The Final Ride

Chapter 11

Galindo left the club scrambling but, in his business travels, Happy stopped at the hospital to check in on Knox and Rory. When he arrived he was shocked to see Mrs. Whittle, Emma and Asher there and Knox sitting up with his blue eyes sparkling once again.

"Hey," Happy greeted his family with his usual hoarse voice. "Knox, look at you, man. How you feeling?"

The boy gave his step-father a high-five, although weaker than usual, and smiled bright as Happy tousled his hair and kissed the top of his head.

"Bored!" Knox laughed, obviously itching to get out of bed.

Happy chuckled and nodded. "Soon bud, we'll get you out soon."

"Hi Daddy," Asher beamed from the floor.

"Hey guys," he hugged his biological children tightly. "Agatha," he smiled. "Rory around?"

"She's talking with Tig," she said apologetically.

He tensed but didn't react. "When'd he wake up?"

"He's been up off and on for a while," she put her crochet needle down, "But this has only been for about twenty minutes."

"That's gotta be good, right?"

"It is," she assured him. "They're in the cafeteria," she said with a knowing look. "Just don't freak out."

--

Happy charged down into the hospital cafeteria to see Tig and Rory at a table, sitting across from each other, wearing intense and cloudy expressions. He was relieved to see there was no friendly smiles or laughter signaling she'd forgiven him.

"Hey," Rory saw him first as he glided toward the table. "Did you see him?" She asked joyfully opening her arms to him and hugging him close. "He's awake, talking and everything!"

"I did," he loved the welcome he received especially in front of Tig. It had been years but Happy never missed a chance to rub it in or show her off. "Told you he'd be alright, Ror, he's a fucking Harvelle."

"Yeah," she laughed a little. "What's going on with you?"

"Aside from the warehouse explosion and scrambling for a spot to load some fucking coke? Nothing," his dark eyes kept darting toward Tig. "What's this?"

She lowered her voice a bit and tiptoed to whisper as she hugged him. "He's in some trouble, drugs I think, I'm trying to pry some information out of him."

"Let me know," Happy grumbled as they ended the hug.

"You guys all okay? What the fuck happened with the warehouse?"

Happy shook his head and waved his hand in her direction, not wanting to talk about it. "Later," he huffed.

"Okay," she took his hand. "You know I have that goddamn apartment still, Hap."

"Shit," he smiled. "You do."

"If you can find a way to get it in there secretly, you're welcome to store shit."

Happy grabbed her and kissed her forcefully. "I fucking love you, Queen."

Beaming, Rory nodded. "Yeah, I love you too. We'll regroup at home tonight? I think I'm going to try to get some sleep."

Sweet, and uncharacteristic, Happy took her hand and kissed it before heading out the way he had come. He'd say goodbye to the kids and Mrs. Whittle quickly but there was work to do.

--

From Saint Thomas, Happy headed to meet with Jax and Bobby and have a quick visit with Henry Lin. They had no real reason to suspect the Chinese but they were the only crew where it wasn't business as usual with the Sons. Henry welcomed them warmly and he, along with two of his men, joined the Sons at a table far in the back.