Page 138 of Bloom: Part 2

“If it were up to me, I’d tie him to the vehicle and drag him all the way to the clubhouse.”

The twins stared at me as though stunned. “It’s not like you’ll be setting any bones,” I said. “Scrape him up like roadkill and throw him into the trunk. I don’t have time for this.”

I stormed out of the building, rushing to the car. Uncle Mickey threw his car keys at me. “You drive.”

I snatched the keys out of the air and stalked over to the driver’s seat. The car roared to life. Uncle Mickey sat silently beside me, drumming his fingers against his knee as he stared out the window. I looked out at the darkened street, scanning every corner, every shadow.

Where are you, Bloom?

“You weren’t kidding about how much you care about him, were you?” Uncle Mickey asked.

“I’d die for him.” The words fell from my lips with an ease that surprised me. They were the truth, spoken from the darkest part of my heart. The part of me that was fighting back the panic at the thought of Bloom not knowing how much he meant to me.

Did he realize I didn’t just love him? But that my world didn’t exist without him in it?

“Don’t worry. I’ll give you the opportunity to prove that to him.”

“What?” I swung my head around…right into the barrel of Uncle Mickey’s gun.

“Eyes on the road,” he said when the car swerved. “Turn left at the incoming intersection.”

“What the hell is this, Uncle Mickey?” I tightened my hands on the steering wheel.

“You miss that intersection and I’ll make a call that will have Bishop cut his hand off.”

I turned at the intersection, slowing to give way to a group of late-night pedestrians. “What did you do? Please tell me this is a joke.”

“You left me with no choice, Keegan. I have to thank the psychiatrist for this opportunity. If he weren’t so obsessed with your little boy toy, we wouldn’t have had the chance to snatch him.”

My blood ran cold, realization dawning like a slap to the face. I shot him a sideways glance. “You? You have him?You’ve had him this whole time?”

“Don’t do anything stupid,” Uncle Mickey said calmly. “Eyes on the road. Bloom doesn’t have to be hurt, but that’s up to you and how well you carry out my instructions.”

My heart thundered. The pieces fell into place with horrifying clarity. The way Uncle Mickey had insisted on coming with me—it all made sense now.

“You son of a bitch,” I spat, my voice trembling with fury. “If you’ve hurt him—”

“I haven’t, but that’s not my call, Logan. You’ll see him soon enough. Follow my directions.”

“And if I refuse?”

Uncle Mickey lifted the gun and waved it at me. “Then don’t blame me for being cruel. Keegan, I’m trying to do this as humanely as possible. Even though you don’t believe me, I care about you.”

“You have a funny way of showing it.”

“You think I wanted this? Blame your father.”

“My father? He set you up to this? I thought you were your own man. Didn’t you encourage me to leave the family?”

“And you should have stayed hidden. Your father wants you back, and of course, I can’t have that.”

“What?”

“Why do you think your father requested to see you, Keegan? Because years in prison softened him up. Can you believe that your dad, who prevented me from being with the man I’ve loved for years, is now fucking some pretty boy he met in prison?” He barked a laugh, his hand with the gun shaking from the force of his mirth. “Now he’s changed his mind. He doesn’t care who you take to bed as long as you return to the family and restore it to the way it was. It’s his condition—to rebuild what you destroyed and not only will he forgive you, but also hand over the family to you. He wants to make amends.”

I shook my head. “That’s bullshit. My father would never—”

“Gabriele—that’s the name of your father’s prison bitch. I’ve seen him with my own eyes. Pretty, sharp-tongued, and has your father wrapped around his finger. They make me sick.”

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