we’re clinging to the fact they have pulses, weak, but still there, nonetheless.”
“Mason? I just saw him! He was fine!”
“He was shot. He didn’t notice himself at first.” He holds onto my arms. “They look dead, but they’re not. Okay. They’re still with us.”
I nod. It’s all I can do.
Mason made me leave. Did he know he had been shot then? Did he think he was dying and sent me away? Cas’s concern is marred by the point I’m now seeing two of him, and the world around us is spinning fast.
“Get her down before she falls,” I think it’s Sparky who says.
I want to tell them I’m fine, but the words are a distant task I cannot grasp.
Strong hands guide me down onto the grass, pushing my head to my knees.
“Deep breaths, Aspen. Long, deep breaths.”
Mason is going to need me. I do as Cas tells me, and slowly, painfully slowly, I right myself.
“Thank…” I’m cut off when brothers rush out of the house and toward the van backing up for them.
From here, I can’t see if it’s my Mason or Myles. Clambering up to my feet, I run toward them to find Mason being lifted by Zach and Jonah and Leo pressing a blood-soaked hoodie to his side. Both brothers are raised into the back of the van, and Leo disappears with them. Everything is happening so fast, I nearly miss my chance to go with them. Zach goes to slam the doors shut, but I rush forward.
“Hold on!”
I climb inside the van, and then the doors are shut a final time, and I’m forced back as the van speeds away from the house.
“If he comes around, don’t mention his dad,” Leo tells me quietly. “He’ll need all he has to fight.”
I nod quickly, my head bouncing up and down comically.
Looking between the two brothers, they look dead, yet peaceful with it. Together.
