Page 81 of Dangerous Love

Nic’s knuckle gravitated to her lips. “Please don’t hurt me.” Her glare went from Trey to Riley as tears welled in her eyes. She flinched when Trey leaned towards her.

“No one’s gonna hurt you.” He sighed. “But the only way you don’t get dragged into this… is if you were never here. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

She nodded, her lips wobbling. “I didn’t see anything…”

I dropped Riley’s hand and crouched in front of her. “There are other people, evil people who will stop at nothing to get what they want. These guys won’t hurt you, but you have to disappear and never tell anyone what you saw. If you want to keep yourself safe. Okay?”

My heart broke when she dug her fingernails through her palms. “I’ll do anything. I won’t tell anyone. Please, I just want to go home to my son.”

I turned and glanced at the boys, a weird realisation that I’d become one of them pulsing through my being. Truth be told, if I’d been holding that gun, I would have done the same thing. Trey drew his wallet from his pocket and dragged out a fifty-dollar note before handing it to the nurse. “Will you be okay getting home?”

“Y-yes. Thank you.” She nodded again. “I’ll never say anything.” She stepped towards the door, scurrying through the exit like the place was on fire, and disappeared, leaving the three of us in the dark warehouse.

I pushed to my feet and settled next to Riley. Trey followed suit, his pelvis resting against the arm of the couch. For a few minutes, none of us spoke, three sets of eyes locked on the two bodies. “All right, here’s what’s gonna happen,” Trey said, the lines on his face deepening with every word. “As far as I’m concerned, neither of you were ever here.”

“What the fuck?” Riley stiffened. “No way, Trey. I’m not letting you deal with this alone.”

Trey ignored him. “Get rid of your woman. Get her brother or someone to pick her up. I don’t care who, but she needs to go. I don’t know how long we have before the Snakes and Dad’s deadbeats turn up.”

My heart pumped through my rib cage. “No, I’m not leaving you alone. I’m staying here,” I said, as Riley typed something on his phone before stashing it away again.

“Baby girl, it’s time.”

“Riley, no.” I gripped onto his wrist. “I can’t.”

He cupped my cheeks and dropped his mouth to mine. His tongue danced past my lips, slowly, and we kissed like lost lovers through their first goodbye. “Avery’s on his way. He’ll be here in five.”

Tears filled my eyes, the overflow of pain impossible to contain anymore. “I can’t leave you. I need to be here. I can help. Please, don’t do this alone.”

He pinned me against him, his thumb pressed over my mouth until silence grew between us. “You can, baby girl, and you will.”

Trey jumped to his feet, his gun out when a car door clunked at the front of the building. “How fast does B2 drive?”

“Fast.” I sighed. “Especially after a message like that.”

Riley’s eyes met mine. “Go now. One of us will be in touch when it’s all over.” He kissed me again, passion laced through his fears. “I love you.”

I choked, my throat so tight no words could escape. I kissed my knuckle and blew it towards him, before meeting Avery on the other side of the threshold. As soon as he saw me, my brother paled, his olive skin whiter than snow on a stormy day. He ran forward, his arms embracing my smaller frame as soon as he reached me. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, a sob shaking my core. “I’m sorry,” I cried. “I’m sorry about everything. Please help Riley. Help him.”

Avery released his hold, his hands pinning me back by my shoulders until he could stare into my eyes. “I’m going to try to help him, and you’re going to go with Grace, and neither of you are going to leave the house until I call you. Do you understand, Shorty?”

I nodded, my body and soul both ready to crack under the pressure. “Okay,” I said, as I glanced back one more time. “Help them.” If anything happened to Riley, I didn’t know if I could ever live with myself.

A life without him isn’t a life worth living.The darkness hit me as soon as I stepped outside. The cold wind blew against my skin, each step heavier as I hurried towards Avery’s car. Grace jumped out, her arms locking with mine. “Oh my god, sweetie. Are you okay?”

“We have to go,” I cried. “Before the club gets here.” She led me to the passenger’s seat, helped me with my seat belt, and dashed back to the driver’s side. The car screeched as we drove off, Grace’s fingers digging into the steering wheel. When we hit the highway, my breathing catching up with the rest of my body, I whispered, “It was so bad, Grace.”

“Why don’t you bring me up to speed?” she asked as she missed our exit.

“Aren’t we going home?”

“No. We’ll keep moving until we hear from Avery.” She glanced in her rearview mirror, her chest heaving. “Start from the beginning. Tell me what happened?”

I studied the trees flying past us on the highway, each blur taking me one step farther away from Riley.What if he does get locked up? Or worse, killed?

I sighed, ready to finally spill the whole story. My gut churned. “I’ve been staying with a guy from Coles…Michael. He was working for Cooper all along… to keep tabs on me.” I took a deep breath. “Riley and I met, and we made up. I told Michael I’d be moving out, and he acted all weird. Now I know why,” I hissed. “He dragged me to the warehouse where they locked me up, and when I came out, Riley and Trey were arguing with Cooper.”

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