“If she were an enemy of your family, if she had betrayed you in some way, this conversation would not be happening. But Cidney is probably the most innocent person between our two worlds, and that was not earned nor deserved.”
“She is,” he murmurs, his gaze not leaving the phone screen for a long moment.
“There are more, but I don’t think you need to watch them all.”
“No, I do not.”
I don’t say anything else right away. I allow whatever the fuck he’s going to say and do to hang in the air. He’s met Cidney, and he knows she’s important to the club, but also that his son targeted her.
He also knows that this single act his kid committed could very well start a war, a big one. And I don’t think Lorenzo wantsthat, so now it’s up to him to make the next move, and if it’s not the right one, my next stop will be to Bullet.
CIDNEY
“Looks like you’ll be going home today,” the nurse sings as she walks into my room.
Her words are relief and anxiety mixed into one single feeling. I don’t say that, though. Instead, I give her a small smile and dip my chin in a single nod. I know I should be happy about leaving.
Obviously, I suffered no major damage, inside or out. Most of my injuries are aches and pains now and need to be monitored, but now that it’s been a few days and all tests have come back normal, all I can do to continue to heal is to rest my body.
Which means going home and being in bed… but home. The thought of going back there and being there makes me nauseous and nervous. My heart slams against my chest as I try to envision myself walking through my front door.
I can’t.
All I can picture is his face.
Goffredo, Jeffery, whatever the fuck he’s called. All I know is that he’s a monster. The nurse chats as she checks everything, then tells me the doctor will be in shortly to sign off on my release.
“Do you need to call someone to come and get you?” she asks. “If you do, now is a good time to let them know. It’ll be a few hours before you’re completely ready to go, though.”
“I will, thanks,” I murmur.
Posey was able to bring my cell phone here yesterday. I haven’t been brave enough to turn it on, though. I don’t know why I’m scared. There’s no reason for me to be. I shouldn’t bescared at all. Goffredo left me for dead. He won’t be trying to contact me. If he did, it would just tip off the Vicious Reapers that he’s the one who hurt me.
The nurse leaves me alone, and I reach for my phone, turning it over in my hand a few times before I finally press the button on the side to power it on. I stare at the device for a little longer than I should as the screen comes to life.
All I have to do is put in my passcode, and it will show me all of the notifications I’ve missed while sitting in this stupid bed. Sinking my teeth into my bottom lip, I do it. I put in my code, then watch as the main screen appears.
Flicking my gaze to the screen, I notice the iMessage app has twenty new text messages and the phone app has a little three at the top right-hand corner. I’m not sure I can deal with the text app right now, so I touch the phone one. There are three voicemails.
One is Lainey, one is Posey, and the final one is Goose. I don’t listen to them. I don’t think I could handle hearing Lainey or Posey’s concerned voices. It would probably break me, and right now, I’m holding on by a thread, the barest thread that ever existed.
I decide to read the transcriptions instead. Lainey asks me to call her when I’m ready, and she’ll come over and bring some desserts. I love her. Truly, I do. Posey’s message just says that she would like me to come over to their house to rest and recover.
It’s sweet of her to care, and I know that we’re family and that’s what family does. Except I’m pretty sure that Justin only feels guilty, and I don’t want to be there with him feeling guilty and acting overly protective or any type of way.
Pressing my lips together, I roll them a few times as I think about the offer and how I’m going to tell them that I don’t wantto be there while simultaneously saying that I don’t want to be at my own place, either.
When I get to Goose’s message, I have to inhale a deep breath and hold it while I read. Unfortunately, even as I read, I can hear his gravelly, sexy voice playing in my head. My heartbeat begins to rapidly thump inside my chest.
How can his being gone be real? I still can’t believe he just packed his shit and left without a word. And I want to hate him for it, but I can’t, because I love him too much. I love every part of him, and although I didn’t know him well, I wanted to continue to love all the new parts of him I discovered over the years.
Blinking, I let out my breath in an exhale as I attempt to focus on the words in the voicemail transcription.
Hey, babe. I just… fuck. I don’t know what to say. I’m coming back to Thunder Rock. You don’t have to see me if you don’t want to. I’d like to see you, make sure you’re okay, maybe talk a little? I’m an asshole, Cidney. A huge fucking asshole. Call me, text me, send Ivy to try and kick my ass again. I don’t know. Something. Okay. Bye
Shit. That’s a good message. A really good one. I close my eyes and let it all soak in. I think about listening to it in his own voice, but decide against it. Instead, I find Lainey’s number and call her.
I know I should be calling Posey and Justin, but I can’t. I just cannot deal with that dynamic right now. I need to breathe, and I can’t do that with Justin breathing down my neck with his guilt.
