Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 130761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 654(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 654(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
“Phebe?” I repeated her name again, starting to really fucking panic.
“Not come out this way,” Hush answered. “Been here since we got back.”
I tried to think. Tried to imagine where the fuck she could have gone. I darted back into the clubhouse and just started checking doors, one after the other—storage, armory, fucking bathrooms. Then I got to the door that led to a break room behind the bar, where whoever was working could catch a smoke or drink. I slammed through and froze in my tracks. An overturned bottle of Tylenol was on the counter. There were only a couple of pills left. My pulse raced. Then my motherfucking heart dropped when I saw a pair of feet sticking out from around the corner. Pale, dirty and covered in dried blood.
“Phebe!” I turned the corner. “No,” I said. I dropped to my knees. “Phebe.” I picked her lifeless body up in my arms. Her head flopped back, and a stab of pain sliced through my stomach. “No!” I looked to her left. An empty bottle of Jack lay beside her, one that I knew would have been full or nearly full when she’d picked it up.
I pulled her closer to my chest and looked at her face. She was still covered in blood, still fucking broken and bruised, and I couldn’t fucking take it. Not again. Not another fucking one.
“Phebe!” I shouted, and heard someone come in behind me. I turned, not giving a fuck about the tears running down my face as I held her lifeless body in my arms. “She’s hardly got a fucking pulse,” I said to Vike.
“What was it?” He got on his knees beside me.
“Pills and Jack.”
“Get her up,” he said. Too many past memories came crashing to my head. Dev, Tina . . . and now Phebe. I couldn’t, I couldn’t . . . “I can’t lose her too.”
Vike’s blue eyes met mine. “You ain’t going to, brother. I swear. Just get her chest up.” Vike’s hand slapped across my cheek. “She needs you, ’K. You know how this goes. You know this shit. She needs to puke that shit back up.” He took hold of my cheeks in his hands. “She’s still fucking alive. This ain’t Dev. She can be saved.”
This ain’t Dev.
His words broke something in me, and I got my shit together. Flipping Phebe to her front, unable to watch for any injuries, I pushed my fingers into her mouth and waited until she gagged. I didn’t run for a fucking bucket, and I had to force myself not to look down at the blood between her thighs or else I’d fucking fall apart. Then a moan came from Phebe’s throat, the fucking small noise sounding like goddamn heaven.
“Come on,” I urged and pushed my fingers down further. A choking sound came from her mouth, and then she puked. I kept going, Phebe’s cocktail of Tylenol and Jack spilling all over the floor. “Get Rider,” I said to Vike.
I leaned down and saw her eyes. They were rolling, fighting consciousness. “You’re not fucking dying on me, Red,” I said. Phebe’s eyes opened a fraction. “I ain’t letting you go.” I said just as Rider came into the room.
“OD’d,” I said. “Think she’s got what she can up.”
“Get her into one of the rooms,” Rider said without missing a beat.
“Mine,” Vike said. I picked her up in my arms, watching as she fought for consciousness. I laid her on Vike’s bed. Rider came in seconds later. He pushed a needle straight into her arm and got her hooked up to an IV.
“We might need to pump her stomach,” Rider said. He checked the pulse in her wrist then the one in her arm. “Her pulse is strengthening.” He looked at me. “Was there anything left in her stomach?”
“Nothing.” I pushed her soiled hair out of her face, fighting not to break again. “She needs a bath.” I closed my eyes and swallowed against the fucking lump in my throat. Then I looked down between her legs. Her dress still covered her, but the blood was there. “He fucking raped her.” My voice cracked. I was losing the battle with my fucking tears. “Look at the fucking state of her.” I looked at Vike. “How much can one person fucking take?” My hand hovered over her swollen lips and cut face. She was so fucking beautiful. And she wasn’t fucking dying on me.
“We can’t take her to the hospital like this. Either her or Sapphira. The cops would be on our asses in seconds,” Vike said to Rider. “You gotta fix them up here. You need anything, me and Flame will get it for you.”
“Okay,” Rider said. I held Phebe as Rider checked her stats. A long sigh came from his mouth. “She’s getting back to normal. Her blood pressure is climbing again, and her pulse is getting steady.” He got off the bed. “Keep her here overnight so I can check on her while I watch Sapphira too.”