Page 102 of Sugar and Skulls

“Ready?” he asks as it goes up in flames.

“No, not really.”

He takes my hand in his, pulling me away from the burning cars. When we get to Sylvia I glance around looking for his bike. He reads my mind. “My sister dropped me off. She went back to sit with Raffe till we get there.”

Once we get going down the road I roll my head against the seat to stare out the window. My eyes dance over the stars in inky sky. “I don’t think I’m strong enough for what’s next.”

He doesn’t take his eyes off the road. “You killed every one of your rapists in less than 24 hours, Jesse. I think your stronger than you think.”

“I didn’t want them to hurt anyone else in my family,” I whisper.

Dirk reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers. I turn to face him. A passing car illuminates his skeleton face, making my stomach flip. He did it for me. It’s his way of letting me know he understands me…and her.

“This is what we are going to do. When we are with Raffe we are strong.” He squeezes my fingers. “When we are alone,” he raises our hands, motioning between the two of us, “that is when we express our fear. Never with him. Okay?”

I nod, choking back my tears.

“And, dad?”

He sighs. “He’s upset with me, Jesse. I’m not going to lie. But, he isn’t going to take that out on you. He’s worked too hard to get you back to let anything come between the two of you. Don’t worry about Bill and me. I’m a big boy, Jesse, I can handle it.”

“I can’t lose you, Dirk. I can’t lose any of you.”

“You won’t.”

Funny thing is, I believe him.

Good news, I put my nightmares to rest. Crow cannot hurt me or my family any longer.

Bad news, I worry the damage he already inflicted will be too great to overcome.

Chapter Forty-One

Jesse

???

Dirk’s sister lets us in a back door of the hospital. They kept everyone here so the police couldn’t pin any of the Desert Devil deaths on any Rebel Skull. Not that the police give a shit. I’m sure they’ll be happy they won’t have to deal with them any longer. Trap will be a better place now that they are gone.

Rachel tells us she is going back to her hotel to shower and get some sleep. When Dirk opens the door to Raffe’s room my breath catches in my throat. My hand flies to my mouth. Oh god. I rush to his side. He’s so pale and there are so many tubes coming from everywhere. My eyes run over all the instruments surrounding his bed.

Dirk pulls me away from the bed and pushes me into a chair. My eyes don’t leave Raffe’s lifeless face. I barely notice the sound of running water before Dirk is kneeling down in front of me. A cool washcloth to my cheek draws my eyes away from Raffe.

“We need to get cleaned up.” He offers me a small smile as he wipes paint off of my face. I focus on the calm blue of his eyes.

“Who did you guys kill now?” a faint voice croaks from the bed.

Both Dirk and I turn our heads towards Raffe at the same time. I push Dirk back and quickly move to Raffe’s side. I sit down carefully on the side of his bed. He reaches up with a shaky hand and draws his fingers down the paint on my face, brushing my eyes closed as he does.

I keep them closed. Dirk moves to our side and continues his mission to scrub the paint away. None of us saying anything. When he finishes I slowly open my eyes to find the two of them starring at each other.

Raffe drags his eyes back to me as Dirk moves to the sink to wash his own face. “Did you get him?”

I give him a jerky nod, trying to prevent tears from slipping down my cheeks. “How are you feeling?” I whisper.

“Never better,” his panty melting smile appears over his beautiful face.

Leaning over I place a gentle kiss on his lips. When I pull back Dirk takes a seat on the opposite side of the bed. We give each other a quick look before Dirk delivers the devastating news to his best friend.

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