Page 37 of Darlin'

"What happened?" Tiny asks, clocking his pistol.

"Snakes," Jesse spits. He looks down at me. "Don't wait up."

"Why—" But he's already gone.

My head spins as I reenter the bar and somehow end up at Marlow's table, my vision blurred with all the worst case scenarios.

"Ayy," Marlow hollers. "Savvy!" She stares at me for a minute before asking in a flatter tone. "Hey, what's wrong?"

"I...I don't know—" Motorcycles rumble from the parking lot, drawing our attention out the windows. "Jesse got a call, and he...he just left with Tiny andRocco." Pippa swallows, gripping her drink tighter. "Apparently, there's a problem."

"He say what?" Marlow asks, nervously tapping her nails against the table.

"All he said wassnakes," I say, swallowing. "What...what does that mean?"

"Shit." Pippa pulls out her phone, as does Marlow. "Means we're not sleeping tonight."

"Wh—" My voice catches in my throat. "I don't..."

"Snakes means Vipers," Marlow explains, calling Beau. "And that's never good news." She grunts when there's no answer. "Fuck's sake." She looks up at my white face and passes me her drink. "Chug this and focus on something else." She points to Poe's table. "He needs another beer. Go work, Sav. I'll get someone to give you a ride home when you close."

"I—"

"Just do it, Savannah," Pippa says in an experienced, motherly tone. "There's no point in worrying. Nothing we can do."

But Idoworry. I worry for the next six hours of the shift. I worry the entire night as I sleep alone in Jesse's house.

I worry when he's not there in the morning.

CHAPTER 11

Happy Ending

"We shouldn't be doing this,"I mutter under my breath, fatigue lingering in my bones from the lack of sleep. The nail tech applies a top coat on my blush pink nails, and I can’t even appreciate how cute it looks. “This feels wrong, Marlow. We should be at the clubhouse or something. Maybe they're back or?—"

"Listen." Marlow sighs beside me as Pippa examines her hot pink acrylics. "There's no point in sitting at home and worrying, okay? This isn't the first time they've gone AWOL, and I'm sure it won't be the last."

I swallow, uneasy. "That's not very comforting."

"Marlow's right, Sav," Pippa chimes in, checking her phone. "Trust me. For the first five years of my marriage, I did just that; sat at home and waited for my phone to ring. And yeah, eventually it did, but not by my doing." She stands up, circling the plush leather chair and stopping behind me. She puts a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "All we can do is keep living our lives. I know this isnew to you, but have some faith in our boys. It'll take more than a couple of rattlesnakes to put them in a grave." She smiles down at me, waiting for some sort of understanding, but Idon'tunderstand. I give her a weak nod, which is enough for now. "Let's go, okay? I need a new bra."

The warm San Diego sun beats down on my face as I lethargically follow Marlow and Pippa in and out of stores. How can they be shopping at a time like this? How can they go on with their daily routines? It's been nearly twenty-four hours since Jesse rode off with Tiny and Rocco. No calls. No texts. Nothing. What if they're hurt? What if they're lying in a ditch somewhere? What if...

"Oooo," Pippa sings, grabbing my hand as she drags me inside a bookstore. "Come on, mama needs new smut." She speed walks to the romance section, beaming as she picks up a book. "Hmm... barbarians, huh? Color me intrigued."

"Hey," Marlow whispers in a gentle tone, pulling to the side. "Just relax, Savannah, okay? I know you're worried, but I promise they're okay."

"How can you promise that, Mar?" I ask, slowly weaving through aisles full of happy endings. I pray this one's happy too. "We have no idea where they are or what happened. You said so yourself that the Vipers are bad news. Why aren't you more concerned?"

"I am," Marlow admits, shoulders heavy as she shrugs. "But I trust that Beau can take care of himself. He's not alone out there, Savannah. He's with Jesse and his family;they know what they're doing. And like I said, this isn't the first time they've disappeared, and I doubt it'll be the last."

"And you're...you're okay with that?" I ask meekly, mindlessly picking up and putting down books as we stroll. "The not knowing?"

"I don't have a choice," Marlow says matter-of-factly. "I love him, and this is the life he chose, which means it's the life I'm choosing too."

"I don't knowwhyhe'd choose this life," I murmur. "He had so much potential. He could've done anything, and he decided to dothis? I don't get it, Marlow, I really don't."

"Sometimes, it's not our job to understand," she says. "Sometimes, it's just our job to support."