After Us (Next Generation #6) - J.M. Walker Page 0,112
gone after Price. Some of the guys had followed him but I didn’t know anything more than that. Had they found him yet? Had they found Brynn?
Time was lost on me the longer I didn’t have my daughter and the man I loved in my arms. I was pissed at him, but I got it. I did. I was mad with the way we left things. He probably thought I blamed him. A part of me did at first. I couldn’t help but admit it. But that didn’t matter. I got over it and just wanted my little family home safe and sound.
I slept off and on, crying myself to sleep only to wake up from a nightmare that I would never see Brynn or Jaron again. I kept dreaming that I could see them but no matter how much I ran toward them, I could never catch them. It made me wake up in a cold sweat with tears streaking my cheeks.
This pain was nothing like when Jaron was in jail. At least then I knew he was alive because Cyrus and Sammy told me so. But now they couldn’t tell me anything because they didn’t know themselves. I had told them to go with the guys to find Jaron, but they refused. They made a promise and no matter what happened, they planned on keeping it.
I cupped my stomach, praying that my unborn baby could survive this stress resting on my muscles. I tried swallowing my emotions, so the baby wouldn’t feel it, but I couldn’t.
Be strong, little one. Please be strong.
One morning, I was restless. I wasn’t sure how much time had passed since I last held my daughter or seen Jaron. Maybe a day. Maybe more. I wasn’t sure. No matter how much I tried to sleep, I couldn’t. So instead, I took a shower, got dressed, and went to see if Cyrus and Sammy had any news for me. But before I could ask any questions, I was stopped short by several members of Hell’s Harlem filling the vast room on the main floor of the clubhouse.
Cyrus and Sammy were talking to the guy I had come to know as Cheesy. Sammy caught my gaze and came toward me.
“What’s going on?” I asked, my heart racing hard.
“Jaron and Brynlee have been found,” he said gently.
“What?” My eyes widened. “Where are they?”
“At the hospital. The guys only just showed up here or else we would have woken you up sooner,” Sammy explained. “Brynlee is fine. There are no injuries. Price didn’t hurt her.”
“Oh.” I latched on to his arm to keep from falling. “Thank God.”
“But…” Sammy looked back at his crew.
“What is it?” I gripped his arm tight. “Tell me. Please. I can handle it.”
Sammy looked down at me. “Jaron was shot. He was in surgery last we heard.”
“I…” My chest tightened, tears streaming down my cheeks. “Take me to the hospital. Please.”
“Stay here in case Greyson needs you,” Cyrus instructed the guys. “We need to stick together until this shit dies down.”
“Let’s go, kiddo.” Sammy hooked his arm around my shoulders and led me out of the house.
“Let’s go see your daughter and Jaron.” Cyrus stood back. “I’ll join you in a moment.”
“Sammy.” I turned to him when we stopped at his SUV. “Tell me how bad it is.”
He searched my face before letting out a hard sigh. “I don’t know. Greyson said there was security footage showing Price holding Brynlee. Jaron approached them and guys came up behind them. Brynn is fine but she was found lying beside Jaron. She was covered in blood.”
“God.” I shivered, bile rising to my throat. “I’m glad she’s young enough that she won’t remember this.”
“Same,” Sammy said as Cyrus joined us.
We filed into the SUV with me in the back and the guys in the front. Cyrus drove like he usually did.
“Who shot Jaron?” I asked.
“One of Price’s men but he was found dead in a tub in a motel room,” Cyrus explained. “But we don’t know how Jaron got into the motel room. The footage shows Price leaving in a car. Unfortunately, the car didn’t have a license plate.”
“Of course,” I mumbled.
“We’ll find Price and he will pay for what he’s done, Piper,” Sammy said, his voice taking on an edge that made my stomach twist. I could feel the rage coursing through him. Through both of them actually, but Sammy’s anger set me on edge.