Page 25 of Altered

I knew what he and Noah were doing while I sat here having my wounds patched up, and the knowledge caused the anxiety festering inside to soar.

I should be there.

I should have gone with him.

Hunter was the one who took his life tonight, but I was the one silently willing him on.

Oh god, I was so completely fucked up.

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Chapter Seven

Lucky

"You know what needs to happen after this, don’t you?" Noah's voice penetrated the silence as I pulled into the old abandoned quarry and killed the engine.

More than a dozen motorcycles were lined up side by side, joined by a couple of blacked out RV's and one silver Merc.

For the second time in a matter of months, I found myself staring out my windshield at a world I was teetering on the edge of. The body in my trunk assured me that tonight I would have to make the jump.

This wasn’t helping an old friend.

This waspersonal.

Whether he knew it or not, David Henderson had fucked with the wrong man's woman.

And Hope Carter wasmywoman.

I didn’t give a fuck about the wedding ring on her finger, or the asshole waiting on her at home. It didn’t poke at my conscience when I was buried inside her and I didn’t care about it now.

Because the woman wasmine, and I protected what was mine.

Granddaddy dearest was going to get fucked up.

"You need to put some distance between you and this place until the dust settles," Noah continued to say, drawing me back to the present. He exhaled a heavy sigh before adding, "Between you and her."

He was right.

We both fucking knew it.

I should have been gone hours ago.

I took a deep drag of my cigarette to calm my fucking temper before exhaling. "I know what has to happen, man." I turned to look at him. "And so do you."

"This is a fucking mess, man," Noah added with a heavy sigh. "You're not messy."

Again, he was one hundred percent right.

"I know."

Losing my heart to that woman was going to get me killed.

Fucked up thing was, I didn’t care anymore.

"But you're not going to, are you?" he offered dryly, watching my every move. "You won't leave her?"

I exhaled a cloud of smoke before replying, "Nope."

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