Page 130 of Clinch'd

With a nod, he leads the way to the main room. It’s slow going and the only sounds are our breath and the shuffling of our feet as we carry him along.

My skin prickles when leave the safety of the hall because it’s a ghost town but for two dead fuckers lying face down on the ground.

Ours or there’s? I’m assuming there’s by the direction they’re facing but who the fuck knows?

“Fuck me. Did they leave us?” Beast says and I shake my head.

“Probably,” I grunt, tamping down my annoyance. They got us this far, I’ll give them that but if the fuckers left us here…Fuck, I hope at least Minnie got out safely.

What the hell was I thinking attacking her like that? Oh right, I wasn’t. Once again, I let my fucking fear override good sense.

Minnie wouldn’t sacrifice my brother just to betray me. But would she sacrifice him to save her sister?

Damn.

Thankfully, it’s quiet as we shuffle down the bisecting hall and step into the darkness. The door beyond the wall is open and when we step through, I find Hate waiting with two of his men.

When he nods and turns, I say, “Where’s Minnie?”

Chapter 50

Minnie

Fuck me but it feels like it’s been hours that we’ve waited beyond this wall for them to emerge. With each second that passes, my heart lodges further in my throat.

Are they alive? Hate? Beast? Cooper?

Did he find his brother?

“We should wait at the car,” Cyn says, touching my shoulder but I shrug him away, ignoring his sigh.

The sounds beyond the wall die down leaving me to believe the fight is over but since I’m stuck on the outside of this fucking nightmare, I don’t know if that’s a good thing.

I search the darkness and take a step toward the wall when Cyn grabs me around the waist and pushes me back.

“No, Min. It’s too fucking dangerous,” he hisses.

Still, no one emerges and despair coils through me. Cooper’s gorgeous eyes the last time we came together, our desperation for each other easy to see spreads warmth through my limbs and wrapping my arms around my stomach, I sniffle.

I guess we never had a chance, Coop and me, but I think in another world, we would have been perfect for each other. Or maybe that’s delusion talking?

In all reality, we spent more time fucking than anything else and animal attraction does not a relationship make. Even so, after everything went down and he stared at me with hate instead of the love I craved, I’ve never missed someone so deeply.

Does he know how much I care for him? Oh right, I guess that’s a big fat no because he thinks I’m responsible for his brother’s beating. Asshole.

Shaking my head, I wipe my nose and face the wall. I have to know what the fuck is going on before I lose my damn mind.

The rustle of something beyond brings me around and I stare into the trees before slowly backing away. Cyn grabs my arm and I follow when he pushes me behind him.

Is that shuffling sound man or beast? With a single step back, I cock my head and when something I can’t make out appears, I spin on my heel.

“Run!” Cyn hisses and I don’t look back.

Twigs break under my tender feet while branches tangle in my hair, but I feel none of it as I race toward the vehicles waiting for us by the road.

“Shit,” Jig mumbles and I stumble before looking back.

His bright eyes meet mine and he smiles grimly before taking the lead. At the road, he opens the door to the nearest SUV, and I jump inside, moving over when Cyn joins me.

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