Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
“Yeah, sounded happy.”
“Good. You didn’t…”
“No. I just told her you were with me, no details about why. That’s up to you if, or when, you want to tell her.”
“I don’t want to until it’s all over. She’ll just feel bad. I don’t want that.”
“Yeah, no reason to worry her when there’s nothing she can do about it.”
“Exactly. And—”
There was a loud knock at the door, startling Carmen enough to forget about her bum hand, and she tried to use it to push up, only to collapse onto her back, clutching the hand to her chest and letting out a string of curses.
The door opened, then Dezi’s head slipped into the doorway.
“Interrupting anything?”
“No.”
He threw the door open and stepped in, gaze immediately going to Carmen as she whimpered.
“The fuck?”
“Long story,” I said. “Toss those pills?” I asked, nodding toward where they sat on the dresser. “Don’t fight me on this. You need one,” I told Carmen as I handed her one and the bottle of water from the night before.
Carmen scooted up, throwing back the pill then the water, before leaning back against the headboard with her eyes shut, just trying to breathe through the pain.
“Want me to go grab you some ice until the meds kick in?” I offered.
I got a quick nod to that.
“I’ll be right back,” I assured her, reaching over to give her knee a squeeze, then following Dezi out of the room.
“Who put their hands on her like that?”
“That’s what I’d like to know. What I hope we can get some information on.”
“What happened?”
“Someone broke into her place last night, bound her, and tried to kidnap her. If it weren’t for her elderly neighbor, I don’t think she’d have made it out of there.”
“Christ. No leads?”
“Not yet. But she showed up late, and my first priority was getting her cleaned up and comforted.”
“They do anything else to her?”
“She’s got a lot of bruises. But the hand is by far the worst.”
To that, he nodded as we went into the kitchen.
“She drink coffee?”
“With cream,” I told him as I dug around in the freezer for an icepack.
“I brought a bunch of shit from the bakery, if you wanna bring her a plate. Probably doesn’t wanna be gawked at out here, since no one knows about her.”
“Well, the prospects do. But I want a chance to tell Fallon myself before he hears it from someone else.”
“You gonna tell him about me?”
“Way I see it, him knowing that accomplishes nothing.”
“Alright. Just keeping the stories straight. Here’s the coffee. And a plate. I’ll keep my mouth shut for now, but I’d get a call out to Fallon before he shows up here and hears it from someone who’s not you first.”
“I will.” After some coffee and breakfast with Carmen.
“She okay?”
“She will be.”
“Good. Well, lemme know if you want some backup when you go to bash the head in of the guy who did that to her.”
“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.”
With that, he flipped the lid on the top bakery box, grabbed a powdered jelly donut, bit into it, dusting himself with sugar in the process, then made his way out.
I loaded the plate with some pastries, sweet breads, muffins, and donuts, made myself a coffee, then brought a tray with the breakfast and the icepack back to my room, nodding at Vas in the hallway as I moved past him.
If he was curious about the second mug, he said nothing. He, Ronan, and Carver had come back from Charlie’s sometime while I’d been in the room with Carmen and crashed in the prospect room. I had no idea if any of them knew what was going on yet.
“You okay?” I asked when I found Carmen sitting on the bed, still cradling her bum hand.
“That was so stupid.”
“You were startled. Hopefully this was enough of a warning for your subconscious for the next time. “Dunno how much this is gonna do without taking off the brace, but it’s worth a shot until the meds kick in.”
She took it and placed it over the top of her hand. “Did you bring me breakfast?”
“Can’t take much of the credit. Dezi brought the baked goods. Which would sound sweet if you didn’t know that Dezi spends just about every morning at some bakery or another.”
“Is he a cousin too?”
“Not the same way some of the other club guys. Dezi didn’t grow up around the club. Neither did Spike or Cain. But the younger guys you saw in the prospect room are all cousins. Well, and my little brother.”
Balancing the icepack on her bum hand, she reached for the coffee with the other.
“Another twenty minutes and you should be getting some relief from the meds. How’s the rest of you feeling?”
“Like I fell down the stairs.” She looked at me over the rim of her mug. “Be honest… how bad is it?”