Page 83 of A New Era

“Effie is gone!” he hollers and his brothers cheer. “After I return from London, we’ll know exactly what’s in store for the club, but I do know it will be fuckin’ glorious. I meant what I said, the Lost Souls are moving into the future with the thirst of blood and no fuckin’ weakness in our hearts. Who are we?”

A chill runs down my spine when everyone hollers, “Lost Souls till we die!”

I join Leo in saying goodbye to the Mercy and Five Falls chapters and get the hint that something’s wrong with JP. Leo and Cas especially, hug it out with him longer than they do with everyone else.

“Prez, got a second?”

Leo keeps me at his side and Mason tells him, “I’m not gonna go to Dog City. I’ll head South with Wyatt. Show ‘em what it means to be a Lost Soul.”

Leo fist-bumps him, and he looks around. “Take a few brothers with you. Keep JJ informed and make sure those fuckers know who we fuckin’ are.”

“You got it.”

Leo spins me into his arms. “See, life has a way of falling into place.”

I’ve experienced Hell firsthand, excuse the pun. I’ve known what it is to live with fear trying to crush you every second of every hour of every day. I know all too well what it is to suffocate in the dark. Though the day Leo brought me to his home was the day my life changed, I just didn’t see it at the time. Love saved me. Leo’s love. Rayna’s love. Even the club’s love. Above all, I learned how to love, and I can admit, I’m finally at a place where I love myself. I’ll always hate the sight of my hands, but I own my scars. My attacker could’ve killed me that day. But he didn’t. I’m still here and I’m here with the man of my dreams and a beautiful daughter who loves me so much she thinks of me as her mom. I couldn’t ask for more.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Leo

The plane hits the tarmac on the runway and Holly’s grip on my hand tightens to the point I’m certain she’s cutting off my blood supply.

The flight attendant’s voice comes over the speaker and lets us know we’ve landed and Holly leans in and whispers, “We’ve got a problem.”

Arching my brow, I try not to laugh. Instead, I ask, “What would that be?”

“I did not like that and right now, you’re not getting me on a plane home.”

I laugh. “Out of everything, you’re scared of aeroplanes?”

She snorts. “Out of everything?”

“My wife is fearless, not even an aeroplane can take her down.”

“Just because you add ‘My wife’ to things now doesn’t mean I’ll believe it.”

It takes a while to get from the plane out to the pickup bay, where Ben is waiting for us. In the place of an SUV I’m so used to seeing with them, is a top-of-the-line Range Rover.

“How was the flight?” he asks as I note he’s alone.

“Too long,” I say as Holly says, “Terrifying.”

He laughs and opens the door for her. She climbs inside and I tell her, “Call Mom and let her know we’ve landed.”

I close the door and light a cigarette. After going without for so long, I smoke two before I join her.

“I trust there hasn’t been any trouble on your end since the docks?” Ben asks.

“Nothing so far.”

The airport is chaotic but as soon as we hit the highway, or motorway as they call it here, there’s nothing but green fields on either side of us.

“How long is it to London?”

“Not long. You’ll be staying at Jamie Boy’s hotel while you’re here.”

“He owns a hotel?” Holly asks.

---