Elaine shrugged and slowly stood from the couch. “Maybe just a bit,” she admitted.
Kara smiled and set about making up plates.
After we finished eating dinner, Kevin caught my eye and nodded at the backdoor. Catching his drift, I slowly stood up, feeling better after the medicine and food. Instead of going out back though, I walked over to the garage door and headed out there instead. I hit the button for the overhead door to open, then grabbed a couple of the lawn chairs stacked in the corner.
“Let me,” Kevin said, grabbing the chairs before I could lift them.
“Thanks,” I grunted.
“That shoulder has to be killing you.”
“Bit better now.”
Once we were both seated, Kevin pulled out a bag of joints from the front pocket of his leather Ravager Knights cut. He opened the baggie and pulled one out. Kevin slipped the joint between his lips and held a lighter to the end, sucking on it while he lit up. Once the joint was good and lit, he passed it to me while he slowly blew out the smoke.
“Thanks,” I muttered. Taking the joint, I took a long, slow drag. I passed the joint back while I held in the smoke, letting it settle into my lungs.
We were silent for a while, both of us puffing on the joint and passing it back and forth. It was the kind of comradery you’d expect from people that were friends for years and didn’t need small talk to fill the silence. It didn’t matter that Kevin and I were barely acquaintances; we shared a like mind and the same traumatic pain. It wasn’t that long ago that Kara had been kidnapped by Las Serpientes.
“I hear you’ve got the Seratelli’s helping out.”
I nodded slowly, my eyes watching the street beyond the driveway. It was a beautiful late summer evening, and the weather didn’t reflect the pain I felt inside.
“Yeah. Nico’s cousin is Leonardo.”
“Thought I heard something along those lines.”
“They’re newly reacquainted. After some shit went down years ago, they had stopped talking. Nico went to him not that long ago, trying to set up the sit down between them and the Knights, and for help with Carmichael. He had to pay some dues to the family, but it worked out in the long run. Let’s hope Seratelli keeps his word.”
“He will.” Kevin nodded his head once. “I don’t know him, but just in the simple dealings we’ve had with him, he’s honorable.”
I nodded slowly, my brain fuzzy as the Mary Jane worked its magic on my mind and body. The throbbing in my wounds had finally diminished enough that I almost forgot they hurt at all. “How’d you handle it? When Kara was gone?”
Kevin hissed out a breath and shook his head. “I didn’t. We didn’t, not really.” He ran a hand through his black spiky hair, making it stick up more. “It was the hardest time of my life.”
“We haven’t been in a good place,” I admitted.
“Kara filled me in a little. Hillcrest has been harassing Maya for the last ten years?”
“Pretty much. Come to find out that he was the reason she left, and Buckley might have been involved even back then.”
“Shit,” Kevin hissed.
“Yep.”
“That’s a lot to wrap your head around.”
“Yeah. How do you just move past the pain of that? Do you just get back together like nothing happened?” I mused through the thoughts that had been plaguing me. “Nico seems to think so.”
“That’s a tough one. Clearly, you still care about her.” Kevin pulled out another joint and lit it up, taking a long drag.
“I don’t think that I ever stopped. Maya was it for me, back then. She’s been the girl I’ve compared everyone else to. No one else ever measured up, never even came close.”
“Then I guess you have to figure out how to move past that heartbreak in your mind. But brother, I’m telling you—at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. Especially after she comes out of this ordeal with Hillcrest. When their life is in danger, nothing else matters but holding them alive and well in your arms. You’ll see when you get her back. Things like this put life into perspective, and you realize life is too short to hold on to heartbreak.” Kevin passed me the joint as he slowly let out a stream of smoke.
I accepted the joint and mulled over his words while I took a drag. It was sage advice, offered from a levelheaded man who understood explicitly the pain that I was feeling—at least the shared misery and fear of our loved one being kidnapped. “Thanks.”
“No problem.” Kevin nodded slowly. “Our clubs may not be on the best of terms, but we’re still family. Kara and Marcos ensure that regardless of the colors we wear. We’re here for you guys.”
