“I thought we’d put that plan on hold for the moment,” I said.
“We had,” Griff said pointedly.
“Fuck,” I muttered. “That screws with everything. We’re not ready for that yet.”
“You’re fucking telling us,” Scott threw in, clearly stressed.
I grabbed my phone. “I’ll get Merrick to round up some of the boys to come over and set up watch. You’re gonna need eyes on this club, and I’d be putting some on your homes, too.”
“We also need to get to Ricky,” Scott said.
“For what it’s worth, Scott, I didn’t intend to kill Marcus yesterday. I couldn’t control it, though, and for that I’m sorry. But only because of the impact it will have on Storm. I’m not fucking sorry I killed him.”
Scott pushed out a long, tired breath. “Yeah, brother, I’m not sorry you did, either. And we’ll get through this shit like we always do.”
Brother.
It was still there.
“I spoke to Harlow this morning.”
He stared at me for a long moment. “She told you?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, man. I get the impression she’s not coping well with the loss.”
He raked a hand through his hair. “No, she’s not, and as much as I try to figure it all out, she keeps pushing me away. She won’t open up to me and let me help her.”
“Maybe this isn’t something you can figure out. Perhaps it’s something you just have to live through while making sure you’re there for each other.”
“Yeah,” he murmured.
“Jesus, Scott. Sorry, man,” Griff said.
I didn’t say anything, but rather simply watched him and took in everything I figured he must be feeling. Losing a child would be hard enough, but for the woman you loved to shut down on you at the same time would make it even harder.
Sensing Scott’s reluctance to talk about this any further, I changed the subject. “What’s the plan with the club now?”
“I’ve called Church for this afternoon and we’ll vote in a new President,” Griff said.
“Scott?” I asked.
Griff glanced at Scott and then back at me. “That was always the plan, but due to the way shit went down, fuck knows if he’ll get the votes needed.”
“J and Nash are doing the rounds, working out where everyone stands,” Scott said.
“Okay, keep me updated. I’ll call Merrick now and organise
manpower for you.”
Griff nodded. “Thanks, man. Appreciate it.”
As I left, I realised that although I’d fucked with their plan, Scott hadn’t shut down on me. If anything, Marcus’s death was bringing us together in ways I’d never seen coming.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Layla
“Are you okay?” I asked Sharon. She looked exhausted and already had dark circles under her eyes.