My chest squeezes tight.
I’m losing my family all over again.
Sure, Zero didn’t die, but he may as well have.
The police took him from me this time.
This club just fucking takes and takes.
My hand races to my mouth as I let out a whimper, then I turn and start running.
I need to get the fuck away from everything.
Water floods my eyes so much it’s hard to see.
My name’s being called, but I can’t make out who’s calling it. I dash for the stairs, taking them two at a time, my breath hardly makes it into my lungs before it’s forced out again. Once I reach the top of the stairs, seeing Zero’s room to the left, it shatters me. My back hits the nearest door, my legs giving way as I slide to the floor. Bringing my knees up, I drop my face against them, wrapping my arms around my legs, and I cry for everything I’ve lost.
Everyone I’ve lost.
All because of this fucking club.
My stomach twists, churning as gut-wrenching sobs leave my body.
I’m usually so strong, so self-assured, but this, this is too much.
This is why I left this fucking godawful place.
Because all it does is take.
Something shifts next to me, making my head snap up. Wraith’s beside me, his eyes droop as he takes me in, and it is all I need to calm my hysterics the instant his eyes meet mine. He has a way of making things either a thousand times worse, or in moments like this, calming the raging storm inside me. Because he is my storm, and when I’m in his presence, it’s like I’m in the eye of the hurricane, and I just have to wait and hold on for the ride that’s coming. Will this be the ride of my life, or the one that fractures me in two? I can’t see how this ride is going to pan out yet.
Wraith exhales, his eyes glistening like sunlight shining through a glass of whiskey. Real emotion is emanating back at me.
Is he in as much pain as I am right now?
No, that would be impossible.
He hasn’t lost what I have.
“Prinie, I know we’re not in a good place right now—”
“Just get him back, Wraith. Please,” I beg.
“I have Neon working on finding an attorney who’s gone up against the Baron before and won. Our usual attorney won’t cut it for this. The Baron has people in the judicial system, on the force, fuck, in the prisons… his money talks. This is going to be a big fight.”
“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”
Wraith cracks his neck to the side. “No, it’s telling you how it is. I’m not sure how long it’s going to take before we’ll get Zero out of this, but I won’t stop trying… no matter what it takes.”
I sniffle, wiping under my eyes. “Will he be protected in…” I almost choke on the word, “… t-there?”
His hand grips mine, and that fucking spark I always get when he touches me slams against my skin, reverberating all the way up into my chest. My breath catches as he stares into mine with so much positivity it’s stifling. “I’ll make sure wherever Zero ends up, we have someone who looks out for him. Trust me, Prinie, I won’t let anything happen to him in lockup.”
“He’s going away for a while, isn’t he?”
He tightens his hand in mine, and our fingers entwined. “Not if I can help it.”
Clenching my eyes shut, I rub my temple feeling a migraine coming on.
This is all too much.
Wraith’s arm loops around me giving me comfort I didn’t know I would ever get from him again. “C’mon, let’s get you to your room. You need to rest while I go deal with the fallout.”
Opening my eyes, they’re glassy with unshed tears. I wish I was stronger than this. But this club, all it does is undo me.
Wraith helps me stand, and we start the walk down the hall to my room. His arm is still wrapped around me, it’s like our chat about staying away from each other is now somehow null and void. He’s taking care of me, and right now, I wouldn’t want anyone else to be in his place.
When we reach my door, he opens it, walking us in. My head pounds like a barrage of giants are stomping on my skull. Wraith edges me over to my bed, sitting me down. He’s not being his usual broody, domineering self, right now as he squats at my bedside. His hands slide along my calves as he pulls off my boots for me. There’s nothing sexual about the way he’s doing it, he’s simply being attentive and caring. A side you rarely see from the brute of a man.
He pulls one boot off, then the other. His large hands move back in taking my foot in his hands, pressing in the under soles. I clench my eyes shut enjoying his strong touch and the power he holds over me. His fingers slide between my toes, pressing in the valley between my big and second toe.
What is he doing?
Suddenly, my headache starts to ease.
Not a lot, just slightly.
Relief washes over me as tension leaves my body. Wraith has so many layers to him I want to unwrap. Knowing how to ease a headache with just a simple touch should surprise me, but honestly, it doesn’t. I’ve learned not to be surprised by Wraith anymore. Because every time I think I have him worked out, another facet of him appears, shocking me.
“I forgot how much I love your hands on me,” I mumble before I can stop myself.
His hands halt their movements instantly,
