Page 102 of Liberate Us (Next Generation 8)

Cyrus and Jaron followed Cheesy and Locke to the garage, taking all the air in my lungs with them. I didn’t like the way Sammy was looking at me. It went past just being intense. It was like his eyes were searing into my soul, marking their territory, and reminding me where I belonged. He didn’t need to remind me. I knew. He was my home. He had always been.

“Sam, you know I have to do this,” I told him, but my voice didn’t come out as sure as I would have liked.

Sammy stomped toward me. His hand reached the back of my head first. He fisted my hair, holding me in place and forcing me to look up at him. “I’ll go with you.” His hand dropped to my stomach. “And I don’t give a shit about Will’s threats. I will skin him alive if something happens to you.”

“I won’t be able to handle it if something happens toyou.” I gripped his hoodie, pulling him closer.

“We’ll take care of this together,” he said, his voice firm. It left no room for argument but I knew that Will wouldn’t like it if Sammy showed up with me. Add to the fact that he had my mom, it wouldn’t end well for her.

“You need to give me a head start.” I pulled away from him and lifted my hand before he could stop me. “You know I have to do this. I have to save my mom.”

“And sacrifice yourself in the fucking process?” Sammy yelled. “Your mom wouldn’t want you to do that. I don’t want you to do that. Will isn’t stupid. He knows for a fact that you won’t show up alone.”

“It doesn’t matter what she wants. What any of you want. If you could go back in time and do what you could to save your parents, I know you would.” I ran a hand over my belly. “I need to do this. I need to get her back and to safety. I need her to be able to watch her grandchildren grow up. I need…” My chin wobbled, tears falling down my cheeks.

A heavy body wrapped around me, pulling me into a warmth I thought I would never feel.

Sammy gripped the sides of my head, leaning his forehead against mine. “I’ll go with you and have a fucking army with us too. I’m not having you go in there alone.”

“Sam.”

“I can’t let you go there by yourself. I can’t. I refuse to offer you up to him.” He reached behind him, pulling a small pistol from the back of his jeans. “Here. Take this.”

“I can’t. I don’t know how…” The lie was on the tip of my tongue but we both knew that being married to a biker for as long as I had been, of course I knew how to shoot. Aaron made sure of it.

“Take it.” Sammy grabbed my hand and placed the small pistol in my open palm. “If someone comes to you that isn’t me, shoot them.” He kissed my forehead, breathing me in.

My eyes welled, a single tear falling down my cheek. “My mom…she’s…” The words wouldn’t leave my lips but they forced bile to my throat anyway. A shuddered breath left me.

“I’m sorry, baby.” Sammy took the pistol from me and spun me around. He lifted the hem of my baggy shirt and slipped the small gun into the waist of my leggings. “There’s something you need to do though.”

I thought a moment. “I need to call him and make sure my mom is actually alive.”

Sammy turned me back around, keeping his hands at my waist. “How did you know?”

“Because I know how he works. He probably recorded her voice saying my name. I guess I didn’t want to think about that and got too wrapped up in the fact that he took her in the first place when Tiny and his crew should have fucking protected her like they said they were going to.” It wasn’t fair of me to think it but I couldn’t help it. Tiny promised me that he would look after her.

Before Sammy could comment, Cyrus came back outside, followed by Jaron.

“Sorry to interrupt,” Jaron said, looking between us both. “It appears that the clubhouse in your hometown was blown up. It has Will’s MO all over it. That’s how they were able to get your mom. She was there.”

My knees shook. “She…She was probably bringing them food. She did that often. I…My mom isn’t going to make it out of this alive, is she?”

Jaron and Cyrus looked at each other while Sammy kept his gaze on me.

“You want to know my honest opinion?” Sammy asked me.

I nodded. “Yes, please.”

“I think if she’s still alive, she’s very fucking lucky.” Sam grabbed my hand, bringing it up to his mouth and kissing my knuckles. “I don’t know what all Will wants but I will stand at your side and wait until you tell me that you need me.”

My eyes welled. “I need to call him.” I drew in a deep breath, pulled away from Sam and dialed up the man who was doing everything in his power to destroy everything I had worked hard for.

“Change your mind?” came Will’s deep voice from the other end of the phone.

“Let me talk to my mom,” I demanded, ignoring his comment. “Not just a hi. An actual conversation. I need to know that you didn’t just record her saying my name.”

“Smart fucking girl.” He chuckled, the sound sending an ice-cold shiver of fear racing down my spine. “She’s a little indisposed.”

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