Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 39123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39123 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Just as I’d assumed they’d wanted to happen. They wanted Chase to forever be a marked man, which could be a death sentence if the wrong people found out.
But the worst fucking news of all had been the rectal bleeding.
From being raped.
It’d taken every bit of my restraint not to absolutely lose my shit. I should’ve taken my time killing those mother fuckers. I should have made it painful. If I could, I’d bring them back from the dead and torture every single one of them, fucking each of them up the ass with a goddamn baseball bat.
Chase should’ve never known that pain.
My phone vibrated in my lap, and I sighed, lifting it to answer Scorpion’s call.
“Yeah?” I grunted, running my eyes over Chase’s face. The medicine they were injecting through his IV kept him mostly painless, so he was at least getting some much-needed rest finally. I hated seeing him in pain. Hopefully, the club could get him something good once he was out of here so he could somewhat function normally until he was completely healed.
“Mark and Tango went in search of your bike and brought it back to the clubhouse. They found Chase’s bike there, too. It’s crumpled. I think he crashed.” I swallowed thickly. He could’ve fucking died. The mere thought made me physically ache with the phantom loss of him. “Mark and Reese will come pick you up when Chase can come home.”
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“Any updates?”
I sighed. “Nah. He’s stable, though. Gonna feel weak for a while. Got a lot of injuries. But a full recovery is expected.”
“Good,” Scorpion murmured. “Keep me updated.”
With that, he ended the call. Leaning forward, I gripped Chase’s hand in both of mine and pressed my forehead to his knuckles.
“I’m so goddamn sorry I didn’t find you sooner,” I rasped. That was a guilt that would sit on my shoulders for the rest of my fucking life.
I now knew how Chase felt when he’d found Sophia bloody, beaten, and naked on the floor of her store. When he hadn’t gotten to her in time.
Just like Chase always saw Sophia’s blood coating his hands, I’d forever see his on mine.
11
Sophia
My phone blared from my back pocket, making me jump and my pulse skyrocket. I’d been so lost in my head, someone could’ve come up behind me and kidnapped me, and I wouldn’t have realized someone was in the room with me until it was too damn late.
I quickly dried my hands on the dish towel, praying whoever was calling me didn’t hang up before I got my hands dried in time. Tossing the towel onto the counter, I snatched my phone out of my pocket, my eyes widening at the sight of Trigger’s name on my screen. I was in such a rush to answer, I almost dropped my phone when I swiped my thumb across the screen.
“Trigger?” I breathed as I raised the phone to my ear.
“Hey, sunshine,” he murmured, his voice soft and low. “You got a minute?”
I swallowed thickly, my heart in my throat. If he was calling, he had news. He wouldn’t have called otherwise.
“After you’ve been radio silent for days? Of course, I do,” I croaked, sagging back against the counter, relieved to finally hear his voice. To know he was okay. Sure, Scorpion had told me he’d heard from Trigger, but he wouldn’t tell me anything more than that. And the other guys were just as tight-lipped.
And I knew that meant whatever they knew, they thought Trigger should tell me himself.
Please let Chase be alive, I silently pleaded. If I lost Chase, I wouldn’t survive. I just knew I wouldn’t. He was my rock, my solace. He was my quiet place when my head got too loud. He was my anchor when I felt like I was drifting. My life raft when I was drowning.
I couldn’t do life without him.
“Chase?” I asked softly when Trigger remained silent. “Where is Chase, Trigger?”
The sigh that fell from Trigger’s lips felt like it weighed a ton, and it crushed my chest, making it hard to breathe. I grasped the counter behind me, the edge biting into my palms uncomfortably. But it gave me something to focus on other than the crushing fear tearing me apart and pinning me in place.
“He’s alive, sunshine,” Trigger said quietly.
Tears immediately rushed down my face, relief flooding my veins. My knees gave out beneath me, and my ass hit the floor with a thump. A sob tore from my throat, damn near choking me.
“He’s alive?” I whispered, my voice cracking.
“He is,” Trigger assured me. “But…” He trailed off, like he was trying to figure out how to say what he needed to next. My hands trembled, and I had to place my phone on speaker and set it beside me on the floor so I wouldn’t drop it. “He’s in bad shape, Soph.”