aimed and ready in her hands. “Come out here with your hands up, assmunch.”
Tears prevented me from laughing. All I could do was curl in on myself and try to let my soul heal with the washing flood of tears.
“Oh, baby,” Tali cooed. The slight thump of the gun on the nightstand, and then I was cuddled in her arms. She ripped the blanket off the foot of the bed, wrapped it around me. “I’ll go stop the boys from invading.” She pressed a kiss to my head.
I pulled the blanket up and over my head. I was such an idiot. Such a whiny baby bitch that I couldn’t get past the horror.
I didn’t hear the thumps of the impending invasion, but I heard their soft voices as they talked out in the living room.
“She’s fine. Just a nightmare,” Tali said.
“Sweet fuck, I thought someone had come in and gotten her,” Rafe said.
I imagined him running a hand through his long hair right before he got sla—
SMACK! The sound of flesh against flesh was as familiar and comforting as Mama’s lasagna.
“Hey, watch it.”
“Like I would let anyone take her from under my nose. Asshole. You can leave now. I’ve got her.”
A smile pulled at my mouth as the mental image of her standing at the door imperiously pointing the way invaded my mind. It was a welcome distraction from the horror of my reality.
“I didn’t mean it like that, T. You know that. Come on, don’t be like that,” Rafe cajoled. He was probably giving her puppy eyes. The ones none of them could hold out against.
A loud smacking kiss, a hoot of victory, and the door slammed. I smiled. These people were my family. My literal safe harbor from the stormy seas of my life.
Tali stalked back into the room, a box of tissues, a bottle of wine, and half a bag of caramel dark chocolates. Under her free arm was her laptop. She was just as familiar with my nightmare routine as I was.
I scooted myself up towards the headboard, my arms pathetically weak still. I got a couple pillows stuffed behind me, and Tali helped wedge one under my knees after she dropped the Nightmare Recovery Kit on the bed.
Once we both got comfortable, we queued up the nighttime movie-thon. First up? Transformers. Unrealistic explosions, close to zero believable romance. And not one tear jerking scene in the whole almost-three-hour presentation.
We recited most of the lines and claimed a different mechanical robot slash car. Bumble Bee was mine and she couldn’t talk me into sharing. The familiar score, the sound of the explosions, the usual script lulled me back to sleep.
The wine and chocolate may have helped quite a bit, too. My last thought was a prayer to keep me safe from any more bad dreams. I have enough on my plate for tomorrow without compounding it with utterly shitty sleep.
Fucking nightmares.
Chapter 16 – Ryker
“Penn,” I mumbled into the phone.
“Hello Mr. Penn, I have a Mr. Rafael Amatucci and guest here at reception. I’m calling to verify your connection,” a pleasant feminine voice said down the line.
My eyes popped open. I turned to see the glowing numbers of the clock on my side table. “It’s four-fucking-thirty in the morning.”
The woman laughed softly. “Indeed, it is. Can you verify the relationship, please, sir?”
I got my head out of my ass. “Yes. Rafael Amatucci is a friend and I’ll vouch for him.” It was the second time in as many days that I’d claimed a closer relationship to an Amatucci than I’d ever thought possible.
“Thank you, sir. Enjoy your day.”
“Wait! Is the friend with him a female in her early thirties?” I asked before she could hang up.
“I can’t answer that information request, sir. If you would like to speak with Mr. Amatucci or his guest, you need to provide the correct name or visit during regular business hours. Have a good day.” The line went dead.
“Shit.” I rolled up on my elbow as I glared at the phone. I hit the number that had somehow taken up the number one position in my recently called list.
“For fucks sake, Penn,” Domenico Amatucci said. His voice was sleep rough and pissed.
Join the fucking club, bro. “Why the fuck is Rafe taking Willow for the forensic exam now? It was scheduled for nine a.m.”
“Because the nurse called Willow. They have mandatory training for certification renewal that she can’t miss. They bumped it up instead of pushing it back. Why does it