Page 6 of Saving Helena

My only saving gracewas that I managed to keep Roscoe safe from club business.Hehadn’tbeen shot or stabbed, or God forbid killed. The heart attackwasn’tanything I could control.

Helena’sshoulders hunchedforward,her arms wrapped around her belly as she reached the gravesite, taking in the coffin and the flowers arranged on top of it. Tears streamed silently down her face.

After a moment, I gave in and reachedover to put an arm around Helena, tugging her into me.She cameeasily, trembling with a sob, leaning against the leather of my jacket with her country club clothes. Sick fuck that I was, I let myself enjoy the feel of her against me; she was such a tiny thing still, even in those heels.

I stood there, not looking at a sea of faces, the air thick with grief. Roscoe was a well-liked man and a good president to the MC.Even though the thought made me nervous, his shoes would bedifficulttofill, but I couldn’t even think about those things when I had Helena Marsh pulled up tight against me.

The men shuffled uneasily around the gravesite. While weweren’tstrangers to the cemetery, we typicallydidn’tcome for such things as heart attacks or sickness.The violence we understood.I knew that Roscoe was a fighter, but I also knew that the idea of him dying to violencewouldn’thave made the loss any less for his daughter.

Thepriest'swords drifted over me, a backdrop against my thoughts. Memories of Roscoe ran through my head. My hand rubbed soothing circles against Helena’s back as I let myself remember.

Just out of the military, I had been walking a line that perhaps could have turned out a whole different direction if Roscoehadn’tseen that I had talent, fire, and determination in me. If he hadn’t made surethat Iwas with a group that set me on the right path—a criminal path, sure, but we hada code of our own.

He had been like a father to me, something I never had. Looking back, I realize I should have thanked him for being there for me when I was going through a tough time and wasn’t even sure if I wanted to keep living. He’d helped me regain a sense of purpose and belonging, introducing me to friends, brothers, and a team had made all the difference.

As the ceremony ended, I felt her body against mine, grounding me in the present moment. I wanted it to go on forever—to keep touching her. I knew that was wrong. She was in a vulnerable place right now, and I wasn’t an asshole.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Helena - 22

Tears spilled over my eyes as I sat next to Maddox in the car on the way back to the club. The funeral had been a blur; Iwasn’teven sure what the pastor had said. Pulling a Kleenex from my purse, I blotted my eyes, although my makeup was probably a lost cause.

Before long, the familiar walls of the club came into focus. Maddox shoved a whiskey into my hand and pulled me towards a back booth, almost unbalancing me on the stupid heels I was wearing.

“Here, princess, drink up.”

Automatically, I took the glass he handed me and tipped it to my lips, watching him as I did, soaking in the sight of Maddox Bishop for the first time in years. He was a sight for sore eyes (and damp panties). Fuck, I should go to hell for that thought, but he was a distraction, and that sounded good right now.

The Open Road was full of members who had come to pay tribute to Dad,bringingfresh tears to my eyes. Damn it. “My dad loved this place,” I mumbled.

Maddox looked over the people spread through the space and nodded.“He did love it here. Roscoe was a good president.”

Taking another drink, I nodded automatically, feeling strangely out of place in my work clothes. Dad would have preferred that I wear jeans rather than this outfit that made me look like I was all city. Then again, I wasn’t even sure that was true. Dad had been fit to bust a gut that I’d graduated and fulfilled what had been his dream for me. So maybe to see me all fancied up would have tickled him.

Haverboro was only forty minutes from Phoenix, but the drive home had seemed so much longer. It certainlyhadn’thelped that I was rushing. My new boss was a complete jackass and had insisted I needed to go into the office that morning. Understandingwasn’tpart of his vocabulary, and I needed this job.

Now, my hair felt too tight, andthe necklace at my throat was choking me. Reaching up, I released the catch and put the pearls in my purse. Instantly, I felt better, even though I knew that Maddox was watching me, which was unsettling.

“Hi, darling,”Whitney slid onto the benchbesideme, slinging an arm around my shoulders.

“Hi, Whitney,”The words grated from my throat in a whisper.

“I’msorry about your dad.”The wordsweren’tnecessary, but I appreciated them nonetheless, especially from him. I was sure they were all going to miss him too. What would happen to the Brotherhood MC without him?

“Thanks.I’llmisshim.”I squeezed him and added,“I know everyone here will, too. He was your rock.”

“You know thatwe’refamily, right?”Whitney said in a low voice.“I knowit’snot the same, but the MC is your family always.”

That lump in my throat almost got the better of me, but instead, I swallowed it down, and when Maddox refilled my glass, Ididn’tsay anything. I was surprised when the phone rang and the Open Road’s number lit up. I’d not gotten a call from the bar in years. For a moment, I wondered if my dad had forgotten his cell phone or if maybe Amber was calling me from the club phone. When Maddox’s voice came on the line, my breath had hitched. I knew it wasn’t good.

My dad hadn’t been the best at caring for himself, everyone else sure. The MC also was high-stress, so the heart attack wasn’t entirely a surprise, but he wasn’t that old.

“You’llstay here, right? For the night?”Amber asked, her eyes full of concern.“You’redead on your feet, honey.”

Thinking about the responsibilities that waited for me in Phoenix and with my new boss, I knew that Icouldn’tjust call off. I had already moved to coffee and water in preparation for driving back. There was no way that I could call in tomorrow – funeral or not.

“Ican’t.”Shaking my head, Ididn’tbother to offer amore extensiveexplanation. Even my bones felt tired, but there was no way the apartment I’d leased would pay for itself. There was no one to call now for that extra hundred dollars if I was short on rent. I had to stand on my own two feet.

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