My wrist is snagged and I flinch savagely, the trauma still fresh. He doesn’t notice—or doesn’t care. “You need to pay me, lady.”
I try to pull free, panic clawing at my throat. I don’t know what I’m screaming at him, the words garbled.
“I’m calling the cops.”
“What the fuck is goin’ on here?” Nitro’s voice cuts through my terror.
Familiar. Family.Safe.
I’m not sure where he came from. I don’t care. His eyes drop to my torn shirt, the red marks around my wrists, the man behind me, and the tears streaking down my face.
He’s between us in less than a heartbeat, shoving the cab driver back. “You put hands on her?”
“She stiffed me?—”
Nitro grabs him by the throat, slamming him against the side of his cab. “You shut your fuckin’ mouth right now.”
“He didn’t do this,” I blurt the words in a rush.
Nitro turns his head just enough to glimpse me.
“I owe him money.”
Nitro lets go of the cab driver long enough to take out a wad of cash, which he slams against his chest so hard it knocks the breath out of him. “Get the fuck out of here.”
He doesn’t argue. The man gets into his cab and peels off like the devil is on his heels.
Nitro doesn’t watch him go. He’s already in front of me, his eyes roaming like he can’t believe what he’s seeing.
“Who did this to you, Lex?”
I try to speak, try to find the words to explain what happened in that room, but my throat feels like it’s closing. “I need Casey. Please, Nitro, get Casey.”
He leads me inside, hovering close but not touching, as if he can see the trauma stamped into my skin.
And as soon as we are through the doors, he yells, “PREACHER!”
FOURTEEN
CASEY
As soon asI hear Nitro yell my name, I’m up, out of my seat, and heading into the bar. Nothing—and I mean nothing—could prepare me for what I see.
My wife. My beautiful magnetic wife is leaning against him, clutching her bump like a lifeline. Her shirt is torn, and mascara is smudged under her eyes.
My feet are moving before I even think about it.
I walk faster, then break into a run.
The moment her eyes lock on mine, her knees buckle and I swear she says my name before she goes down.
Nitro hisses a “Fuck!” as he grabs for her.
Then I’m in front of them both, taking her weight from my oldest fucking friend.
Lexi’s fingers fist into my shirt, sobs hiccuping out of her. My heart’s hammering like it’s trying to crack my ribs.
I don’t know what the hell happened to her, and that terrifies me. I wrap my arms around her, holding her close, like that can protect her from whatever she’s faced.
