Page 4 of Stone

I hit the button, so the call comes through the small speaker beside the dial buttons as the heavy feeling of doom hits me hard in the gut. Whatever this is about, Smoke needs to hear it too, because whatever shit is going to hit the fan, he’s my president and my closest friend.

“Hello?”

“Is that Gabriel Linus Parish, brother to Jacob Ezra Parish of 2045 Blossom Walk, Billings?”

“Yeah, that’s me. What’s happened?” My palms are already sweaty.

Three months after joining the Young Outlaws, my headspace a little clearer, my demons less controlling, I’d reached out to Jacob. Since then, we have stayed in contact. The day they announced I was going to be an uncle, I was so fucking happy, I couldn’t stop smiling. When the call came to tell me Savannah had gone into labor, I rode all night to get there. It was the first time in a long while that I’d returned to my hometown, but it was worth every ass aching moment when I walked through that hospital door to see Jacob holding the sweetest baby girl I’d ever seen. I just stood there, watching and in complete awe at the hypnotic, powerful insta-love. You could feel the unbreakable connection between them. That small hospital room was drowned with an intensity I had never experienced before, making me feel like an imposter. But as my brothers’ eyes connected with mine, the welcoming smile had taken my breath away, sweeping away all my trepidations.

It was during the following bi-weekly visits that I realized Savannah was an incredible woman and perfect for Jacob. She handled him with a firm hand and loved him feverously. A natural blonde with azure blue eyes that could melt you like butter but also beat you into submission. Her alabaster skin was the perfect canvas for her small, upturned nose, high cheekbones and pink bow-shaped lips. Above all that, she gave me the one thing that made me want to do better. She gave me my beautiful niece, Sasha.

“I’m Officer Wahlberg, Billings PD. I’m afraid your brother and his family have been involved in a serious incident on the I90 and…” the female’s voice wavered.

“How bad is it?” I croak out past the bile that threatens to choke me.

“Well, could you possibly make your way over to Billings, or if that’s not convenient, I can get a local officer to meet you at Reno police station?”

“I’ll tell you what’s not fucking convenient.” I lean forward so my mouth is nearer to the speakerphone. “You, bullshitting me. Now tell me, how bad is it?”

“This is not something we like to discuss over the phone, Mr Parish.” Despite the determined tone of her voice, I don’t back down. Cop or no cop.

“Well, Officer Wahlberg, I don’t give two shits on what you like or don’t like. Tell me the fucking truth. What’s the situation?”

After a moment of silence, I hear her take a sharp intake of breath.

“I’m afraid your brother’s wife, Savannah, was pronounced dead at the scene.” I grip the table's edge to keep myself from hitting the floor. “Your brother was airlifted to St Luke’s and was rushed into surgery, but despite everything, they were unable to save him.” My head is swimming, the tightness in my chest crushing the air from my lungs. A strong hand clutches my shoulder. Smoke is no longer opposite me but right by my side, no doubt feeling the pain along with me.

“Sasha?” I manage to push out the words, hissing. I’m not sure whether I want to know because my heart already feels like it’s been pulled apart. But I have to know. I have to face the facts. “What about Sasha? Was she in the car?”

“She was.” I groan out in pain, not from the pain from my knees hitting the hard stone floor. That’s nothing compared to the raging anguish consuming my whole body. Sasha, my adorable Sasha. “But she’s fine, apart from a few tiny cuts and bruises. She was in the back, and despite the car rolling several times, the child safety seat kept her secure enough so that she didn’t receive any significant injury.”

“Thank god,” I gasp. Smoke hooks a strong arm under my own and helps me to my feet. Despite the relief of knowing Sasha is okay, every muscle in my body is rigid, and my chest compacts with heartbreak. But my concern for my baby niece has me blurting out what I desperately need to know. “Where is she?”

“Child services are arranging for a temporary foster family until…” she goes silent, which is possibly due to the deep growl of distaste that burst from within me. “Sir, we’re struggling to locate any other family members on her mother’s side who could take the child, so we had no option.”

“That’s because there aren’t any.”

Savannah had been through the system until she’d hit the tender age of sixteen and found her way through hard work, tears, and of the worst situations. Although, she said that they had been a breeze compared to the children’s homes she’d had to endure.

“I’ll take her.” I blurt out, knowing Savannah would be already planning how she would haunt the living daylights out of me if I let her child go through the horrors that she had. “Give me a mobile number where I can contact you.” Officer Wahlberg rumbles off a number, and I punch it straight into my mobile. I ring it, the sound of ‘Ridin’ by Chamillionaire can be heard, but the song’s hip hop shit, so I cut the call. “You got my number in case you need me. I’ll let you know what time I’ll be getting into Billings. Make sure whatever needs to be done is done so I can take care of Sasha.”

“It’s not quite as simple as that,” she fires back at me.

“Well, make it simple because if you think I’m going to give up on the only blood family I have left, then you’re deluded.” I cut the call, eager to get on the road, but a firm hand hits me hard on my shoulder, holding me firmly in place.

“Take a breath, Stone.” Smoke’s firm hold stops me from rushing towards the door. “You’re not in the right frame of mind to go ass tearing off on your ride.”

“It will be quicker than the truck.” I jerk away from him and stomp towards the door.

“Not if I’m the one driving.” Smoke moves between me and the way out of here. “Don’t think I’ll let you go through this on your own, do yah?”

“Smoke, this is not your problem.”

“Like fuck it’s not.” He grabs the keys for the Ford F150 pickup from the hooks hanging at the side of the doorway. “Now grab what you need while I call Mayhem and bring him up to speed, and I’ll meet you out front.”

ChapterThree

Stone

---