“I’m fucking sorry, brothers. I couldn’t save her. If she wasn’t with me, she would have been fine,” I say with pain and regret clear in my voice.
Prez immediately shakes his head. “It’s not your fault, brother. We know that you would have done anything, even die yourself in that fire, had she still been alive. That fucker Vince will get what’s coming to him.”
“Do you know where he is?” I finally ask the question I have been wanting to know.
I knew that he was so sure he was going to get Sophie.
A smirk comes across Damien’s face. “We’ve got him in the holding cells.”
I can’t help that my eyes widen in surprise.
When I look at Prez, he nods his head. “We will deal with him after we say goodbye to an Old Lady. She deserves it,” he says looking at me and then Torch.
Torch nods his head and then walks out the door without a word.
I can’t help but close my eyes tightly as emotion overtakes me.
I feel like I’ve let the club down by not getting Stacey out of there sooner.
Sophie
I felt so much relief when Colton finally opened his eyes. There was nothing I wanted more. When I finally got to see him, I couldn’t help but cry at how he looked. He was bruised and swollen all over, and he had burns all over his arms and ankles. I knew that they wouldn’t heal without scarring him, but that wouldn’t bother me because I am just so relieved that he is alive. I’d rather have him than worry about burn scars.
When he told us the details of what happened, I could feel the anger and sadness coming over everyone.
I was glad that we already had Vince locked away because after what he did, and letting Stacey die, he deserves whatever they decide to do to him.
The day after Colton woke up, we were burying Stacey.
This will be one of the hardest days that I have ever had to face.
I had gotten close to Stacey. She was a great person to be around and now I can’t help but feel absolutely terrible that this happened to her.
Colton wanted to be released, but he had to wait to heal. The doctor had given Shield and him permission to leave for the funeral, but they were expected back at the hospital afterward.
We had a nurse planned to come with us. I would never ask Olivia or Krista since they are friends with Stacey and would need to grieve or help our club grieve for their loved one.
Olivia had asked her friends Katy and Danielle to help in case anything went wrong with Trigger or Shield.
The cemetery was completely full of people. There were a lot of people there who had worked at the salon with her, and there were also a ton of bikers. I noticed more than Vicious Snakes cuts out there and had seen some Wicked Dragons. I knew that Krista’s dad wouldn’t let her out of his sight for a while, but he was also paying his respects to the club.
It seems like over the course of Stacey’s life, and since she had become a member of the Vicious Snakes, she had touched a lot of hearts. There isn’t a person who didn’t love her smartass comments and sassiness.
The casket was closed because of the fire doing damage to her body, but I was told she was wearing her Old Lady’s cut.
I look down at the one I’m wearing, close my eyes, and take a deep breath.
When I open my eyes again, I look over to where I know Torch is
standing with his parents, brother, and sister.
I can see how broken he is. His eyes are red with black circles underneath. I would bet that the only reason he has cleaned himself up is because of his mother.
He doesn’t bother hiding the tears streaming down his face.
When it comes time for the funeral to end, he stands there and falls to his knees like he can’t bear to carry himself anymore. He drops to the ground and tries to push everyone who is trying to help him.
“Why did this happen?” he yells, and Lily comes to put her arms around him. He doesn’t push her away, wrapping his arms around his mother.
“I don’t know, sweetheart. We will get through this,” Lily whispers in a
broken voice.
“It hurts, it hurts so fucking much, mom,” he says as he breaks down clutching to his mom for dear life.
Prez comes up to the other side of him to kneel and wraps his arms around both of them.
I watch as my heart cracks wide open for him.
Colton grabs my hand as he slowly walks away bringing me with him.
I give Torch one last glance before I leave.
They have a big thing going on for Stacey at the clubhouse, but we need =to get Trigger and Shield back to the hospital.
I don’t want to leave my man’s side for anything right now. As I clutch to his side, I grieve for the friend that I had made and the short life she had that was taken away.
Chapter Twenty
Trigger ‘Colton’
Four weeks later
It gets harder and harder every day to watch my brother fall apart. I don’t think that there has been a day since the funeral that Torch was sober. He has been drunk since he got back to the clubhouse. I don’t know what it will take to bring
