She cups her hands around his face, “Look at me,” she instructs him. His eyes slowly look into hers, “You’re safe, I’m not going to let anything else happen to you. We got you.”
She examines his face, looking over every inch.
I guide my hand on her back, everyone watching around us. Jackson joins Rawlings on the main deck. D.R. stepping behind Cedric, the physician in him wanting to check on him. Other members wait around for instruction, whether from me or Rawlings.
But it’s Charlotte that speaks up, “How about if D.R. checks you out? Then we’ll get you some food and a shower?” She searches in his eyes for an agreement or complaint.
Cedric nods, “Yes ma’am.”
She rises to her toes placing a kiss on his forehead. “We’ll talk soon, but we need you well. You hear me?”
He offers her a smile, “Yes, teach.”
He looks back at D.R as they walk to the back of the examining room.
“He’s going to be okay. Right, Lottie?” Finn’s anxious voice asks.
“Yeah, buddy. We’ll help him,” her voice shakes.
Chapter 37
Lottie
He’ssafe.
He’s safe.
He’s safe.
That’s all my mind will allow for comfort. The shell of a body that is Cedric is diminished. He’s almost deteriorating before me and it breaks my heart. Any ounce of strength he has, is limited. I saw the fear in his eyes, his eyes wandering around the club members. His trust is gone and questions everything.
Finn looks at me, concern grows in him.
Topaz creeps up behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Why don’t Finn and I go into the kitchen and whip something up?”
“Yeah. That sounds like a great idea,” I force a smile. Signaling him to go ahead along with her.
I have to sit down, and honestly I don’t care where I was sitting, even if my ass has to be cold. I sit down, laying my head between my knees.
The crunching of the gravel swirls in my ear, a hot breath shivers down my neck. “Tell me what you need,” he commands.
I don’t know.
I don’t know what I need right now.
For weeks I have been battling the worst thoughts. Thinking that I would be burying a lost soul, instead of praising that he’s safe. Hot tears stream down my face, the pent up emotions now exploding.
“I don’t know,” I whisper.
Keola grabs me into a tight hug, cradling my body in his lap. The men must have left because the crunching of gravel is gone.
“I got you, I’m here,” Keola whispers, comforting me, easing the chaotic feeling in my chest. He repeats his words, reminding me still that he’s here. I ignore the tender skin on my collar of the finished work. But he never lets go.
How can a man show this much sincerity and still be who he is?
The amount of blood that has been shed in the past couple of months isn’t nearly the same amount shed in a lifetime.
One piece of the puzzle is complete.
