Page 797 of The Tempted

Bracing one hand against a piece of steel, I clear my throat and swallow the grainy particles choking me. I lift the hem of my dress and wipe my irritated eyes, blinking several times before scanning the area. I narrow my eyes as I see a doorway but I’m not sure where it leads. Stepping closer, I hear another person groan.

“Hello?” I call out. “Who’s there?”

“Lacey, you need to name your surroundings. Something. Anything,” Blackie shouts.

A large frame fills the doorway and my eyes clash with Wolf’s strained face.

“Wolf!” I holler, relief filling my voice. “Blackie, I see Wolf!”

Wolf doesn’t pay any attention to me, he’s to enthralled with the object he’s struggling to drag through the door way. I hurry toward him, climbing over thrown objects until I’m standing in front of him. He lifts his eyes, sweat pouring from his face as he drags the beloved table out of the chapel.

“We’re near the chapel,” I shout back to Blackie.

“Don’t move, I’m coming for you.”

“Okay,” I cry out, turning back to Wolf. “Did you hear that, Wolf? Blackie’s coming, he will get us out of here.”

Lifting his right hand to his left arm, Wolf hunches over the table as his face contorts with pain.

“Wolf?”

“Tell the Bulldog I tried to save it,” he grunts, losing his grip on the table as he collapses in pain before my feet.

“No, no, no. Wolf!” I cry, dropping to the ground as I reach for him. “Stay with me,” I plead, watching as all the strength drains from his body and he continues to clutch his arm.

“Lace, I’m almost there,” Blackie calls.

“Please hurry! I think Wolf is having a heart attack,” I shriek, taking his left hand. “Hang on, Wolf, hang on for your sons, they need you,” I tell him but as the words leave my mouth his eyes close in defeat.

A crash sounds in the distance, forcing my eyes to lift and watch as Blackie appears, swinging pieces of metal out of his way, clearing a path straight for me. There are several lacerations marking his face, blood drips from his brow, a gash under his eye and his bottom lip is split in two. He turns his head, his eyes finding mine, and he tear escapes his eye.

There is so much reflected in his eyes but the most evident is love and relief. It mirrors what shines in mine as I look at him.

Face to face.

Leather and Lace.

“Thank fucking God,” he says, rushing toward me.

His arms wrap around my trembling body and the nightmare we’re a part of fades away. It’s just him and I, two people who never stop fighting for each other.

His lips brush my temple as he pulls back, holding my face as he examines me.

“Are you okay?” he asks as he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and winces when he gently touches the gash on my head.

“I am now,” I whisper through my tears.

He brings me against him again, crushing my bruised body in his arms before he kisses my lips lightly.

“I thought I lost you too,” he admits. “Shit, Wolf…”

He releases his hold on me, moving around me to check Wolf’s pulse.

“Is he…”

“He’s alive,” he confirms, throwing one of Wolf’s arms around his neck. “Come on, Wolf, we’re going to get you out of here. Lacey, grab his other arm,” he says, struggling to lift him. Quickly, I move to his other side and mimic Blackie’s stance. Together, we move Wolf into an upright position. His body like lead, we pull him up, balancing his weight between us.

Blackie leads the way and we walk in the direction he first appeared. I glance around the destruction; my eyes fall to the wooden table that Wolf tried so hard to salvage. The table my father held dear to his heart.

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