Page 39 of Embracing Easy

“Honey, no. Your run?—”

“Fuck the run.” The raw fury in his voice makes me grateful he's not here to see my tears. “Go with Trigg. Understand? I mean it, Lex.”

“Okay,” I whisper.

“I love you,” he says, his voice softening just slightly. “I'll be there in four hours.”

“I love you too. Please be careful.”

When I hang up, Trigg's ending his own call. “It's time to go, darlin'.”

I nod, too numb to argue. I climb out of the book and Amelia slides up beside me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

“It's going to be okay,” she says softly. “Let the club handle this.”

But as Trigg throws some bills on the table and hurries us toward the door, I can't shake the feeling that this is only the beginning. John's never been one to give up easily, and now he knows exactly where to find me.

When Amelia pulls into her driveway, I turn to her with an apologetic smile. “I'm so sorry about lunch. This isn't exactly how I planned for our afternoon to go.”

“Stop apologizing right now.” She gives me a stern look that softens almost immediately. “This isn't your fault, honey. Not one bit of it.”

“Thank you.”

“For what?” She looks genuinely confused.

“For being a good friend.”

Amelia's face softens. “You don't have to thank me for that.” Her eyes shift behind me at the sound of Trigg's bike pulling into my drive. “You should go before he starts freaking out again.”

“Yeah,” I agree, reaching for the door handle and climbing out of her car. I watch Trigg dismount his bike as I walk through the yard to the front door. His expression is hard as he pulls out his phone.

“Go on inside,” he says, motioning toward the front door. “I need to make another call.”

I nod, unlocking the door and doing as he’s said.

Closing the door behind me, I head straight for the kitchen. Maybe a couple shots of José will help settle my nerves.

As I grab the bottle of tequila Shawn has stashed in the freezer, I hear the front door closing.

Must not have been a long call.

Pouring a finger of the golden liquid into a shot glass, I lift it to my lips, but before I can take a sip, I feel someone behind me.

“Trigg,—” As I start to turn around a cloth is pressed tightly over my mouth and nose, and the acrid scent of chemicals has my head spinning.

The glass in my hand crashes to the floor, shattering into pieces as I try to put up a fight, but it’s pointless. My muscles refuse to respond, and the kitchen tilts violently, my vision blurring at the edges.

“Once you’re back home where you belong, you’ll see things clearly, princess.” John’s voice is the last thing I hear before my body hits the floor and the world goes dark.

Chapter Sixteen

Easy

My hands tighten on the handlebars as we pull into my driveway.

Something's wrong. I feel it down to my fucking bones before I even cut the engine.

Lexi’s car and Trigg's bike are both here, but the house is way too fucking dark.

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