Page 124 of Wicked Ends
“I’m okay. Believe it or not, it’s not the first time it’s happened since I came to Hade Harbor.”
Sally raised an eyebrow. “What the hell? Someone else drugged you? Who?”
“The kind of guy who doesn’t care about rules either.” I stretched this way and that, as carefully as I could.
“We need to go to the hospital and see about your injuries. You’re a patchwork quilt right now,” Sally worried.
“It can wait. Trust me, none of them need attention, they’ll heal okay. I speak from experience.”
Sally stared at me and slowly shook her head, then surprised me by pinching the bridge of her nose, as if she was trying to stop herself from tearing up.
“Sorry, it’s just—you remind me of my mom. She and my dad didn’t have a great relationship, and no one knew. No one suspected because she was so damn good at putting on a brave face. She was made from steel—like you.”
“No, it’s not true. I’ve bent and broken plenty of times. I only found the courage to change things when it affected someone I loved.”
Sally tilted her head. “But, even when it was just you, it was affecting someone you loved… or you should have loved… yourself.”
“Yeah, maybe that’s the problem. Anyway, where’s your brother?” I asked Sally.
She sat on the edge of the bed. “On his way north, I guess. Whoever they were following seemed to have stopped moving, so they got on the road.”
“Do you know where?” I asked quickly.
Sally nodded and then eyed me with a worried look as I got up. “Saguenay, Quebec. But why?”
My mouth turned dry. Not far from where I’d suspected Claire had run to. He was going after his family, regardless of the money he’d stolen in Hade Harbor.
“We need to go after them.”
“What? Why?”
“Because there’s more to the story than they know. He’s going after his wife and kid. They can’t get caught in the middle of all this. They can’t!”
Sally pulled her phone from her pocket. “I’ll call Gage.”
“We should call as we drive,” I argued back.
I could see Sally was about to disagree, and I took her hands.
“You don’t have to come with me—but I need to go. This is my story, my brother, my sister-in-law and niece. I need to be there. I have to see it all through.”
Sally hesitated for another moment but seemed to notice the resolve in my eyes.
She nodded. “Okay, we’ll call from the road.”
The drive seemed to take forever, our car barreling endlessly down the dark highway.
I called Marcus again and again, but he hadn’t answered even once. He’d gone with them, I knew it. I might have been pretty out of it, but the image of him in a Harbor Hounds cut was seared into my brain forever.
Why had he been wearing that? Why? He wasn’t a Hound, and he’d never wanted to become one. Everything felt wrong.
“Gage knows about the wife and kid, don’t worry.” Sally looked over at me. “Though I think they aren’t the only people you’re worried about.”
“I don’t want any of the MC to get hurt because of me. I took the bag, it was stupid. I got caught up—I forgot that life always fucks you. My brother always makes everything worse. I actually let myself think he was dead. And it made me so happy,” I confessed softly. It was the first time I’d said those damning words out loud.
“There’s nothing wrong with that sentiment. Hey, I know men like Dale. He sounds like my father, and if there were ever a man who deserved an untimely accident, it was him.”
“Still, I don’t want to be the kind of person who wishes someone was dead. That’s just—it’s awful.”
