He snarls at me and his hand tightens on my wrist even more but I jerk myself away from him, ignoring the pain as best I can. He taught me how to do that.
Then I run. I fucking run so hard my lungs try to jump out of my chest. He’s faster than I am and pissed the hell off but I know where I’m going, I know exactly where I’ll be safe just the second one of the Unseen see me.
I just have to make it to the bar at the end of the road. One of the guys there will recognize me and I’ll call Tomi. Fuck, or maybe he’ll be there. Or any of the Callaghans. Someone.
Anyone.
I veer down the back alley because I know it’ll slow him down to have to turn without anticipating it and when I get to the back door I find a biker there. His badge says Diesel but I really don’t care who I’m running into, only that he’ll help me.
His lip curls at me, I’m not expecting that at all, and snaps,“Girl, I know exactly how old you are. There’s no way I’m letting you in here.”
My voice is shrill and panicked even to my own ears. “Please. Please, I need to speak to Tomi now.”
The heavy footsteps behind me catch Diesel’s attention and I throw all caution to the wind. I just fucking blurt out, “That man is my rapist and if Tomi finds out you didn’t help me right now, he’ll kill you with his bare hands. I know it.”
Deisel has his phone out and pressed to his ear the second the word rapist comes out of my mouth, shoving me inside the building and blocking the doorway with his body.
“It’s me. Get your ass to Mugshots right the fuck now. Your woman was chased down here on foot by some cop cunt trying to touch her.”
I stumble into the back room of the bar, disoriented and staggering but now there’s a biker and a wall between me and Paul so I can lose my shit.
I really do lose my fucking shit.
I scream and kick the first guy who approaches me, the adrenaline of the chase still riding me, and so they all just leave me be after that. I stand there shaking in the hallway until Speck comes to find me.
“Angel, do you want to come sit down? Lemme get you a drink, girlie.”
I can’t move. I can’t move or think beyond the terror pumping through my blood. Speck doesn’t try to touch me or comfort me, he just stands there for a minute and then pulls out his phone. He taps on it and then carefully holds it up to my ear.
"I'm here, I'll deal with him."
I swallow but my voice still comes out like a rasp. “Tomi?"
His tone changes instantly, from that pissed off snap to the low, smooth tones he uses when I’m a shaking fucking mess. “Sweetness, you stay inside and stick close to Speck. You hear me? Park your ass in my booth and wait until I come get you. I'll sort him out."
Him. He says it with purpose, like he knows exactly who it is out there. “I didn't—I didn't know that you knew about him. I'm... Tomi, I'm scared."
I can hear Paul yelling down the line as well as muffled through the wall so I know Tomi is as close as he says. "Sweetness, do as I say. Just park your ass and forget about it. I've got it all under control."
I take a step away and Speck lifts the phone to his own ear. "Are you close? He's drawn a gun on Diesel and I think all hell is about to break loose out there. I've got Angel though, no matter what… He got his hands on her before she got away. I think her wrist is broken."
When he hangs up Speck leads me through the bar, his body covering me completely the way he has done a hundred times before at The Boulevard. I might not want him touching me but I’m also so fucking grateful for him to be here for me again.
He brings me some water and then stands close-by. My wrist is throbbing but I’m not about to leave the booth to get it looked at. Nope.
I’ll keep my ass here until Tomi comes back for me.
I lose time a little. I lose the ability to focus on anything that isn’t the little burn mark on the table in the booth. That little spot is my entire focus until Tomi gets here for me.
“Angel. I need to get a look at the damage to that wrist, sweet girl.”
I startle and find Keely crouched down next to me, careful to not touch me even as she tries to get a good look at the damaged and mangled mess my wrist is in.
“I can’t move. Tomi told me not to move,” I croak and my eyes come into focus a little more. I find half the MC here at the bar. King and Hawk are both standing with Keely and watching me with careful eyes. I don’t know what I’ve done to get them looking at me like that.
“Don’t worry about them, they’re here to protect you while Tomi and Rue take care of… that disgusting man. Can I check your wrist, sweetheart? I need to touch you to do it. I think it’s broken.”
I open my mouth to answer her when the door swings open so hard it bangs into the wall and ricochets back. Tomi is covered in blood, enough on him that Paul must be in pieces. The relief I feel only lasts a second.
He’s going to be locked up for killing him.
He’s going to prison for me.
The frozen, aloof, empty shell finally breaks and a sob rips out of me. I slump forward, my forehead pressing against the table, broken wrist be fucking damned.
“Fuck! Ma, why isn’t she at the fucking hospital yet? She needs painkillers and the bone reset, for fuck’s sake!” Tomi snarls as he stalks forward, and Keely doesn’t rise up to the bait.
She murmurs quietly to me instead, “It’s okay, sweetheart. Everything is going to be okay. Paul is gone. You are safe. I’m going to splint your wrist enough to move you and then we’ll go to the hospital.”
I can’t stop crying. It’s like all the times I’ve held it together through the worst situations have slowly been adding up and now I’m a mess.
“I can’t do this. I can’t have him go to jail for me,” I mumble, misery choking me.
Keely finally reaches over, slow enough that I could stop her if I need to, and rests a hand on my back. “He’s not going to jail, sweetheart. Our men have it all taken care of so let’s just worry about the mess this wrist is in.”
I nod but I can’t move. No matter how hard I try, my body is frozen to the chair. Keely murmurs under her breath to me as she splints my wrist, all sweet and calming words that don’t make sense to me now but they soothe me nonetheless. Then she takes a step back and Tomi scoops me into his arms and lifts me out of the booth, fussing until my head is tucked under his chin.
“I’ve got you, Angel. Ain’t nothing touching you ever again.”
Chapter Thirty Four
Tomi
Monday morning brings with it a list of shit I need to get done for my girl before I can get to work at The Boulevard. Rue tags along to help out. It starts with sorting out the carpet problem which is a simple fix.
I put a tire iron through the front window of the shop.
Not exactly subtle but I’m not in the fucking best of moods about this.
Rue starts cursing up a storm behind me and gets on the phone but I’m now made of fucking rage and I need some judgmental asshole to bleed.
There’s screaming and yelling coming out of the store but I ignore it as I step through the giant fucking hole I’ve just made in the glass.