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I pushed out of the car with Ford following me. “Thought Hut was having a party tonight?” I asked Ford.
His grin dropped, replaced by a frown. “I never know what he’s doing lately. All this Carson stuff has sent him into a tailspin.”
I nodded in agreement and sauntered up to the house, jumping all the steps at once. The screen door was open, but the main door was closed. My gut was screaming at me that something was wrong, and I moved my arm, ready to pull out my weapon at a second’s notice if I needed to.
I pushed open the door, stepping inside slowly, and scanning the living room. No one was around, and I moved farther inside, Ford at my back. “Where’s—” I cut myself off as my gaze landed on something on the stairs. “What the fuck.”
My legs carried me before my brain could catch up, and I sprinted over to the steps, seeing legs sprawled out. My gaze tracked up the legs, realizing it was Lola. Her face was a bloody mess. Red coated every inch of the skin I could see underneath that purple bruising.
“Fuck!” My legs gave out, my knees hitting the steps as I reached for her. “Lola?” I drifted my hands above her body, too scared to touch her. “Darlin'?”
“Oh shit,” Ford said from behind me.
Lola groaned, her head moving to the side, and one of her eyes opened. The other was so swollen she couldn’t move it at all. “Brody?”
“Yeah, darlin’, it’s me.”
She choked out a sob, her arms lifting, her hands trying to make contact with me. “Help me.”
I nodded, a lump forming in my throat, and I pushed my arms under her legs and back. “I will,” I promised, standing up and cringing at the way she winced.
“Take her to her room,” Ford demanded. I wanted to scream at him that she wasn’t safe here, that she should be going to the hospital, but I knew it wasn’t an option, not when Hut was involved. I had to bide my time and make sure I could get her out safely, no matter how much I wanted to whisk her away right now.
“She’s not safe,” I growled.
Ford swiped his hand through his hair and let out a sharp breath. “She has a lock on her door.”
“A…” I whipped my head around to face him and frowned, wondering how he knew she had a lock on her door. “A lock on her door?”
Ford nodded, but tilted his head at the top of the stairs, signaling for me to move, so I did, needing to get her to safety. Her body went limp in my arms, but her chest moved on each breath. I needed her to be awake. I needed to know who had done this to her and what had happened.
I pushed into her room and placed her on the bed, feeling absolutely helpless. I was always the guy who knew exactly what to do in any situation, but when it came to Lola, I couldn’t stand seeing her hurt.
“Here,” Ford announced, handing me a first aid kit. He walked into the room and closed the door behind him, clicking the lock into place as he did.
“Why do I have a feeling there’s more here than I know?” I asked Ford.
“Because you’d be right.” He huffed out a breath and stared at Lola, who was coming around again. “I installed the lock on her door last year after I caught Hut holding a knife to her throat.” He leaned against the wall. “I’d heard of him hurting her from other crew members, but I hadn’t seen it until that day.”
My nostrils flared, my anger taking over every inch of my body. I was gonna find him and tear him limb from limb.
“I can hear your thoughts from here,” Ford said and shook his head. “But you won’t achieve anything. You have to play his game. Plus, she needs you right now.”
I flicked my gaze over to Lola and dropped the first aid kit, reaching for her as she tried to push herself up into a sitting position. “He knows,” she whispered. “He knows we were together last night.”
“Who?” I asked, sitting on the edge of her bed. Every part of her looked broke
n, but her eye showcased steel and fight.
“Hut.” Tears streamed down her face. “Hut did this.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” I fumed, but she reached out to me, her palm connecting with my arm.
“Help me get cleaned up.” She glanced over at Ford, and we both understood her silent gaze. She wanted to talk to me alone.
“I’ll leave you to it,” he said, pulling open the door. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.”
She waited until his footsteps echoed down the stairs, then she pulled in a deep breath. “We have to deny it to him.”
