Page 90 of Hold Me Before You Go

My shoulders sagged as I growled. “I’m going to fucking kill him.”

A second voice called out for me, and I looked up to the ceiling as Carrie came around to my front. “Is that…?”

“Yeah.”

“Grayson, you got five fucking seconds to show your fucking face!” Jeremy Jones yelled.

Carrie looked to the doorway and back to me. “Is he here for me?”

I ran a hand down my face. “Probably.”

“How did he find out?” she breathed.

I rubbed my jaw. “The news about the prison break probably released,” I told her simply, putting my gun in the waistband of my pants. That made things even more complicated, and in the back of my mind, I knew we were fucked. There would be no favors to pull this time.

She grabbed my face then, her hand warm against my scar, dragging me back into the present. “He’s not here to kill you, is he?”

My lips twitched. “Jeremy Jones is a smart man. He knows better.”

She bit the inside of her cheek. “You can’t kill him either.”

“Then, I suggest you get out there and lay down the rules for him. Because baby, he also doesn’t know what you mean to me.”

Realization dawned. “You never told him?”

I shook my head. “The last time I spoke to him was when I called him in your living room the night I met you. The night I let you go,” I told her.

“I don’t understand,” she murmured to herself, looking down. When she looked back up, she said, “I figured you told him.”

“You told me you wanted St. Louis to stay in the past. I kept it in the past.”

Her eyes shined with tears. “I love you so much.”

My lips twitched again. “Glad to hear it, Sunshine. Now, go tell Jones to play nice.”

I watched her walk away from me, my gut twisting painfully knowing that when it was all said and done, when Brandon was found, I might lose her forever.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Carrie

I stepped out of the bedroom slowly, my eyes immediately finding Ash and Jake by the window. Both of ignored me, keeping their focus on the man in the kitchen. Swallowing my fear, I peeled my eyes from the Red Snake men and froze when they collided with the pair of familiar brown eyes.

Jeremy was one of the scariest and toughest men I knew. He was royalty in St. Louis, having taken over the Crew, a street organization his uncle formed decades ago, and starting Oasis, the underground street-racing hub. His warm brown skin stoodout against his gray hoodie, his jaw tight as he glared at me, his nostrils flaring as the anger in his eyes grew.

As I stared at him, I felt Grayson approach from behind me. He put his hand on my shoulder, and the touch alone settled me in a way I would never understand, grounding me.

“Jer, I—”

“What the fuck, Carrie?” Jeremy all but growled, ticking his head to the side. He looked me up and down. “Jesus! You’re fucking covered in bruises!” He took a few steps closer and out of the corner of my eye, Ash and Jake closed in as well. Jeremy’s eyes shot to them, his upper lip curling before he looked behind me to Grayson. “Call off your fucking boys, Grayson.”

“Not until you calm down,” Grayson returned, moving me to the side gently so he could step out of the doorway. He guided me to stand between him and Jake, Ash taking another step forward.

Jeremy watched it all, taking in every single movement.

“Jeremy,” I called, ready to beg for his patience, his mercy.

This man was dangerous, and he’d killed people over less. I wouldn’t let him hurt Grayson or any of his men. Jeremy shook his head when he finally looked back at me, the hurt on his face—in his eyes— gutting me, cracking my heart. “Carrie, what the fuck?” he asked, quieter this time.

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