Page 23 of Dread’s Beloved

“Upstairs resting. She’s had a hellish few days.”

“Damn shame. I remember Blair and Zane. They were always with her and Sukie. How is my girl? I was hoping she’d come with you to pay her old man a visit.”

“She’s good. Handling shit back in Kill Creek for Kitty.”

He nods and grabs a seat at a different table with Gloom and Sinister. They give me chin lifts. I’m welcome here, but it’s not the same as being home with my regular crew. We may wear the same patch, but that doesn’t mean they fully trust me.

I can’t blame them. I’d be the same damn way.

“Here you are, sugar. Don’t be a stranger.” Punky gives me her best attempt to look sexy. She’s not ugly. She’s pretty enough, but she’s club pussy and Nightshade probably told her to fuck me and pump me for information. I know the game and I’m keeping score.

This isn’t my first rodeo or my first visit to Hell’s Hollow.

I take the grub and the coffee upstairs. Kitty is sprawled out on the bed on her stomach, drooling on the pillow, boots still on.

She’s crashed from the adrenaline and shock of the past few days. I drop the plate and coffee on the dresser and set to unlacing her boots so I can tug them off as gently as possible without waking her up. She needs the rest. I get her boots off and debate leaving it at that, but them jeans she’s wearing have to be uncomfortable with how she’s laying.

I roll her over, and she hardly stirs. I stare down at her, noting the dark circles rimming her eyes. It isn’t smeared makeup. Far as I can tell, she’s not wearing any.

Not that she needs it. Kitty’s gorgeous with skin like a porcelain doll. Her natural complexion and pouty pink lips are perfect.

She’s dead to the world as I unzip her jeans and slide them down her smooth legs. The black tee she is wearing ends right at her hips. She’s wearing black-and-white striped undies with a pink bow on them like a present waiting to be unwrapped.

As I watch her, taking in all the beauty that is simply her, I don’t know how Zane had it and threw it away for a cheap piece of ass like Blair. Hate to think ill of the dead, except it is the truth.

He threw her away.

Damn shame.

I dig around in my bag for one of my tees to replace hers. She mutters something incoherent and licks her lips when I get her shirt up over her head. Seeing my shirt on her has my chest squeezing tight. I like the way it hits her mid-thigh.

I shouldn’t be looking at her like this in her moment of weakness. It’s wrong and I know it’s wrong and I fight the urge to kiss her mouth. To kiss away all her pain. Her fear. I ache to show her she’s safe with me, but that’d be a damn lie. I’m not a good man. I’ve done bad shit. Hurt good people. And if Kitty gets close enough, I’ll hurt her, too. That’s what I’m good at.

I close the blinds and the blackout curtains to darken the room. I don’t know how long I’ll be here playing bodyguard, so I hang Kitty’s bag off the back of the chair and drop mine on the floor. I pull the chair up next to the bed and watch her sleep. Nosie from downstairs carries up the stairs. Music and laughter, but I don’t find a damn thing funny.

Chapter Ten

Kitty

I jerk awake in a cold sweat. Everything comes rushing back to me. Zane and Blair are dead. And it is all my fault. I don’t care what anyone says. That’s a weight I’ll carry till the day I die. I shouldn’t be running off to hide. I should be facing Donavon Miller and telling him he’s garbage. That he deserves to rot and that I hope the last twenty years of his life have been hell. Killing him would be too easy. He took three innocent, beautiful lives. I’m sure there have been others. Zane was a cheater and Blair was a shit friend, but they didn’t deserve to die for it.

I glance around the dark, unfamiliar room and remember where I am: Hell’s Hollow. Dread is slumped over in a chair with a ball cap pulled down over his face. The steady rise and fall of his chest tells me he’s also sleeping, and not very comfortably based on the way he’s sitting. Fingers laced across his stomach, his legs spread and kicked out. Stretching and yawning, I get a whiff of his cologne and realize I’m only in a tee that isn’t mine.

I don’t recall changing. Did he undress me and slip this tee on me?

Some people might find that creepy, but I think it is kind of sweet.

I should probably wake him and give him the bed. I spot a plate of food and a cold cup of coffee on the dresser, and my stomach growls. The thought of eating makes me sick, but starving myself won’t do me any favors. Quietly, I pull my jeans back on and swap my shirt back out. I fold Dread’s tee and place it on the end of the bed. I have to be extremely cautious unzipping my bag to dig out my burner phone. I need to check in with Sukie.

Not knowing what is happening back home will drive me batshit crazy.

I don’t know what time it is, but I suspect it is much later in the day. With the burner tucked down in my boot, I head downstairs.

The music is loud, and some of the men are playing pool, drinking, and smoking. There are some women hanging around that look to be club girls and not ol’ ladies. A regular night at any motorcycle club’s clubhouse. The sight makes me ache for home. No one pays me much mind. I get a few stares, and someone whistles at me. I ignore them and walk out the front door. I look for somewhere I can get some privacy and start walking along the side of the building, wondering if there are any cameras pointing at me. It’s getting dark and there isn’t much light out here. I take my chances and power the phone on. It’s nothing fancy and basic. Perfect for what I need it for. Making calls and texting Sukie. She promised to attend Zane’s service for me, and I wonder if she will be at Blair’s.

No service shows, and when I check, there’s not any Wi-Fi in range. I’m standing in a dead zone. Perfect. I keep walking until I hit the back of the building where there’s some picnic tables and a patio that houses an outdoor kitchen and bar. Beyond that, there are some tiny houses where some of the club members who live here stay. One of them belongs to Spook. I remember coming with my dad one time to bring Sukie for a visit. Lundie didn’t want to make the drive, so Dad, being Dad, did.

They can’t not have any internet or cell service. That’s just insane in this day and age. I keep walking and pacing around the length of the backyard area.