“Show time.”
“Last chance, Tate,” Lincoln urges, holding my hand over his heart. “If you want to walk away, tell me now.”
I roll my eyes, pressing my palm flat against his racing heart. “Is this going to become a regular thing for you? If so, I’m gonna need to find someone else to be with me when I give birth to our babies.”
He grins, pulling me closer as the van pulls into the parking spot in the back of the lot. “How about this… march your sexy little ass in there and handle your shit, baby girl. But if you get even one scratch, I’m going to whoop your ass all over this fucking lot.”
“Better,” I whisper, a shiver skating down my spine as I lean forward and kiss him.
“Ugh,” Nix mumbles, turning away from us. “Some things I just don’t need to know.”
“Fucking please,” Smith whines, rolling his eyes. “You and Emma couldn’t keep your damn hands off each other. Still can’t.”
Rodriguez snaps his fingers in front of us. “Can we focus, please? Fuzz is already inside and posted up in one corner. I’m going now. Tate, you give it five and come in after us. Remember what I said.”
I nod and watch as he climbs out of the van, subtly scanning the lot before he walks toward the door and slips inside. He sits in the corner opposite of Fuzz and Mia bounces over to him, a wide smile on her face.
“Just be smart, okay?” Nix says and I nod, grabbing his hand and giving it a squeeze.
“I will. I promise.”
Lincoln sinks back into the seat and sighs. “I fucking hate this.”
“Just think, after today, you and I can have a normal relationship.”
He scoffs. “Does normal include you tasing me?”
“I don’t know. I guess it depends on how much you piss me off.”
He laughs, slipping his hand into my hair as he pulls me onto his lips. When he pulls back, he brushes his thumb over my bottom lip and smiles. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” I kiss him again before pointing a finger at Nix. “You both stay in this van, you hear? I can’t be worried about you and watching out for Dominic at the same time.”
They both roll their eyes.
“Yeah, we hear you.”
I nod and give Lincoln one last kiss before opening the door and stepping out into the Louisiana sunshine. My stomach rolls as I scan the parking lot and approach the front door, wondering if he’s here already. How stupid am I for not even looking at a picture of him? Truthfully, though, I didn’t want to know what he looked like. I didn’t want to put a face to the monster.
“Tate!” Mia squeals as soon as I walk in the door and I grin, bracing myself as she rushes toward me and hugs me.
“Hey.”
“What are you doing here? I thought you were on house arrest or something,” she says and I laugh. When the guys insisted that I have constant protection, I had to ask Roger to divvy up my shifts between the other waitresses and I told him I wasn’t sure if I was coming back.
“Not really. I’m actually meeting someone so I’m just going to hang out at a booth, okay?”
She nods. “Of course. Take whichever one you want.”
As she turns back toward the counter, my gaze flicks to one corner where Fuzz is sitting in a booth with his back to the wall. I choose a table in the middle, just like Rodriguez suggested and let out a breath as I sink into my chair.
“Coffee?” Mia asks, holding out a mug and I nod. She sets it in front of me and fills it up before propping her hip against the table. “So, what’s going on with you? I haven’t talked to you in forever.”
“Oh, I know. It’s been really crazy and I’d love to tell you all about it but I don’t have much time right now.”
She nods, glancing toward the door. “Sure. You want anything to eat?”
“No, I’m good with the coffee.”
She nods and turns back to the counter again and I try not to focus on the awkward vibe hanging between us as I take a sip of coffee and almost choke on it.
“Creamer,” I whisper to myself, grabbing a few from the bowl Mia set down and pouring them into my mug. My hands shake violently as I try to focus on drinking my coffee and I wonder how long it will take for Dominic to show up. He’s probably the type of man that likes to make people wait while he makes an entrance and I roll my eyes, irritated already.
The minutes tick by painfully slow and when I finish off my coffee, I motion to Rodriguez that I’m going to go to the bathroom. He nods and I push back my chair, feeling a little off kilter as I turn toward the bathrooms but I force myself to press on. I just need to stop, take a breath, and splash some water on my face so I can get this meeting over with.
Stumbling into the bathroom, I stop in front of one of the mirrors and brace my hands on the sink as I suck in a breath. My world spins and I shake my head, my heart rate spiking in fear. Something is wrong. I glance back up at the mirror and gasp at the familiar face smiling back at me.
“What are you…” I whisper, my voice trailing off as I become weightless and darkness descends over me.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tatum
“Taaaatuuuuum,” the same voice from my nightmares whispers in my ear and warm breath trickles over my skin as a violent shiver racks my body and I let out a whimper. This isn’t real, I think to myself again and again as I slowly fade into consciousness. My head hurts along with the rest of my body and I fight through the haze to recall my last memory but come up empty. Where am I? “Are you awake, my sweet little Tatum?”
I suck in a breath as a chill blankets my skin, waiting for the laughter that always comes next but I’m met with silence. My chest aches and a tear falls from the corner of my eye. I peel open my eyes, hissing at the bright spotlight directly above me as pain ricochets around my brain. I try to cover my eyes but my hands won’t move and I glance up, holding back a scream when I see the white metal bedframe my hands are tied to. Biting my lip, I jerk on the rope and the bed rattles against the wall.
The high-pitched laughter that I know so well fills the room and my gaze snaps to the darkness surrounding me, searching for the source but it’s impossible to see past the harsh light above me. Light peeks through little slats in the wall and the smell of rotting wood fills my nose as I try to figure out where I am. It’s not much to go on but it’s something. Footsteps scrape along the floor and I suck in a breath as the room seems to close in on me and a figure steps out of the shadows. I gasp.
“Devlin?” I ask, scowling up at the man I’ve known for the past three years as he stalks toward me, victory filling his gaze. Images of his face appearing behind me in the bathroom mirror flit through my mind and I shake my head, my mind struggling to process what’s happening. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, sweet Tate,” he coos, stalking around the twin bed as he stares down at me. I glance down and realize that he got me down to my bra and panties before securing me to the bed and I jerk my arms again, wishing I could cover myself. “There’s just so much you don’t know yet but by the time we’re finished here, I promise you’ll never forget.”