Page 53 of Not Your Romeo
“Great, tell Dev your mission, and ask him to spot you cash. Tell him, I’m around the corner. I’ll be in the gym if anything pops off, or Sauce tries to leave, okay?”
“Uh–,” Dandy hesitated before, before squeaking out, “Okay.”
“Good deal. I owe you.”
I hung up on her and gave it a few minutes before creeping down the alley and parking directly in front of Dev’s gym. I could feel Sauce’s eyes on me as I went inside, but I kept my gaze on the door and pretended not to notice.
“All good?” Dev asked, from behind the counter.
“Yeah. Did the girl…?”
He saluted me with his chin.
“What do I owe you?”
“I gave her a fifty.”
“Cool.” I slid my wallet out and handed him two twenties and a ten while glancing back toward the big window that spanned the front of the store. It was tinted, so he couldn’t see me watching him, but I noticed Dandy was already in his ear.
“What’s up, you here to stalk, or you want to–” Dev hitched his thumb toward the training area and trailed off.
“Why not? Yell if he moves.” I snorted and headed for my locker.
Dev and I usually worked out together a couple of times a week. He fought in paid matches sometimes, which wasn’t my thing, but I liked to know I could keep up with him. I didn’t realize how intently I was working the bag until he laughed, and hugged it, pulling it out of my reach and staring at me from around it, “What the fuck is on your mind, my dude? I ain’t seen you like this in a while.”
I shrugged, rolled my neck to chase away the tension and finally admitted, “I’m just itching to get to things, I guess.”
“Oh, I can tell.” Dev teased, dancing side to side with the bag to prevent me from hopping back to it. “This bag ain’t what you’re looking to tear into, though, so what’s got ya?”
I snorted and shook my head, slinging sweat off my brow as I grunted, “I’m fuckin’ dying to pop shit off, Dev. You didn’t see Ziggy.
“What the fuck you talking about?” Dev stopped dancing and his expression turned serious.
“The goddamn Deuces got to his ol’ lady. They tore the hell out of her hand and left her face a mess. The way the doctors are talking, it sounds like a whole brain injury. The poor girl doesn’t even remember Zig ‘n Griz taking her to the damn hospital, is what they were saying.”
“Jesus.” Dev slumped against the bag and appeared to be in thought for a moment, before he shrugged, “Well, if ya’ll are going to be warring, they won’t be buying stock off us no more. I’ll not arm them against the Savages or support the assault of a fellow marine’s wife.”
I hadn’t expected that, it knocked the fire out of me for a minute.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Crashing Back to Reality
Roisin
I woke up with the worst case of the flu I’d ever experienced. That’s what it felt like anyhow. All of my bones hurt. I was pretty sure if I kept my eyes closed, I could isolate and identify each and every one. Even my scalp was tender in places. I closed my eyes tight, and a deep pain shot through one side of my face. I tensed hard, and realized I was holding something warm in my hand.
The unexpected sharp ache stole my breath, and my eyes flew open. The first thing I noticed was Ziggy. He was cradling my hand and lightly snoring. His head was tipped and resting at an awkward angle on the waterproof hospital chair. He looked terrible. His hair was messy, and his eyes had a darkness around them that testified to days of stress and sleep deprivation. He didn’t move his hand or show any signs of acknowledgement to my gripping at him when the pain had hit.
His concern was endearing, it made me smile despite my discomfort. My gaze settled on his neck. Poking out of the top of his shirt and vest was a hint of white bandage and tape. The smooth, pretty song of my monitors faltered a beat and then raced.
Had someone tried to slit his throat?
My brother died of a slit throat, had someone retaliated despite our marriage?
Nausea gripped me as fear and something deeper collided. The room spun as I fought my own broken mind to put my finger on it.
The door clicked open, and the noise ripped me from my panic just as Sean stepped inside. My heart did an Olympic-style flip and free fell all the way to my stomach. My vision faded to darkness and I clung to him, and consciousness with everything I had.
