Page 121 of Sinful Skulls
She grabs my arm, stopping me. “I’m scared. Don’t leave me.”
A little voice tells me this is it.
I lean over her. “Just keep looking at me. I won’t leave you,” I promise.
It’s quiet in the house, the only sound from the gentle chimes drifting in through the window.
I cradle her face in my hands, trying not to put any weight on her chest. She’s struggling enough as it is. “I love you,” I whisper, but I’m unable to stop my tears. They spill over my cheeks.
She reaches up and wipes them away. “Don’t die with me,” she says so quietly I can barely hear her. Her gaze wanders away from me, and she smiles at something in the corner of the room. “You’re right, love never dies.”
“Who are you talking to?” I ask, my heart beating out of my chest as I watch my wife walk a line between two worlds.
I feel her relax, and a weak smile pulls at her lips. “He’s got a whiskey ready for me.”
The wind blows the chimes again, and I drop my head to her chest. This can’t be happening. Not now. She pushes her fingers into my hair, holding me against her body. “Tell the boys I love them.”
I lift my head as my world falls apart before my very eyes. “I will,” I hear myself tell her, even though my mind is screaming at her to stay and tell them herself. I hold her face in my hands again, summoning every ounce of strength I have left in me. “I love you, Rachel. It’s okay to let go now.”
“I love you,” she says, struggling to get each word out. She gasps a few times, and it breaks my already splintered heart in half. We stare into each other’s eyes. I know the moment she leaves.
Something I never thought she’d do.
My hand brushes over her eyelids, and I let out a sound I didn’t know I was capable of making. It’s the last time I will ever see her unique eyes again. I lower my head back to her chest, and I lie there in the silence, stunned.
I stay there until not even my body heat can keep hers warm.
And then I make the worst call of my life.
Chapter Forty-Six
Brody
Rachel died on a Wednesday, and we buried her the following Saturday. It was one of the biggest funerals I’ve ever seen. She was loved inside as well as outside of the club. Bikes lined the streets. There were so many chapters, we pretty much took over the entire town for a few days.
Today would have been her birthday.
I lay the bouquet of lilacs on her headstone. They look miniscule next to the elaborate flowers left by everyone else.
I glance back at Raffe as he rests against a nearby tree, an almost empty bottle of Jack perched between his legs. Jackson was out here earlier today and tried to get him to leave, but he wouldn’t budge. He called me to come check on him. I was headed out here anyway. I’ve never missed her birthday, and her being gone wasn’t going to change that.
This isn’t the first time Jackson’s called and asked me to help drag his dad out of the cemetery. We’ve found him out here several nights, slopping drunk.
Jackson’s plate is so fucking full right now, I honestly feel sorry for the man. Willow had her baby a week after Rachel passed. They think it was stress induced, but little Aspen Rachel is doing great. The little shit is strong. She’s had to stay in the NICU for the last month, but it sounds like she should be coming home in a week or two.
We were hoping it might lift Raffe’s spirits, but that’s not been the case. He’s taking Rachel’s death harder than I imagined. The whole club has. Honestly, I don’t know if I’d be doing much better if it wasn’t for the angel by my side. Daisy’s been amazing.
“We’re trying,” I whisper quietly to the cold stone in front of me. With a sigh, I turn around and walk over to him.
“How about I give you a ride home, old man.”
He lifts the bottle to his mouth, ignoring me. Raffe takes a long drink before he waves his bottle toward the headstones. “Jackson has two mothers, and I couldn’t save either one of them.”
My gaze roams over the area, not really knowing what to say. Just then my wife pulls up. We both turn to watch as she gets out of the car. A warmth settles over me, and the wind picks up. The woman is so beautiful, even the dead take a breath.
Raffe shakes his head, knowing he’s about to be defeated.
“I thought I might find you both out here.”
