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This better be something good.
I’ve had the Snakes on a search for Tara ever since the night of the dinner at her parents, so this has to be about her. If it’s not, I’m kicking his damn ass the next time I see him because I don’t give a shit about any Snake business until my wife is home.
I don’t hesitate to answer his call. “Viper, what do you have?” I don’t know what he’s going to say, except this odd sense of hope mixed with anxiety washes over me.Please be good news.
“I’ve got her, man.”Relief floods my body and my legs give out. If it wasn’t for the solid brick of my house in front of me, I’d be a collapsed mess right now. He found her. He fucking found Tara.
She’s coming home to me.
It’s going to be okay.
A pang of guilt aches in my chest, and my eyes flash toward the door.
To us.
She’s coming home tous.
It hits me like a brick when I realize he didn’t say what state she’s in. “Is she…alive?” I ask, my stomach churning with the thought of her being gone forever.
Viper’s nervous sigh echoes through the phone.“Barely.”
Fuck.
“Is she conscious? Where did you find her? Where are you at? Is she okay?” I bombard him with the questions churning in my mind.
“West side. She was running as fast as she could, like her ass was on fire. She even got a punch in at me. It looked like she found a moment to escape and took it.”Fire burns through my veins. Zayan will fucking pay for this.“You’ve got a strong girl. She wants to survive. But, man, it’s not looking good. She’s in really bad shape. I’m not even sure how she’s still breathing, if I’m being honest.”
She’s always been strong. I just didn’t see it at first, or maybe I did and didn’t appreciate it like I should have. Emotions suffocate me. Anger for what he did to her. Fear for her life. A sense of pride for how strong she is. Guilt for putting her in that situation to begin with.
She’s strong enough to survive this, but she will need help healing.
I’ll be her last choice, but there’s a house full of people who care about her. People who didn’t betray her in the worst way possible. She’ll trust them.
The others. I’ve got to tell them she’s been found.
“Hold on, Vipe. Let me go get everyone else. I’m going to put you on speaker.”
I push off the house and run inside, hitting the speaker button on the phone as I go. Lya and Rush are sitting on the couch, entranced in their laptops as they continue their search. Reilly and Thiago are chatting on the loveseat. Reilly looks like death with the dark circles around his eyes, the scruff on his jaw, and the sunken look on his face. Zep and Rian must be in the security room.
“Guys,” I call out, breathing heavily from my sprint inside. All eyes in the living room focus on me as I skid to a stop. “Viper found her. We have her,” I say through a hopeful smile. Lya, Rush, and Thiago jump to their feet while Reilly stays seated, eyeing me in disbelief like he doesn’t trust me.
“Is she okay?” Rush is the first to speak.
“She’s unconscious in the back of one of our vans. She needs to go to the hospital. She’s beaten, bruised, and bloody. No telling what else is wrong. Uh, one more thing. There’s a dog.”I watch the hope in Rush’s expression mix with hurt and anger. He’s ready to burn down the world. I’m too afraid to look at Reilly, so I maintain my gaze on the others.
“A dog?” I swear I didn’t hear him correctly. That’s not what I need to be focusing on right now, but I swear I heard him wrong.
“Yeah, man. It was running alongside her. Even tried to attack me to protect her. Your girl wouldn’t leave without it.”His tone sounds frustrated. Fuck. What the hell was she doing with a dog? No fucking way some mutt will come back here.
Of course, she wouldn’t leave without it. At least her stubborn personality is still here. Tara wouldn’t be our Tara if she was compliant.
“Any way you can get rid of it?”
“No fucking way. She seemed intent on keeping it, and if the strength of her punch is anything to go off of, I can imagine she’ll try to kick my ass again if I do and I’m not dealing with that shit.”
“Fine. Just bring her and the dog here. We’ll call our doctor.” I don’t want her out of my sight. I don’t trust anyone but Dr. Poore, who I have on-call and can easily sway with my bank account. I don’t want anyone snooping around in our business because Zayan Pravesh is going to get what he deserves, and I don’t want anyone looking our way when it happens.
“She’s in real bad shape, man. She needs immediate attention. I think you need to take her to the hospital, where you know she’ll have plenty of supplies on hand.”
