Page 43 of I Stop Somewhere Waiting For You

T… he’s out of the truck running before I’m even back on my feet, heading straight for the driver’s side door. Finn’s right on his heels as they disappear from my view behind the blazing inferno.

I push up the rest of the way and start running, still somewhat dazed in my current state. As I get closer, I can hear the screams getting louder, though it’s not Bent… he’s gone. I round the back of the Tahoe to find T’s body wracked by torturous cries, pinned to the ground by Finn. He’s desperately trying to claw his way to the SUV, but Finn’s hold remains strong.

“Bentley!” T roars out as he continues to wildly thrash about. “No! God, no! Fuck!”

My crew from the van run up, guns drawn scanning the area for signs of a threat, but I know they won’t find anyone.

He turned the car off and restarted it. It’s what detonated the bomb. This was an assassination attempt, meant to go off after we made the delivery… with me in the car.

T’s screams pull me back to the present once more and I drop down onto the road in front of him. I fall forward, tossing my arms around his neck and pulling him into me. T briefly fights me, throwing punches into my ribs, but I pull him tighter. After a moment he settles, his arms finding their way around my torso as I rock us back and forth. Finn collapses back into the ground beside us, burying his face in his hands.

Whoever’s behind this just fucked up, because the last thing you want is to be on my radar. And this motherfucker now has my full attention.

CHAPTER 22

MAV

Nicky’s already waiting when I roll up.

Typically, we hold Parley in Corlies Park, but he specifically sent me to a random street corner for the location today.

After Bent’s funeral, he sent a text to call the meet. He also asked me not to tell the boys, and while that initially raised some suspicions on my end, J said he didn’t mention the Parley to her or his crew which means it’s not a setup. Whatever Nicky wants to talk about, he doesn’t want an audience. I’m not sure if that’s a good or bad thing.

My car slows to a stop where he’s standing, but before I can roll down the blacked-out window and ask him what the fuck we’re doing, he’s rounding the front and hopping into the passenger side. Since the Tahoe was a casualty of war, I’m in J’s Audi, and the irony of this situation is not lost on me.

I glance quickly around the car before he has a chance to hop in, taking note of the clear indication of a woman’s presence, though ensuring nothing will reveal her identity. Her mirrored aviators and red lipstick rest in one of the cup holders along with a bottle of her favorite vanilla shimmer lotion. I love that shit. It makes her taste like a fucking cupcake when I lick her and my dick twitches at the memory of how her body feels pressed up against mine.

Fuck, I miss her. It’s been sixteen days without her and each one feels like a death sentence to my soul.

Nicky shuts the door, and I don’t think we’ve ever been in such close quarters together. At this proximity I can see how tired he looks, his eyes sporting some deep, dark circles as though he hasn’t slept in days. His messy blond hair sticks out from under an oversized green beanie as his tall lean frame is swallowed by the oversized white hoodie he’s rocking. I’ve got the heat on in the car, and he compensates for the sudden temperature increase compared to the outside chill by pulling up his sleeves.

My breath stills as my eyes catch on an image I’d recognize anywhere. The interlocking crowns my hands have run up and over countless times, only his has a ‘J’ at the center. I knew the one she had was for him, but I didn’t know he had a matching one for her. Jesus, he is gonna shoot me when he finds out.

Nicky glances over at me before gesturing at the windshield. “You gonna drive, or—?”

“Where am I going?” I cut him off, my brow raised in suspicion.

“Just drive. I don’t trust that someone isn’t watching.”

I throw the car in gear, banging a left onto North Cherry before merging onto the arterial. Nicky relaxes back into the seat as we speed down the main road of Queen City.

“This new?” he asks, glancing around the interior of the car.

“Relatively,” I respond, my blood pressure slightly spiking as his fingers briefly pass over her sunglasses and come to rest on her lotion.

“Your girl’s car?” He holds the bottle up.

“Well, someone blew mine up,” I reach over, snatching it from his grasp and dropping it back in the cup holder, “and she’s on lockdown at the moment so it’s not like she needs it.”

“Easy, Mav. I wasn’t trying to be a dick. Was just trying to make conversation. My baby sister uses that stuff, actually. So does my g—” he stumbles briefly before recovering, “my sister’s best friend.” Seems like J and I aren’t the only ones sneaking around. Noted. “It’s like crack for chicks,” he chuckles. “I got them both on lockdown too, aside from school, so I get it. How’s she handling it?”

“She’s annoyed. It wasn’t safe to keep her with me, so I got her stashed somewhere else.”

“Damn, that’s rough, dude. I’m sorry. Yeah, my sister’s not thrilled with me either right now but the things we do for the people we love, right?”

The things we do for the girl we both love.

Desperate to escape this mindfuck of a conversation, I change course. “Why the Parley, Nick?”

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