Page 30 of Utah

I spotted the peppermints on the bedside table and placed one between her lips. Her thanks came out on a mumble as I reached for her hand to help her to her feet. Several moments later, she finally looked at me, her half-smile filled with a blend of tiredness and worry.

“You really don’t have to go. Why don’t you stay home and rest until you have to go to work?” I hated the mention of her job, but my concern for her well-being trumped any jealousy I had.

“I’ll be okay.” She snagged the tin of mints and tossed them into her purse. “How long do we have before we gotta leave?” she asked as she walked toward her closet.

“Half hour.”

The one thing I loved about Ria was that she wasn’t the type of woman who took forever to get ready. She didn’t fuss over every tiny detail of her outfit or her hair, yet she always looked phenomenal.

“Plenty of time.”

“I’ll wait for you in the living room.”

The clank of the metal hangers sliding across the steel bar as she searched for an outfit echoed in the small space as I left and closed the door behind me.

Twenty-five minutes later, Ria waltzed into the living room wearing a sleeveless black dress that was tied at her waist. Her black heels added at least two inches to her height. She styled her hair straight, tucking it behind her ears. She looked gorgeous. Elegant.

I realized we were going to a fellow brother’s funeral, but all I could think about at that moment was what I needed to do to get this woman to agree to be mine in every sense of the word.

16

We weren’t the first to arrive at the church. Most of the guys were already here, milling around outside. Everyone wore the same solemn expression. I still couldn’t wrap my head around what happened. Crash was gone. I’d witnessed his demise firsthand, yet the entire incident seemed like nothing more than a nightmare.

“Hey, sis.” Knox and Kyla strode toward us, his voice pulling me away from my own thoughts. His attention briefly swerved to me before focusing on his sister again. “What are you doing here?” he asked as he kissed her cheek.

“I wanted to be here for you both. I didn’t know Crash well, but he was important to the club, and I wanted to show my support.”

“That’s sweet of you.” He flashed her a grin before he looked back at me. “Can I have a word with you?”

“This isn’t about me being here, is it?” Ria tugged on his arm.

“Not at all. Club business.”

She and Kyla shared a look right before I followed Knox around to the side of the church.

“What’s up?”

“Are you still going to Mexico?” he asked.

“Yeah, why?” My heart slowed in anticipation he’d argue I wasn’t healed enough or tell me that the trip had even been postponed.

“Because I was gonna go, too, but I’m not sure now. I mean, I wanna get justice for Crash as much as anyone else, but I got other shit I gotta worry about. If something happens to me, who’s gonna look out for Kyla? My mom? My sisters?”

I squeezed his shoulder in understanding. “You don’t have to explain. Besides, your sister pitched a fit when she found out I was going. I could only imagine what she’d do if she learned you were making the trip as well.” Our mirrored half-grins disappeared as quickly as they graced our faces. “Do you know who else is going?”

“Prez, Marek, and Stone for sure. Not sure about the rest yet. I’m sure Prez will call a meeting beforehand.”

“We only got two days left.”

“I know.” Knox ran his hand over the top of his head. “I fuckin’ hope Marek and Prez put an end to this shit with Carrillo once and for all. The last thing I wanna do is go to another one of our funerals, and definitely not my own.”

“No one else is dying,” I stated, although I didn’t truly believe my response.

I couldn’t predict the future. I had no way of knowing how our meeting with the head of the cartel would go. He could side with his nephew. I’d heard his health wasn’t the best. Maybe he didn’t want to get in the middle of this war because he’d be dead sooner than later. All I could do was speculate, which I didn’t believe ever worked in anyone’s favor.

Knox bumped my shoulder. “It’s gonna be a shitty day, my friend.”

“That’s for sure. I hope there’s enough booze at the clubhouse because I plan on getting fucked up.”

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