Page 15 of Trigger

Sophia

My phone blared from my back pocket, making me jump and my pulse skyrocket. I’d been so lost in my head, someone could’ve come up behind me and kidnapped me, and I wouldn’t have realized someone was in the room with me until it was too damn late.

I quickly dried my hands on the dish towel, praying whoever was calling me didn’t hang up before I got my hands dried in time. Tossing the towel onto the counter, I snatched my phone out of my pocket, my eyes widening at the sight of Trigger’s name on my screen. I was in such a rush to answer, I almost dropped my phone when I swiped my thumb across the screen.

“Trigger?” I breathed as I raised the phone to my ear.

“Hey, sunshine,” he murmured, his voice soft and low. “You got a minute?”

I swallowed thickly, my heart in my throat. If he was calling, he had news. He wouldn’t have called otherwise.

“After you’ve been radio silent for days? Of course, I do,” I croaked, sagging back against the counter, relieved to finallyhear his voice. To know he was okay. Sure, Scorpion had told me he’d heard from Trigger, but he wouldn’t tell me anything more than that. And the other guys were just as tight-lipped.

And I knew that meant whatever they knew, they thought Trigger should tell me himself.

Please let Chase be alive, I silently pleaded. If I lost Chase, I wouldn’t survive. I just knew I wouldn’t. He was my rock, my solace. He was my quiet place when my head got too loud. He was my anchor when I felt like I was drifting. My life raft when I was drowning.

I couldn’t do life without him.

“Chase?” I asked softly when Trigger remained silent. “Where is Chase, Trigger?”

The sigh that fell from Trigger’s lips felt like it weighed a ton, and it crushed my chest, making it hard to breathe. I grasped the counter behind me, the edge biting into my palms uncomfortably. But it gave me something to focus on other than the crushing fear tearing me apart and pinning me in place.

“He’s alive, sunshine,” Trigger said quietly.

Tears immediately rushed down my face, relief flooding my veins. My knees gave out beneath me, and my ass hit the floor with a thump. A sob tore from my throat, damn near choking me.

“He’s alive?” I whispered, my voice cracking.

“He is,” Trigger assured me. “But…” He trailed off, like he was trying to figure out how to say what he needed to next. My hands trembled, and I had to place my phone on speaker and set it beside me on the floor so I wouldn’t drop it. “He’s in bad shape, Soph.”

My chest was caving in, and my stomach revolted, threatening to make me spew the coffee I’d managed to get down that morning.

“What do you mean he’s in bad shape?” I asked, terrified of the answer but needing to know. “What the fuck do you mean, Trigger?” I demanded again when he remained silent.

“I had to bring him to a hospital.” I sobbed, squeezing my eyes shut. The club didn’t bother with hospitals, not when they had people at their disposal to nurse us back to health right here in this clubhouse. Chase hadn’t even taken me to a hospital when I’d been raped and beaten. For Trigger to have taken Chase to one…

“Oh, God,” I wailed.

“Sophia, I need you to be calm for this,” Trigger said, his voice hardening a bit, forcing me to rein my terror and fear in. I trembled as I sucked in a deep breath, trying to force myself to calm down. To hear Trigger out. To find out more about Chase’s condition. “He’s been cut up pretty badly, and he’s lost a lot of blood. And there’s… Fuck, Soph, there’s rectal bleeding and tearing.”No. No. No. No. No. Not him. Not my Chase. Not him, too.“The doctor confirmed he was raped… more than likely multiple times.”

“No!” I screamed, folding in on myself. “No, no, no!” I cried. I slammed my fists on the floor, a scream tearing from my throat. “Not him.Not him!”

“Sophia!” Trigger shouted, but I was crying too hard to answer. I pulled at my hair, uncontrollable sobs tearing from my throat. The door to the kitchen banged open, and then Jessica was there, wrapping me in her arms and holding me tight.

“Trigger?” Scorpion asked from above us. I couldn’t hear Trigger’s voice anymore. I clung to Jessica, sobbing my fucking heart out.Not Chase. “Yeah, brother. Jessica’s got her. We’ll take care of her. Focus on getting Chase home to her.”

He ended the call, pocketing my phone. He rested a hand on my shoulder as he crouched in front of us. I could barely make out his face through my tears. “Go on upstairs with Jessica,” hesaid, his voice low and soft. “I think you need some sleep. Chase is safe now. Yes, he has a long road of recovery ahead of him, but the doctors have assured Trigger numerous times that he’s going to pull through.”

“He—He…” I couldn’t bring myself to finish the sentence. He’d been raped. Cut.Tortured.

Not my Chase.

Pain bled into Scorpion’s eyes. “I know,” he said quietly. His hand squeezed my shoulder just as his wife’s arms tightened around me. “I know.”

I squeezed my eyes shut, pain for Chase slicing through every fucking part of me.

Why him?

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