Rely on Me - Elizabeth Knox Page 0,19

to those who opposed him.

“He’d be damn proud of her. I never knew him or nothin’, but I have a feeling he’d be damn proud.”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“Alright, I’ll let you get your beauty sleep ‘cause you sure as fuck need it.” Demon hangs up the phone and I sink back into bed. Only, now that I’m up I can’t go to sleep. I might as well head down into the kitchen and make a fresh cup of coffee.

Chapter Ten

Deep breaths. This path, this journey . . . it’s not meant to have you question who you are. But instead, help you align who you’ve been with who you are meant to be.

~ @Moule_T

Riva

The door comes open to Mammoth’s bedroom and I about jump ten feet in the air. Even now, knowing I’m safe, or at least pretty sure I’m safe . . . I’m still shaken.

“Hey, it’s just me. I brought you some coffee. Wasn’t sure how you took it . . . so I put sugar and milk in, that okay?” He speaks to me so softly, as if he realizes how delicate I am right now. Mammoth comes into his bedroom and closes the door, walks over to me and sits beside me on the bed.

I pull my knees up to my chest and he hands me one of the cups. Putting my hands around it, I revel in the warmth. It’s mid-December right now, meaning it barely hits thirty degrees on a good day and the wind is horrific.

“Thank you,” I tell him, bringing the coffee to my lips. It’s warm, but only a tad sweet. Okay, it’s more than sweet. “What did you put in this?” I cough, the burning sensation coursing down my throat.

“Ah, fuck. I gave you mine.”

“Who puts alcohol in their coffee?” I berate, still coughing.

“Loads of people. Here,” We trade cups and I take a sip of this one.

Everything is fine at first, until it’s not. “Mammoth,” I grit as a smile spreads across his face.

“If you ask me, we both needed a little extra somethin’ in there. It was one hell of a night, Mouse.”

“You keep calling me that. I don’t get it.”

Mammoth’s smile grows and he settles into his bed a bit more, making himself comfortable. “You remind me of a small mouse, a cute little thing with a scrunchie name. Us guys, we usually give our girls’ names. It’s a tradition of sorts.”

“Your girls?” I crane my neck to the side, looking into his deep hazel eyes.

“Uh,” For some reason I’m under the impression he said something he shouldn’t have. “The girls we’re interested in. Some of the guys, call their ol’ ladies pet names, nicknames, whatever.”

“What’s an old lady?”

“Ol’, not old. You call one of ‘em old and they might strike you upside the head. They’re essentially wives to the club members. In Gamble’s case, she has an ol’ man, who’s Hart.” Mammoth chuckles, finding amusement in my lack of knowledge of his lifestyle.

I take another sip of coffee even though it’s like pouring gasoline down my throat. The warmth spreads through my chest and I feel a bit calmer. “What time is it?”

“A little after eight. I let you sleep in, didn’t want to wake you and all.”

“Thank you, and I’m so sorry . . . you didn’t have to sleep on the floor.”

“Mouse, no way was I gonna leave you. You’d been through enough.”

I open my mouth to speak but shut it. Not wanting my words to come across as rude, it’s better if I don’t speak at all.

“Say what you were going to,” Mammoth tells me.

I suck in a breath and speak before I change my mind. “You act like we’ve known each other for ages, like we’re so close and we’re not. You could’ve left me in the apartment to deal with everything, but you didn’t. You put me on the back of your bike and brought me here, watching over me all night long. I don’t really grasp why I’m so special to you.”

“First of all, Miss Smarty Pants. We have known each other for years, not very well, but I seem to recall meeting you on a plane well over a year and a half ago. So, we’re not strangers. You feel me? Secondly, I’m not going to leave you to sit around and fester, scared to death. Wasn’t gonna happen on my watch, baby. I’ll never be able to understand the trauma you went through last night . . . but