“What report?” Stoney asks from where he was standing directly behind Shadow. Rachel in the crook of his arm.
All of us look from Stoney to Rachel and back again. This isn’t something that any of us want her to hear.
“Doll, give us a minute,” he commands softly, removing his hand from around her when she nods silently and goes out the front door, letting it slam behind her.
I don’t know what’s going on with them but something’s up. Normally when they're together, Prez doesn’t let her out of his sight. Didn’t matter if we were in the clubhouse or not.
I lift a brow in question when he grabs a chair and throws himself into it.
“Don’t fuckin’ ask,” he mutters as he turns his attention back to Nerd. “Now, what report.”
“A report on Milley’s cousin who is incarcerated,” Nerd says, solemnly. Stoney’s jaw clenches as he hears everything that we’d just been told.
“We need to talk to Tinsley. Find out the name of the fucker who beat the fuck out of her,” Stoney snarls just as the front door bursts open showing Grigory storming inside with several of his men with him.
“You want to tell me where the hell my cousin is?” he demands, his accent thick.
“She’s here, why?” Stoney states calmly as he gets to his feet. We all follow behind him.
“Explain to me why she’s here and hasn’t been home or showed up for her shift at work.” Grigory isn’t a man you want to cross and right now he’s fuckin’ pissed. It’s said he’s known as the boogeyman and has no problem killing a person with his bare hands.
“She’s here because we found her beaten at her place,” Stoney says sternly, not letting Grigory intimidate him.
“And why wasn’t I told this? I had the right to know what was going on with Tinsley. She is my family. I knew I should have taken her with me. Do you know who did this to her?”
“We have an idea of who did this to her; however, we’re waiting for her to confirm our suspicions,” Tension seems to roll off Prez.
I bite my tongue to keep from speaking out and telling Grigory that he wasn’t called because Tinsley’s mine. Then again am I even ready for her to be mine. I haven’t had a relationship with anyone since sophomore year in high school, when I’d found my girlfriend blowing the Spanish teacher.
“Grigory?” We all turn our heads toward the hallway to find Tinsley standing there, Momma B and Harlow right there with her.
“Angel,” he says, his tone going soft at Tinsley's voice, but his body language states differently as he takes in the damage done to her.
Tinsley glances around the room, her gaze landing on me. Giving her a slight nod, motioning her to come here. My eyes stay locked on her until she’s close enough that I can pull her the rest of the way into me. “You okay?”
“My body hurts like a bitch,” she whispers as she leans her weight on me.
Again, something jolts inside me and all doubts of if I can handle a relationship fly out the window. I may not know what my heart is screaming at me, but I’m not stupid to not listen.
Even if it means she’ll be the one who tames the wild that courses through my soul.
Fuck.
I’m screwed, because now I know I won’t ever be able to let her go. Tinsley is stuck with me.
Chapter Nine
Tinsley
After I finished getting cleaned up and finally saw my reflection for the first time, I had burst into tears all over again. It took me a minute to regain my composure as I let it sink in with the fact that I will forever have a scar to remember what happened. One that I’ll never be able to hide.
Well maybe with a touch of makeup depending on how well the cut heals. My hair was another story. I barely had enough to put in a ponytail and it was so uneven that I’d need to get it styled immediately.
Harlow handed me a brand-new set of clothes, all my size, and asked if I’d needed her help getting dressed. Shaking my head, I wanted to do this part myself. That way I could see the extent of the damage done. Lifting the shirt I’d been wearing, I examined my chest. The bruises were a dark purple and they looked horrible.
Sucking in a breath, I slide the razor back tank top on foregoing a bra. I don’t think I could handle anything pressing against the bruising. Next up, I pulled on the boy shorts and black leggings.
Knowing I can’t stay in the bathroom forever, I open the door and slowly step forward. Harlow turns to me, holding up a zip up hoodie for me.
“Here, this will help conceal some of those bruises from everyone when you decide to leave this room. Oh, and here’s a pair of flip flops for you to wear,” she says.
“Thank you,” I murmur glancing between both women. “I really appreciate it.”
“No worries. We take care of our family. Now do you want to lay back down or would you like to go in the other room? Maybe get something to eat and drink?” Momma B suggests.
“I would really love a sweet tea or coffee. I don’t drink anything else not even water and only when I’m forced to do that,” I murmur.
“You got it,” Momma B says, smiling before she turns to the door to hold it open for me.
I pause at the hallway wondering if I’ll be able to face everyone. I know they’re all going to want to know what happened and who did it. Can I handle seeing the pity that I’m sure will come across their faces as they hear? I should just leave like I thought about, but Momma B and Harlow’s words keep circling around in my head.
Those men out there, they’re not about to let you go anywhere. If someone is after Coyote’s kid then you need to tell him.
There’s no need to run when those men out there will do everything in their power to protect the little boy as well as you. Let me guess this happened because you refused to tell them anything.
God, if only they knew.
Mason and Sam may have been the ones to harm me this time; however, it certainly isn’t the first time I’ve gone through something similar. Only the last time, I barely escaped with my life. It’s one of the reasons my cousin didn’t want to leave me here. He was the one who found me.
Grigory isn’t a man to be messed with and though he spent a lot of years in Russia with our family growing up, he didn’t miss anything that happened over here. My mother is the sister to his father and after my father died my uncle made sure to visit as much as possible.
The day Grigory finally moved to America to take his place, he’d come to visit me at my apartment in Yorktown. What he walked in on I’ll never forget. It was the day I’d been raped by a hooded man. I still don’t know what the man looked like. I’d been screaming for help as the man laughed saying no one would come for me. My cousin heard me from outside my apartment and burst through the door with his gun aimed in our direction. My cousin had simply pulled the trigger without hesitation. The guy jerked before landing on top of me, his blood covering my body.
Shaking my head, I clear my thoughts. I don’t want that to happen again. Especially considering the fact Mason threatened it would be worse next time they came after me. I can only imagine what he intends to do.
“It’s okay, sweetheart, you don’t have to leave this room yet if you don’t want to. We can bring you something,” Momma B says, softly.