I slid forward on the seat, throwing myself into his arms. It didn’t matter that he was still wet. I only felt his heat, the solidity of his body. Burying my face into his wet neck, I waited for normalcy. Whatever that was.
“I’ve noticed the blackouts are coming more frequently. For a while, you weren’t having very many.”
“Stress.” It was all I could get out.
He hummed. “Yeah, I know, and I won’t sugarcoat this and tell you it’ll be over soon, but you have to know how proud I am of you. You’ve come so far since I brought you to the clubhouse after the accident.”
“New…normal… I’ll…never be…” I sighed, my breath making the ends of his hair dance.
His arms tightened around me, and I felt his nose press against my forehead. “Flo and Buster are a product of you. They wouldn’t be the women they are without your influence.” My clothes were stuck to my skin, and although I was cold, I would never have pulled away from him. “I remember Peter.”
I wasn’t trying to forget my son, but I bristled against Thunder at the mention of his name.
“He fit, Liz. He was another member of the family, and the only person he could have inherited that from was you.”
“I hear…her voice.” I closed my eyes, hoping to keep the darkness at bay. “The past…plays.”
***
Thunder
I picked her up, wrapping her legs around my waist as I rose from my knees, making sure my feet were steady underneath me before I moved. Walking into thebedroom, I sat her on the edge of the mattress before opening the closest. I kept a few changes of clothes down here, but I was seriously going to move the rest of my things tomorrow.
A pang shot across my chest, and I gripped my heart as if I were having an attack. I’d had my room upstairs since I’d been a prospect. There was no point in keeping it. Liz wouldn’t be able to climb the stairs, and I’d rather stay with her than hold on.
“Bob…by.”
It was so faint that I barely heard her. “Yeah?” I called from inside the walk-in, reaching for a pair of boxers.
“Phone.”
I didn’t bother drying off, but I pulled the boxers on and jogged out of the closet. “What’s going on?” I asked her.
She didn’t answer, pointing at my pants.
I moved closer to the pile of clothes, and that was when I heard my cell phone ringing.
Silence.
Ringing again.
Someone wanted my attention.
Pulling it from my pants pocket, I checked the screen. Unknown number.What the fuck?
I watched the screen as the phone rang again, only to go silent when I didn’t answer. Not spam. Not like this.
“Next time…answer it,” Liz whispered, and it snapped me out of my head.
I heard her, but something in my gut told me to text Cyph. He’d have the tools to trace the call. No sooner had I sent the text than the phone rang again.
It wasn’t long before there was a knock on the door, and when I opened it, Cyph had his equipment in hand. I hadn’t told him exactly what was going on, in case there was a bug in my phone, but he understood my unspoken meaning.
He took one look at me, in my boxers with water dripping everywhere, and smirked. The phone rang again, distracting him before he could say anything. I went to shut the bedroom door when Sabre came running around the corner.
“Cyph called me.” It was all he said, and I didn’t question it as he entered the room. Sabre sat next to Liz, holding his hand out for hers. He was doing me a favor, and while I didn’t like it, this wasn’t about me. Liz was pale, and I told myself he was trying to give her strength to get through this. I’d done the same for Flo.
The ringing filled the room. Cyph clicked a few things on his tablet before he pointed at me. I answered the call, not saying a word.
