Page 28 of Rock

“Rock?”

As he wandered down the hall, heading for his apartment, Rock lifted his head. Feeling slumped and withdrawn, he forced himself to stand taller yet again as he faced King. “Yes?”

King frowned, much like Atlas had. The entire damn MC was always hyper-aware of Rock’s health. He was surprised Doc hadn’t come running down the hallway. The man had Spideysenses when it came to Rock’s health. Hell, Doc had Spidey senses when it came toeveryone’shealth.

“You look pale.”

“I’m fine.” How many people were going to ask him about his damn heart today? He needed to get out of here.

Luckily, he was saved from further discussion when King’s Little girl, Ella, came running down the hallway and jumped into her Daddy’s arms.

King braced himself, steadied her with a hand under her bottom, and scolded her, “What have I said about running in the compound?”

Ella pushed out her bottom lip and batted her eyes at him. “Sorry, Daddy.”

Rock chuckled and took the opportunity to continue toward his apartment. He needed to think. He’d done very littlebutthink since he’d first learned about Lyla being in town last night; he needed more time.

He needed to man up and drive to her house. Her presence was consuming him. He would never be able to get her out of his mind now. Especially since she’d spoken to Atlas.

Rock shut himself in his apartment and paced the small space. At least his kids couldn’t harass him about not exercising.

He needed to see her more than he needed his next breath. Even if all he accomplished was a brief interaction, he felt compelled to do so. He had to know that she was okay. He had to know why she was in town. He had to know why she’d left.

Rock might not get all the answers. He might not ask all the questions. But he would at least see her, even if seeing her caused him to wake up in a cold sweat every night for the rest of his life. Letting her sell that house and drive away without getting closure wasn’t an option.

CHAPTER

SIX

Lyla chewed on her bottom lip as she stared at the basement wall where the blue carpeting had been. Her brother had gone way overboard when he’d secured that crazy shit. He’d not only stapled it every few inches, but he’d also glued it. Ink and Breaker had needed to remove the drywall.

Lyla had taken lots of pictures. Feeling nostalgic, she’d considered calling her brother while the wall had come down. She hadn’t wanted to talk to him, though. She couldn’t get Rock out of her mind, and she didn’t want to risk fielding any questions about the past from Jackson.

The nostalgia she felt was a bit overboard. She couldn’t explain it. She hadn’t been here since she was eighteen years old, and she’d never thought much about the house itself in all that time, but coming home was pulling everything to the surface.

It was late, getting dark out. She didn’t want to sit on the basement floor until even later tonight, so she headed upstairs. As she packed everything up in her satchel, a knock sounded at the door.

Lyla turned to answer it, assuming it would be Ink or Breaker. Maybe one of them forgot something when theyfinished up for the day. She opened the front door to find a man she didn’t know standing on the porch.

He wore a battered gray ballcap with no logo. He shuffled his feet for a moment without lifting his face before suddenly darting into the house.

Lyla gasped as he grabbed her around the neck and shoved her backward.

Her adrenaline shot through the roof. Scared out of her mind, she screamed.

The man continued forward until he slammed her into the wall next to the entrance to the kitchen. He leaned into her, his face an inch from hers as pain shot through her from her head hitting the wall. The strike silenced her. She couldn’t catch her breath to continue screaming.

“Where is it, bitch?” he hissed, spittle splattering against her face. His breath was disgusting. It wasn’t from alcohol. It was from lack of hygiene. His teeth were gross. He probably hadn’t brushed them in a long time. His eyes were bloodshot.

She tried to shove against him. “Help!”

He slapped her face with his free hand. “Shout again and I’ll fucking slice your pretty face up until they can’t identify your body, bitch. Where the fuck is it?”

She had no idea what he was talking about.

He grabbed her biceps with both hands and squeezed, pulling her forward and ramming her head into the wall over and over. His grip was tight.

What did he want? Was he going to rape her, or did he plan to rob her? Both?

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