Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 42685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 213(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42685 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 213(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
She drew in a deep breath. I grabbed one of her hands in mine, and Capone took the other with his free hand, both of us working together to keep her grounded. Tank settled his hand on my shoulder, standing over all three of us, his massive body casting a shadow over the three of us.
“Malorie made a phone call from behind the clubhouse after she told Tank she needed air,” she said quietly. I placed the blunt between her lips, forcing her to take a drag before she continued. Once she blew out the smoke, she rasped, “I could only hear her side of the conversation, but she was telling someone your entire plan. Calling them baby and saying they were falling right into his trap. I don’t know who he is.”
Capone brushed his thumb over the back of her hand. “You’re doing so good, baby girl,” he praised. She was. She was being so fucking brave for reliving that horrible dream. For reliving what could have come true had she not woken up in time to warn Capone.
I took another hit from the blunt before forcing her to as well. Capone shot me a thankful look, which eased some of my discomfort that the weed couldn’t melt away on its own. “My dream suddenly flashed to you. You were easing along a motel wall. The place was a dingy yellow with peeling, dark green doors, and the lot had weeds growing in the cracks of the asphalt.” Capone’s face tightened, and that was all the confirmation I needed to know that was the exact place he’d just been at.
I swallowed vomit.
“Hawke and Brewer—I don’t know where they were. You were alone. I think you heard something. I was screaming at you to stop, but you couldn’t hear me.” Her breath hitched, and a tear ran down her cheek. Capone tightened his hand on her thigh just as I squeezed her hand. “You opened the door and stepped inside the room with your gun drawn, but it didn’t matter.”
Fuck. My leg began to bounce. Rider moved closer and clamped his hand on my knee, his fingertips biting into my flesh. It soothed me a little, the pain giving me something else to focus on besides the turmoil raging inside of me.
“They hit you with the door, surprising you, and you stumbled. Then, someone wearing a mask rushed out from behind the door with a knife.” Tears leaked down her cheeks, but she wasn’t panicking this time, which meant the weed was doing its job. “I don’t know what happened after that. I woke up.”
Everyone was on edge after hearing what she had to say, and it made me sick to my stomach. We all could have lost Capone today. Fuck, we could’ve lost Hawke and Brewer, too, and it made me feel violently ill. My hands shook. I sucked in a ragged breath, squeezing my eyes shut.
I felt useless. Twisted inside out. I could have lost three men that I desperately needed in my life.
Capone quickly grabbed April, tucking her head into the curve of his neck, and then Tank was yanking me up from my chair and holding me tight in his arms. “Breathe,” he quietly ordered. He cradled the back of my head, massaging my scalp. “Breathe, boy.”
I drew in a shaky breath, my chest fucking hurting. Someone took my blunt from my fingers, and I curled my hands into Tank’s shirt, using him to ground myself. I was panicking; I knew that. Unfortunately, these fucking attacks just had to run their course. My breathing was ragged, and every breath fucking hurt.
My body trembled, my teeth chattering. Tears streaked down my cheeks. For what felt like forever, I thought I was fucking dying.
“Fuck,” I croaked once my breathing had regulated and I didn’t feel like someone was stabbing my lungs with a fucking knife. But now I was exhausted, my mind sluggish and my body tired. My eyelids drooped a little, and my body felt weak.
Tank buried his face in my hair, holding me even tighter, somehow knowing I needed his physical support as much as I did his emotional. “They’re safe, Smokey,” he promised. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “They’re fucking safe.”
Tell that to my nightmares tonight.
CHAPTER 18
Rider
“Is April with River?” I asked as Capone stepped down the stairs, his boots thumping on the hardwood flooring. Tank followed in behind him with Smokey at his side, Tank’s hand firmly clasped around the back of Smokey’s neck. Smokey had spiraled, having a panic attack for the first time in months. I’d wanted to comfort him, but I wouldn’t leave Malorie. If what April dreamed was true, which normally was, then Malorie was not only shady and two-faced, but she had a cell phone that she was using.