Page 11 of Grave Stone

You don’t know that.

I made a noise of discontent. My inner narrator was pissing me off.

“What was that?” Sin asked, bringing my attention back to the present.

“Sorry, Prez. My fucking head hurts. Didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“Halo, get him an ice pack and text Stitch to make sure he’s at the clubhouse. I want him to take a look at Stone after we’re finished here,” Sin said, then directed his attention to me. “I asked if you counted the money.”

“Fuck. I completely forgot. I’ll do it now.”

“No the fuck you won’t. Stay right there and put that ice on your head. Danger, count it and make sure it’s all there.”

“Even if the money’s right, we need to talk to Johnny first,” Juice said. “Want to send someone to get him?”

“Yeah, but not a prospect. Send Radar or Cross.”

“Cash is correct,” Danger said.

Sin nodded. “Put it in the safe. I want to get back to the clubhouse and call church.”

Fuck. Sitting through church was something I didn’t want to do. I wanted to sleep until my head stopped hurting. I visibly sagged with relief when I saw one of the club’s golf carts parked outside. The crematory wasn’t far from the clubhouse, but it was farther than I wanted to walk with a pounding headache in the sweltering heat.

“You can thank me for that.” Juice patted my shoulder as he passed me on his way to the cart. “But I’m not waiting for you, so get moving.”

Juice took off as soon as I dropped into the seat, leaving his three sons to walk back. “You okay after that?”

I knew what he meant, and I appreciated him asking it the way he did, which is probably why I answered with a sliver of the truth. “It rattled me.”

“I’d be worried if it didn’t, but give them a chance to find out what happened before you get lost in your head about it. We already know it’s not the same situation.”

Even though it made me sound heartless, what bothered me the most about the situation with Kim was the uncertainty. After everything, it was impossible to know whether she was inside. For the first year or two, I didn’t believe the note; I thought she had left and was being dramatic about it. But as time went on, she didn’t resurface. I didn’t know what to think, so I did my best not to think about it.

“I’ll be fine, but I’ll probably triple-check caskets from now on.”

“I probably would, too,” he laughed.

Back at the clubhouse, Sin called the rest of the officers in for church. He filled them in while we waited for Radar to return with Johnny.

“I don’t think Johnny had anything to do with this shit, but we’ll see what he has to say when he gets here,” Sin said.

“Do we know who she is?” Cross asked.

“Not yet, but Glitch is working on it.”

“I haven’t seen her around the club,” Cross said. “I’d remember her.”

“You’re not that lucky.” What the fuck was I doing?

“Looks like you weren’t either.”

“Knock it off,” Sin ordered. “They’re here.”

When they entered the room, Sin gestured for Johnny to take a seat.

“What’s this all about?” Johnny asked.

Sin handed him a printout of the image from our security camera. “Do you recognize her?”