Page 113 of Wolf

Pulling away, she pats my shoulder and says, “Don’t worry about it, angel. Sometimes we have to do things we don’t want to do, hm?”

She smiles knowingly, and I ease back against the pillow. She may not know exactly what went down that night, but she suspects something.

With a nod, I close my eyes. She bustles about the room and asks me a bunch of questions before handing me a pain reliever and water.

Once I’ve downed the pills, she sits beside me and says, “You’re probably going to bleed for a few days.”

“Okay,” I whisper, staring at the blanket as tears fill my eyes.

“I’m not going to give you false promises. You will move on, but every once in a while, you’ll wonder what could have been.”

When I whip around, she lifts her lips into a sad smile and pats my fingers, curled into a ball.

Miriam is quiet beside us, and I avoid looking her way because although I’m excited for her, seeing her pregnant and all glowy compounds the loss I’m only beginning to accept.

Chapter 33

Wolf

I thought seeing my sister bruised beyond recognition would be the worst thing I could possibly imagine but watching Joker emerge from the truck holding Lilli, covered in fucking blood nearly stopped my heart.

When he refused to let me take her, I almost lost my head, too. Only his insistence that it would hurt her more kept me from doing something stupid.

Still, as I followed him up the stairs, relieved when he chose my room, I couldn’t begin to imagine where all that blood came from. It soaked her night shirt and ran down her legs.

Meanwhile, she faded in and out while Toni hovered over her. With Doc gone, Toni was our only option but she’s smart, tough, and knows enough about first aid to at least tell us what’s wrong.

Except I never expected in a million years for her to demand I get the fuck out and then slam the door in my face. The next hour was excruciating while I paced the hall and only when she finally let me in, and I found Lilli asleep and no longer writhing in pain did I calm.

Although still pale, with her slim fingers clenched into balls on her chest, the blood was gone and Toni said, “She needs to rest, big guy.”

“What…what was wrong?” I rasped.

Her mouth curled into a frown, and she looked over her shoulder toward Lilli in the bed. My pulse thumped and I followed her gaze as she said, “Bruised ribs for the most part. She was savagely beaten.”

“And the blood,” I asked. Her brows furrowed and she glanced at me sideways. Sensing her hesitation, I went to grab her arm, but she slipped past me.

Now, after Lilli’s broken confession, I can’t stand to be in my own skin. What the fuck happened?

Why? Surely this can’t be about their daughter running away. Right? Who would be that fucking cruel?

“Wolf,” Joker says and when he passes, I follow him down the hall, back down the stairs, and into his office. I’m not in the mood for this shit, but you don’t say no to your prez which is why I’m here. Although I can’t contain my scowl to save my life.

Joker motions to the chair before his desk but I shake my head as he sighs and collapses into his own. Leaning against the door, I decide the fucker gets five minutes of my time, that’s it.

“I’m sending Romeo and Cash to check on Mercy,” Joker says, and I nod, closing my eyes. Thank fuck someone has thoughtabout Mercy because my mind has been spinning since Lilli came through that door.

“I’ll get Draven to scope it out, make sure she shows at school tomorrow.”

“Thanks,” I rasp and Joker’s eyes narrow.

“Don’t want your thanks, Wolf. I want you to agree…”

“Agree with what,” I growl, standing from the wall.

“Stay away from the reverend and his bitch wife until I say when.”

The minutes tick by while I stare him down incredulously before finally, I nod and leave, the door bouncing off the wall as I go.

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