Page 70 of Wrath

“They must’ve been watching her,” Dad told him. “It’s the only way they would’ve known she’d seen the pictures.”

“We need to get this laptop to Bones and ...”

Before he could finish his thought, Wyatt came barreling out of the clubhouse and rushed over to us. He gave me a quick once over and asked, “You good?”

“Yeah, I’m okay.”

“Good... good. You had us worried.” Without skipping a beat, he turned to Cotton and said, “We’ve got a problem.”

“Yeah, we know. They just took Riley to the infirmary.”

“It’s not about that.” His eyes skirted over to me, then back to Cotton. “We should discuss it inside.”

Cotton nodded, and I knew that was my cue to get lost. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”

I skirted passed them and headed inside. Before going to my room, I went down to the infirmary to check in on Riley. When I got down the hall, Torch was waiting outside the door with a worried look on his face. “Hey, how’s he doing?”

“I don’t know. He’s lost a lot of blood, but Doc’s doing what he can.”

“I’m really sorry about all this.”

“Nothing for you to be sorry about. You didn’t shoot him. Same goes for Cody.”

“But none of this would’ve happened if...”

“You don’t know that.” He shrugged. “Crazy shit happens every day.”

“Yeah, but this was different. He was trying to protect me.”

“It’s what he signed up for.” He motioned his head towards the door. “Besides, he’s a tough kid. He’ll be fine.”

“I really hope so.” I let out a deep breath, then said, “I’m going to head down to my room. If something changes with him, please let me know.”

“Sure thing.”

With a heavy heart, I started down the hall and went straight to my room. I didn’t bother turning on the lights or the TV. I simply crawled into bed and curled into my pillow, and tried to settle the onslaught of emotions that had taken their hold on me.

I wanted desperately to fall asleep and put this awful night behind me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t stop tossing and turning. Each time I closed my eyes, I would hear Riley’s warning, see the horrified look on his face as Cody dropped to his knees, and it would send shivers down my spine. Then, my mind drifted to Riley and the blood soaking his clothes.

It was all so awful. I had no doubt that Wrath was upset with me. He had every right to be. Because of me, one prospect was dead and the other was terribly wounded. It was a thought that filled me with dread. It made my mind race even more, and the silence in that room didn’t help matters. It was suffocating, amplifying the racing thoughts in my head.

The weight of exhaustion settled heavily on my eyelids, yet the anxious knot in my stomach kept me wide awake, staring into the darkness. As the night wore on, my fatigue transformed into frustration, and it wasn’t long before tears welled up in my eyes. Once the dam had broken, there was nothing I could do to stop the tears from falling.

I cried and cried, and I was still sobbing when my door opened and Wrath walked in. I shot out of bed and rushed into his arms. He pulled me even closer, hugging me tightly as he whispered, “Are you really okay?”

“I am now.”

“You scared the hell out of me... I don’t know what I would’ve done if something happened to you.”

I let his words sink in, and slowly my anxiousness started to subside. I expected him to release his hold on me, but he didn’t. Instead, he just stood there with his gorgeous eyes locked on mine. He leaned forward, his mouth just inches from mine, and our breaths mingled as he hovered over me. “I’m okay... You saved me. You didn’t let them hurt me.”

The words had barely left my mouth when he was on me, his lips pressed against mine, and he kissed me with the most intense kiss we’d ever shared. After several moment, I eased back and whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m so very sorry.”

“None of this is on you.”

“Everyone keeps saying that, but ...”

“Because it’s true. You have no idea how true.”

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