Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
I tried to shake my head, but the movement only made me sick and hurt like hell. “Dad…”
“Will never know. I’m checkin’ you in under a fake name. You’ve got some bruising starting around your belly that has me worried.” It was Stitches speaking to me. He was gentle but insistent, and I knew it was useless to fight against him.
“Pup. Needs Dog.” As if on cue, a deep bay came from outside. The puppy whimpered but snuggled closer to me.
“Yeah. She’s not been weaned, and we can’t take her to the hospital. I’ll have Mars take her back. You good with that?”
I shivered. Mars. I really liked the guy. He was sweet and funny, but he wasn’t the one I wanted. Then I remembered how thoroughly Walker didn’t want me. A little sob escaped, and the pain was all that much more intense.
“Shh, honey. It’s OK. Does Mars scare you?”
“No, but…”
“I promise no one will ever hurt you again, Blossom. The club will see to that. Me and Mars included.”
“Walker. Need to explain… why I have… the pup.”
There was a long pause. “Honey, it doesn’t matter why you have the damned dog. She’s not moved from your side since before the boys brought you here. She wants to be with you, so we could give a good Goddamn why she’s with you.”
“But…” A little sob escaped me again. Again, the pain was nearly my undoing. “I don’t want him to h-hate me. I didn’t s-steal from him.”
“Who gives a fuck if you did? The puppy brought you comfort. Eagle said the little thing was trying to protect you but was just as frightened as you were. She stood her ground, though. I think she’s right where she wants to be. Only reason I’m having Mars take her back is because she’s not weaned yet. But that dog is yours. Walker be damned.”
“Is he here?” I’d tried to listen for his voice but hadn’t heard him. Why I thought he’d be here I didn’t know. Maybe to get the dog? Definitely not to see me. He’d made it clear how he felt about me before.
Again, there was a pause. The bed dipped, and I gasped, startled. The puppy whined but didn’t move from my side. She growled, then whimpered again.
“Blossom, it’s Rose.” My friend sounded like she’d been crying. She took my hand gently, bringing it to her face to rub her cheek before kissing my fingers. “First of all, he doesn’t hate you. Secondly, he’s being taken care of.”
“Was he hurt?” My heart raced at the thought. Had he run into Bruce? Had something else happened?
“No, honey. No. But he hurt you, and we take that seriously.”
I tried to frown, but my face hurt abominably. “He didn’t do this.”
“I know. But if he hadn’t run you off this afternoon, you’d have been with us at the compound and this whole thing never would have happened.”
“Yes, it would have.” My voice was barely above a whisper. I had to force the words out, because my throat was tightening up. If I could have, I’d have cried, but both my eyes were swollen shut. I thought maybe a couple of tears escaped anyway but wasn’t sure.
“Baby, why didn’t you tell us about this? Any one of us would have helped you get away.”
“We can talk about that later,” Stitches said. He leaned over me and gently placed an ice pack on one side of my face so it got my cheek and my jaw. “I got her jaw back in place, but she doesn’t need to talk right now.”
“Hey, sweetheart.” Mars’s deep, warm voice came from somewhere above me. Then I felt a big hand on the top of my head lightly. “You good with me takin’ the puppy?”
I nodded my head. “Needs Dog. And Walker should give her a name other than Dog.”
“Yeah.” Mars gave me a soft, warm chuckle. “He should. I’ll add that to the list of things he needs to do before he’s out of the doghouse. I’ll get this one to her mama.”
“Walker.”
“He’s not gonna harass you, darlin’. Don’t worry about him.”
My breath came in quick pants. “Is he mad at me?”
“Honey, no one’s mad at you.” That was Rose. “None of this is on you, and I’m so glad we found you.” There was a catch in her voice, and she trembled where she still held my hand.
“Blossom, you keep asking for Walker.” Stitches again. “You wantin’ him here?”
Did I? I did, but only if he wanted to be there. He’d cut me to the bone, but it hadn’t diminished my attraction to him. Not one bit. Why? Because he was exactly the kind of man I needed to stand up to my father. To get me away from him. But couldn’t any man in this club do that?