Page 11 of Inflame Me
She sighs, but there is confidence in it. Damn, I love her strength. “Bottom line is James got drunk. He used me as a punching bag, and Tanner came to help me. We thought James was passed out, but he wasn’t. There was another fight, and he ended up dead.”
Cameron—I mean, Dagger’s—back straightens, and his face goes on alert. “Can you walk?” he asks her in a tone that is surprisingly caring. This night seems to be full of them—surprises.
“I need to help her,” I say from the side.
“Fuck that.” He picks my mother up as she closes her eyes tightly; no doubt, he’s touching something that hurts her. He carries her bridal style as I slam the door to the car and lock it.
I trail behind them, and the guy Dagger called Rhys—what kind of name is that?—meets us as he’s coming out.
“Call Doc. We need him ASAP. Find Princess,” Dagger barks to another man as we enter. He has longish, brown hair and a beautiful brunette is standing next him with a soft smile on her face.
I follow through the crowd, making sure my mother is in my sight at all times. The music has stopped, and the overhead, even brighter lights are on. All eyes seem to be on us. If there were ever a time I would like to disappear, this would be it. I hate being the center of attention, always have. Regardless, I pull up my big girl panties and move on.
Dagger enters a room and lays my mother on a bed. The room is wood-paneled with pictures and banners draped on the walls. The bed is unkempt, and clothes are strung across the floor throughout it. Empty beer cans and bottles are on every surface. It is defiantly not the cleanest place I’ve ever been in before.
I move to the side of bed, kneeling down, my hip aching as I do, and grab my mother’s hand gently. “Are you okay?”
She turns her head stiffly toward me, her eyes welling up, and my heart breaks for her. “It hurts a bit,” she mutters through clenched teeth. I have no doubt that it does.
“I have more Vicodin in the car. You want me to go get it?” I really don’t want to leave her and go through all those people outside the door, but I’ll do whatever I have to do to help her.
“I’ll be okay,” my mother, ever the trooper, responds. Hit her with a Mack truck, and she’s still just fine.
I move to get up, even though it pains me to, but she needs the medicine, even if she won’t say it. “I’ll be—” My words are cut off by a hand on my wrist.
My head snaps up, and I look into eyes that remind me of the ocean, but also the danger that lives beneath its surface. Rhys.
“Give me the keys. Tell me where it is, and I’ll get it.” My first thought is,That’s sweet. The second thought is,What is he playing at? But I’m grateful for his generosity. My mother always taught me never to look a gift horse in the mouth, and I’m not starting now.
I dig in my pocket and pull out my keys. “It’s in…” Oh, shit. “My purse. It’s in the backseat of the car. There’s a bottle inside it.” I really don’t want him going through my purse, not that there is anything in there of any real significance. He doesn’t appear to be a respectable man who will keep his hands out of my stuff, though.Now who’s judging from the outside in, Tanner?“Or just bring me my purse, and I’ll get it.”
He gives me this manly chin lift thing, snatching my keys from me, and then he’s gone.
I kneel back down, my own pain settling in deep as the adrenaline I’ve held on to from the moment I got the call from Mom comes seeping out.
“Tell me the trouble,” Dagger says, pulling up a chair and sitting down on the other side of the bed. His gaze drifts up and down my mother. For some bizarre reason, I suddenly want to cover her up.
Four other men stand around, each with their eyes trained on my mom and each with the confidence that they could end this entire situation in a second.
“You want me to?” I ask Mom, who nods slightly. “She’s hurting pretty bad,” I tell them like an idiot. Anyone with two eyes could see that bit of information.
I go through the entire story of what happened, not leaving a single thing out. If Mom is right, and this man or men can help us, then they may as well have all the facts.
“After cleaning Mom up, we came here.”
“So the knives and clothes are in your car?” Dagger stares at me, stroking his beard up and down. It’s almost like a calming thing for him, or maybe he’s deep in thought.
“Yes, in a black, plastic bag. Everything is in there.” I grabbed Mom’s hand during the telling of the story, and she squeezed me several times in reassurance. I needed it because it’s the only reason I’ve kept going. She is my strength.
Rhys came back in during story time, and I stopped to give Mom some more meds. Her eyes getting a bit droopy now, so she’ll most likely pass out soon. That’s good. She needs to rest and heal.
“Becs, Tug,” Dagger says to two men in the room who were listening to every word intently. They aren’t as scary as Rhys, but they are up there on the top of the pole.
“On it,” one of them says as Rhys tosses my keys to them.
“Why did you give them my keys?” I ask him a little more snottily than I should have.
“Stop it,” is all he says, and I glare at him. “Tanner, let the guys do their thing.”
