Page 129 of Dozer

Her mouth twisted into a sneer, and her eyes narrowed. “Don’t come home unless he’s dead.”

“Keys to my bike are in my pocket,” Dozer said to Romeo.

He fished them out and tossed them to Vance.

“I’m staying,” Romeo said. “I need to be here, and I need to be here for you,” he said to me and rested his forehead against mine. His breath warmed my lips, and he tangled his fingers in my hair. “And for Dozer.”

“Romeo.” I softly spoke his name against his lips.

“Don’t,” he whispered. “Don’t worry about me. You and Dozer. The way it should be.”

Chapter Seventeen

Dozer

Hana and Gabi rode up front, and I stayed in the back with Pippa. She was bruised, but she wasn’t broken. No fucking way did he break her.

She shivered against me, and I banded my arms around her.

“Baby, get as close as you need.”

In the darkened back seat, she climbed into my lap, slid her arms under my cut, and pressed her face to my chest. Inhaling deep, she drew in my scent.

Gabi had the furnace blasting, trying to chase the chill from her flesh. She quivered against me, yet she was perfectly still.

“You would have killed him if Rogue didn’t stop you.” Her soft voice filled the silence of the darkened interior of the car.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t have stopped.” And I would have missed the chance to make him suffer. Rogue and Bullet made killing an art form. Their way was better. “You don’t have to think about him ever again.”

“What if I can’t forget?”

The bruises and blood on her body were enough for me to know I’d never forget, but I wanted her to know I could handle whatever she needed. If she wanted to talk, I’d listen. If she wanted to cry, I’d holdher through the storm, and if she wanted to rage, she could unleash every dark, sadistic need for revenge on me. “Do you want to talk about what happened?”

Sadness and pain mirrored in her eyes. I traced her furrowed brow, then brushed my knuckles along her face to the flutter of her pulse in her neck.

“When it’s just you and me, I’ll tell you everything. Just you.” She grew quiet. “Willow is Levi’s mom?”

“She’s an emergency room nurse.”

“Levi will know what happened.”

“If we go inside, Levi will be there. I know she’s been a bitch to you.”

“Not so much anymore. I think because of Coop.”

“You can trust her to keep her mouth shut.” I stared hard into her eyes. “You’re the only one getting a vote. I can go in, get Willow, and we can go somewhere else. It’s still not safe to go to Hana’s or Blade’s. Nothing is resolved with the Crawlers.”

She released a shaky breath. “As long as you stay with me.”

I kissed her temple, her cheek, and breathed her in.

“I know how I must look.”

“Nothing he did takes away from how beautiful you are.”

“Will you kiss me, Dozer?” She shifted her gaze away from me. “He didn’t put…” She gulped a breath. “He didn’t use my mouth. He tried to kiss me, but I bit him.”

With barely a touch, I gently pressed my lips to hers. Her mouth was raw and swollen. “Nothing hedid changes how much I love you. Nothing would change how much I need you.”

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