My heart started beating erratically and fear seized my lungs. I couldn't breathe.
“You’re wrong. You're not getting out of this,” the man said.
I punched the end button on the phone, cutting off whatever he was about to say next. I couldn’t think of anyone who I’d made mad or who’d want to harm Stormi and me. Nothing was making sense.
With trembling fingers, I dialed the first number that came to mind.
When he answered, I said, “Can you come running now?”
“Lake, honey, what’s wrong?” Bronson asked.
“I need you. I need younow.”
There was rustling on the other end and a door closing.
“On my way, baby. I will be there in two seconds.”
And he’d told the truth. There was a knock on my door right after the words left his mouth.
“It’s me. Can you open the door?”
On shaky legs, I got up and moved across the room. I put my hand on the handle but didn’t turn it.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, just turn the knob and I will be right here,” he told me in a soothing tone.
When I opened the door and saw Bronson standing there, I threw myself into his arms.
“You really came,” I mumbled against his chest.
His strong hands ran up and down my back.
“Yeah, I’m right here, Cupcake.”
All the endearments I heard in the last couple minutes that had slipped from his lips was something I’d have to think about later.
Right then, all I could do was soak in the security I felt in his arms.
Chapter Twelve
BRONSON
My adrenaline spikedthe second she called.
I was already moving when she asked if I could run, every pulse point throbbing under my skin as my brain conjured up every scenario as to what could have been wrong. Luckily I’d been dressed in a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. Not taking an extra second to throw on shoes before I was racing toward her place, the phone still pressed to my ear, I was at her door in no time at all.
Thank fuck we’d moved to the condos for the time being because if I’d gotten this call with her while she was at home and me at my apartment, thirty minutes or more away, I’d have gone out of my fucking mind getting to her.
How the hell had I lived without her all these years?
In a matter of days, she’d started to consume my every thought. If I truly took the time to think about it, I’d have to say that I probably wasn’t really living at all. More like going through daily motions. Sure I had friends like Lyric and the group, guys I worked with, and some old buddies from the military, but I’d honestly never let anyone deep into my heart after walking away from Lake, then losing my dad.
After coaxing her into opening the door, Lake had thrown herself into my arms and buried her head against my chest.
“You really came,” she said, her voice muffled and scared.
I closed my eyes, a knife embedding itself into my heart at her words. Lake should have never doubted I would come but I’d fucked up.
Her words when she called replayed in my head as her hands gripped the back of my T-shirt like a lifeline.I need you. I need you now.
