Addictive (Houston Defiance MC #2) - K.E. Osborn Page 0,53
us as expertly as he always does.
“Is somebody gonna start talking?” I grunt.
Wraith scratches his head, like he’s unsure where to start, but he does anyway. “I got a call from the Sergeant at the jail.”
Clenching my eyes, I tighten my hand on Cherry’s just waiting for the inevitable news I don’t want to hear. My breathing stops as I wait for my world to stop spinning.
“Zero was stabbed in his cell last night—”
“Jesus Christ, Wraith, you said he was okay? You promised me, you promised that you would get him out of there safe!” Cherry blurts out.
I open my eyes to Wraith holding his hands up in surrender.
“I never should have promised you that. I’m sorry, Cherry, but he’s in recovery in the medical unit of the jail… under strict supervision and protection. The perpetrator’s in isolation. He can’t get to Zero again.”
Cherry huffs, folding her arms over her chest in some sort of angry pose while I sit trying to comprehend Wraith’s words.
Zero was stabbed.
So badly, he needed to be moved to a medical ward.
“Is he going to be okay? Is he going to pull through?” My voice is barely a whisper.
Wraith’s eyes focus in on me. “Yes. He’s strong, Prinie. He has far too much to fight for.”
My eyes well with tears as I try to gather all the emotions racing through me right now.
Zero was stabbed.
He could have died.
But, he didn’t.
And right now, I am so fucking glad for small mercies.
“Prinie, I know this is a lot to take in right now. I want to be here for anything you need and to help you get through thi—”
“Actually, Wraith, Zero is alive,” I cut in. “That’s worth celebrating. I want to embrace the fact my brother survived. He’s strong. I don’t know if he’s going to make it through the entire time he’s in that place, but today… today is a win for us and the club.”
Cherry smiles with an enthusiastic drop of her chin. “Hell, yeah, it is. My old man wouldn’t want us moping around and fucking about. He’d want us celebrating the small stuff.”
Wraith’s eyes shift, they were dark, a shadow had taken them over, but now a small ray of light beckons beneath the blackness. “You wanna do something to celebrate, princess?”
I stand, running my hands down my sweatpants. “We need a club party.”
Cherry chuckles. “Yes, it’s what Zero would want.”
Wraith rubs the back of his neck. “You sure this isn’t just an excuse to get wasted and drown your sorrows?”
I roll my eyes. “You can do that if you want, but me and Cherry, we’re celebrating the guy we love making through another day in lockdown. Right, Rayne?”
Cherry stands with a firm nod of her head. “Exactly! We’re doing this, Wraith, with or without you.”
Groaning, I stand with a shrug. “Fine! We will have a very small, low-key party. No outside visitors. No heavy drinking… either of you. I don’t need anything happening. No drunken, boozy, bender behavior, you got me?”
I fold my arms over my chest. “Same goes for you, Mr. President.”
Wraith simply nods as Cherry exits my room to obviously get ready, which leaves us alone.
Wraith looks to the door, then walks over, closing us in. “How are you… really?”
I raise my brow. “You care?”
A low growl reverbs from his chest as he steps closer to me. “Don’t talk to me like that, Kharlie. For fuck’s sake, I’m trying here.”
My eyes shift to the floor in regret. “Sometimes it’s hard to know if you care or whether you just wish I weren’t here. Like it would be easier if—”
Wraith grabs my biceps so tightly it shocks me. My head snaps up, seeing a fire burning in his eyes.
“Don’t you ever fucking say shit like that. Prinie, you mean more to me than I can even express. I just… it’s fucking hard. This… is fucking hard!”
My insides begin to tremble as I stare at Wraith, the whiskey color in his eyes turning into a rich amber as the intensity in them grows. His breathing becomes labored while he stares into me so fiercely, I feel like the energy between us is connecting and merging together. It’s like I can feel his blood pulsing, his heart beating at the same rhythm as mine, we’re so in sync.
“Why?” I whisper so quietly, I’m not even sure if I said it.
Wraith softens his grip on my biceps ever so slightly as he leans in closer, the electricity pulsing between us. “Why what, princess?”