“I gotta go. Can you do me a favor, though? Can you run by Derek’s and ask him to call me and give him this number?”
“Shit, Reign, with you being gone, I forgot,” her brother curses.
I clench my fists, knowing nothing he says will be good.
“Forgot what?” Reign asks quietly, her eyes squeezed closed as if she can sense something bad coming too.
“Derek called me to pick up your car, which is here by the way, then about an hour later, there was an explosion at the garage. Everyone was fine except Derek. I don’t know the extent of his injuries.”
“Oh my god!” she gasps, her hand shooting up to cover her mouth.
“I know what you’re thinking, and it has nothing to do with your stalker, Reign. There was a gas leak. One of the neighboring businesses reported it. All I know for sure is that he is in a medically induced coma and his family is taking care of him,” her brother rushes to reassure her.
So this Derek guy is real but it doesn’t explain who the fuck he is or why he would send Reign here. The more I think about what could have happened to her, the more pissed I get. I don’t care if this guy is in the hospital, he sent Reign into an unknown potentially dangerous situation. I hope the asshole pulls through just so I can knock the fucker on his ass.
“I… I…” her voice trails off, as she struggles for something else to say.
“I’ll call the hospital and see what I can find out. I’ll keep you posted, Reign, I promise.”
“Okay,” she whispers. “I gotta go. Love you. Bye.” She hangs up despite his protests. She turns to look up at Priest, who is now standing right beside her. “I guess my day can get worse,” she says quietly before crumbling in on herself.
Chapter Nineteen
Reign
I hate myself a little for crying in front of them, but I’ve reached my limit. I’m ready to pretend this day hasn’t happened, hell, I’m prepared to act like this whole shitty month was just a bad dream.
Maybe I hadn’t known Derek long, and yes, I’m pissed as hell at him for landing me in this current situation, but he’s a nice guy who took a chance on me when not many others would.
I let my tears run down my face, feeling the weight of the world on my shoulders. I just want to curl up in a little ball and sleep for a year, then hopefully when I wake up the world might be a little kinder to me.
When Priest scoops me up into his arms, I don’t protest, I just bury my face in his neck and let the tears soak into the leather of his cut. He doesn’t complain or whisper words of platitude, he just walks over to the bed and sits, pulling me tight against him as I straddle his legs.
I don’t try to analyze my feelings. I know I should still be mad at him—hell, at all of them— and I am, but I can’t deal with anger on top of my worry for Derek and my fear of the asshole hunting me. Something has to give or I’ll break.
I sniffle into his neck, my breath hitching painfully in my chest as I try to calm myself down a little.
“Get her something to eat and a shot of something to take the edge off,” Priest murmurs. Nobody answers him, but I hear the door open and close.
I turn my head and see Saint still on the bed watching me, so I guess it was Bates that left.
“Should I be worried about him poisoning me?” I ask softly, only half-joking.
“I’m not going to let anything happen to you,” Priest answers, and I know he’s talking about more than the poison joke.
I pull back and look up at him through watery eyes and all I see is sincerity. “I’m a hot mess,” I admit, making his lips twitch.
“It’s the hot part that matters to me,” he replies, making me slap his chest.
“So this Derek guy, you and he—” Priest asks, waiting for me to fill in the blanks.
“He is, or was, I guess, my boss.”
“So, you’re not fucking him?” he presses.
“No, I’m not fucking him. The guy is old enough to be my father. I realize around here that likely means nothing, but the answer is still no. Derek