31. King

Chapter 31

King

We've been riding our bike for the last ten miles, escorting Diego's body to its final resting place. The Devil's Blaze Kentucky Chapter and North Carolina Chapter—led by a man they call Beast—are first, followed by the Savage Brothers Kentucky Chapter and Tennessee Chapter. Our crew is bringing up the rear, with Ford leading us.

I discovered that they are burying Diego on a hill near Skull and Beth's home. The grave is beside Beth's father's. It's a beautiful piece of property. I have to admit Kentucky is prettier than I have given it credit for. The Devil's Blaze Chaplin is standing by the graveside as we pull up on our bikes. We all take our seats, standing behind the green rug that is made to imitate grass. That is spread over the gravesite that has wood covering the grave underneath. Diego's casket will go there for the duration of the service.

It probably sounds stupid, but I've never been to a funeral. We never really had one since I've been a member of Ford's club. The men we've lost have been traitors, mostly. We did have a small one for Tweet, but it was nothing like this. The only other person in my life that I would have gone to a funeral for would have been my mother. I was denied that. After seeing all the crap that Dragon had his men send me, I'm wondering if I knew my mother at all. I've been doing my best to ignore it for now and not deal with it. It's probably not the most adult way to handle things, but at this point, it is what it is.

Skull's other son is a member of the Blaze, too. They call him Digger. He, along with Torch, Dragon, a guy called Sabre, Beast, and another man they refer to as Shaft, are carrying the casket. It's silent around us as they place the casket down. All gazes turn to the Chaplain. I heard Dragon and Dom call him Preacher, which I suppose fits. The guy looks close to T's age. He's a tall, lanky dude with bright blond hair. His skin is paper-white. If I didn't see muscles, I'd be afraid the man was on death's door himself.

The service doesn't last long. He talks about Diego and there are a few laughs, a few smiles, but a lot of tears. I try to concentrate on what the man says, but it's beyond me for the most part. I'm more than ready to get out of here.

Once he's done talking, he walks over to the casket. I watch as he takes the cut that is draped over the casket. It's stretched out over a club flag with the club's emblem, which is a bike with flames. Written around that are the words, ‘Live Ride and Die' . Digger comes up and takes the cut from Preacher. It's a duplicate of the cut Diego wore and is being buried in. Several others come up and get the flag and fold it. Torch takes it and follows Digger as they hand the cut to Skull and the flag to Beth. Digger kisses his mother on the cheek. Her silent tears become sobs as she holds onto him.

My gaze moves to Gabby. She's sitting beside her mother, but she's withdrawn into herself. The service itself was quick, and I'm glad. Gabby looks like a strong wind would bowl her over.

Dom and Thea come to stand by me. Dom slaps his hand against my back.

"Hey," I say. I'm starting to really like the asshole and there's a part of me that resents it.

"Hey, I see you broke away from Kayden," he jokes.

"It wasn't easy. Your sister is a talker," I mutter good-naturedly with a smile.

"She is, but don't forget, she's your sister now, too. Once Kayden claims you, there's no going back."

"I'm getting that impression," I laugh.

Dom's gaze moves over the crowd, and I notice it lights on Gabby. He frowns. "Shit," he mutters.

"She's struggling," I tell him, letting him know that I've noticed too.

"Yeah, I might talk to Skull about getting her into therapy," he murmurs.

"If he'll listen," I mutter, not liking how Gabby is always alone right now.

Dom grunts. I think maybe that means he's noticed the same things I have, but I could be wrong.

Thea had been talking to her sister Skylar, but when Skylar walks away, she turns her attention back to us. "You okay, Dom?" she asks, picking up on our uneasiness about Gabby.

Dom immediately looks down at her. "Yeah, Gorgeous. We're just a little worried about Gabby. I think I'll talk to Skull and see if he will talk to her about therapy."

"It might help. She seems okay in person, though. Did I tell you she came over and apologized to me earlier?"

"How'd that go?"

"It was fine. I didn't really know what to say. She asked if we'd found any trace of Mattie and told me how sorry she was. After a few awkward moments, she left."

"I'm heading to North Carolina after the service is over. I'm going to help them continue to look for him."

"Thanks, King. We're all taking it so hard. I know Dad and Mom will be heading down there, too. They've been a mess. They searched the lake the last three days down there and when they found Mattie's cut, Mom completely lost it. The doctor had to sedate her. Dad hasn't said anything, but I think he's given up hope. I haven't. If he were dead, a body would have been found by now."

"I have no answers, Thea, baby, but we will find him," Dom promises her, hugging her close and resting his hand on her slightly rounded belly.

"I know …" she says, pushing his hand away. What she doesn't verbalize is that she's afraid that when they do, he won't be alive. It goes unspoken, but we all know.

"Have you two noticed the way Joker keeps looking at my little sister?" Thea asks. Our gazes move in that direction and sure enough, Joker is staring straight at Skylar, and he doesn't look happy.

"He's just worried about her. That's all. Skylar is not Joker's type. Besides, he's double her age."

"Not quite, but you're probably right. You should probably speak to him, though. Skylar has always been more than half-in-love with Joker. If he keeps looking at her like that, she'll go after him with all she's got."

"Skylar likes Joker?"

"Oh yeah," Thea laughs.

"She seems more like the type to date a lawyer," I tell her with a laugh.

"Skylar is a mystery on the best of days," Thea answers.

"I might talk to him, but I think you're seeing things that aren't there. There's no way that Skylar is the kind of woman that Joker would be interested in, anyway. He'd want someone quiet like him."

"You're probably right," she says, but I don't think she believes that at all.

"I know I am," Dom brags. "You're just wanting everyone to be in love and happy because your pregnancy hormones have you over emotional."

"Well, I can admit that this pregnancy has me all messed up. Right now, I'd kill for ice cream."

Dom leans down and kisses her cheek. "Tell you what, baby. If they don't have any at the barbecue, I'll take you into town and get some."

"What did I ever do to deserve someone as great as you?"

Dom laughs down at her. "That's my line, Gorgeous. That's my line."

As they stare at one another, I walk away. I really can't handle happy couples right now. It's like rubbing salt into an open wound.