Total pages in book: 35
Estimated words: 32280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 108(@300wpm)
And I’d carry that promise all the way to my fucking grave.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Johnston
I was going stir fucking crazy.
At least, that was how it felt. And I didn’t like feeling like this—all out of control.
I’d always been able to keep a level head on my shoulders. But with Aaliyah unconscious, unresponsive?
Control was lost to me.
A week—an entire fucking week—and Red still wasn’t awake. Brain scans showed there was still activity up there, but I guessed almost being killed took a bit to come back from—a hell of a lot longer than I’d like it to.
I wanted to see her hazel eyes—needed to fucking see them. I missed them, yearned for them.
Her skin was slowly gaining its color back, but nothing would be the same until she was smiling at me, flushing under my gaze as I made her think about how fucking incredible we were together.
And we were incredible. She was never getting rid of me. A woman like her was a once in a lifetime kind of thing. I’d trap her in my clubhouse if that was what it took to keep her with me.
I was obsessed with her. And the time I’d spent sitting here, staring at her, waiting on her to wake up, only made my obsession with her that much worse.
“Prez, you look like you’re ready to rip this hospital apart,” Trigger commented as he strode into the room. “I think you need a break.”
I glowered at him. “I think you need to mind your own fucking business.”
He smirked. He was probably one of the only members besides Blayke who could take my shit and just brush it off his shoulder. He wasn’t intimidated by me, though I knew he respected the shit out of me.
“You sound like a toddler, Prez. Come on. Go to the clubhouse. Do some president shit. Get a round of boxing or working out in, then come back. She’ll still be here when you get back. None of us will allow anything else to happen to her.”
I thought that the last time too, only to come back and find two officers standing guard outside her room because her ex had attacked her—strangled her. And according to his drunk ass report, he’d been waiting for me to leave, biding his time until he could get her alone and punish her for leaving and jumping into bed with me.
How did she and I both end up choosing psychos to be with? Were we cursed or some shit? Or were we just the ones making them fucking crazy?
That thought made me smirk. If we were the ones making them crazy, then the two of us together would be beautifully catastrophic. I couldn’t fucking wait.
But how did she end up with the shit end of the deal for both parties? If Wendy had a problem, she should have taken it up with me—not Red. And her goddamn ex—too much of a pussy to take shit up with me like a real man. How did he think strangling Aaliyah in a hospital room was going to end?
“Come on, Prez,” Trigger tried again. “I’ll even sit here with her. You know I won’t let anything happen to her.”
I sighed and scratched at the beard on my jaw before standing to my feet, deciding to take a break while I had the opportunity. And I knew Trigger was right; he’d protect her, and I trusted him to do that. Besides, I wasn’t good at being cooped up anywhere, and even though I was here because I felt like I couldn’t goddamn breathe without Aaliyah, I knew I needed a bit of time to get myself back together.
And shave this God awful fucking beard while I was at it. I scratched at it, wishing I could just peel the shit off.
“You armed?” I asked him, lowering my voice.
He nodded once at me, looking at me like I’d lost my fucking mind for even thinking I needed to ask that question. I snorted and shook my head before leaning over the bed, pressing a soft kiss to Aaliyah’s lips. Sighing, I ran my hand over her wild, red curls. “I’ll be back, Red,” I whispered.
Trigger clapped a hand to my shoulder. “She’s in safe hands, Prez. I’ll protect her with my life.”
I pointed at her and narrowed my eyes at him. “You protect her like you protect me when someone has a gun pointed at my fucking head, you hear me?”
He nodded, his face completely serious. “Crystal, Prez. I’ll protect her. You’ve got nothing to worry about.”
I may not—not with him standing guard over her—but it wouldn’t stop me from worrying about her. If Aaliyah wasn’t by my side, my mind was with her. That just seemed to be how my life would go from here on out. I’d come to terms with it. My life had to adjust to accommodate her.