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I lowered my head, trying to catch my breath, Apollo licking my face furiously. “I’m sorry, man. You’re just trying to help.”
“Yeah, well. I’m not certain I’m going to do that again.” He struggled to his feet, throwing out his arm.
As I glanced up, I could tell how troubled he was by my behavior. Maybe Chasity was right, and I needed to figure out a way to deal with my anger issues. I gripped his arm, allowing him to jerk me to my feet.
“You’re right. It’s time to allow his parents to have closure.”
He eyed me skeptically, twisting his neck back and forth. I heard a cracking sound and groaned. “I’ll let Hawk know.”
I closed my eyes, realizing if I didn’t get my head out of my ass, my entire life would pass me by. “I’ll tell him tomorrow night.”
He grinned, nodding several times. “I’m glad to hear it. Should be fun anyway. We haven’t all gotten together this way since you returned.”
“I know and it’s my fault.”
“Nothing’s your fault, buddy. “
“I think the therapist just rattled me today.” The admittance was harder than I thought it would be. Even shoving aside the electricity we shared, the fact she’d managed to shove aside my armor had given me a lot of think about, most of which I hadn’t wanted to do. However, she was an unstoppable force that would keep coming at me until I bent.
To top it all off, my leg did feel better because of her mangling maneuvers.
“Well, set your boundaries with her anyway.”
I raked my hands through my hair, forced to realize I’d become the kind of person I would have hated years ago. I’d become almost exactly like my father. As much as I wanted to, at this point, I wasn’t certain I could stand seeing Chasity again. My behavior had been deplorable. But that wouldn’t change. She just didn’t deserve the raft of shit I’d continue to give her. “She’s not for me. Too pushy. Even if she did help some today.”
He eyed me with a slight grin then shook his head. “Then tomorrow night.”
“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow night for sure.”
Mustang chuckled before heading to the door. “You still got a mean right hook on ya.”
“And don’t you forget it.”
“I think I like that girl,” he added.
“Don’t go there.”
We both laughed, but I sensed he was finished with my ridiculous actions, just like everybody else in my life. Hell, I didn’t need anyone. Right? I had Apollo. After closing the door behind him, I leaned against it, staring down at my pup. “Thank God for you, buddy. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
* * *
“Where are you?” I called, the slight crack forcing me to spin around, taking several shots. The popping of gunfire continued to sound all around me, the whir of the helicopter blades drowned out by the shitshow all around me. I noticed another flash, the girl moving behind one of the burned-out buildings. Maybe I could get her to safety if she stayed right where she was.
I wiped dirt and sweat from my face, lowering as close to the ground as possible, springing forward when there was a split-second break in the horrific action.
Then bullets whizzed by me, at least one of the fuckers noticing what I was doing. I swung around, firing indiscriminately. Then a bullet slammed into my shoulder, I tumbled backward, fighting to breathe. Hell, no. Nothing was going to stop me from getting to her.
I picked myself up, ignoring the pain and bolted forward. I would do this no matter the odds. I would save her.
Gasping, I jerked up in the darkness, blinking several times. What the fuck? I was covered in sweat, my heart racing. Then I heard Apollo’s tail thumping next to me. Reaching out, I rubbed my hand down his tummy, able to laugh since he was on his back, unaffected by my terrible dream. How many times did I have to go through this? How much pain was I supposed to suffer?
After slowing my breathing, I reached for the glass of bourbon on the nightstand, chugging the remainder. I had to get some decent sleep, or I would go mad.
As soon as the visions started to fade, I laid back down, staring at the blackened ceiling. The darkness was killing me. I flipped on the light on the nightstand, relief flooding me the moment the room lit up in an orange glow. Maybe that’s what had brought on the nightmares. Hell, I didn’t know anymore.
The second I closed my eyes, I could see Belle’s face from all those years ago, her bright eyes when she’d first ridden with me on the old Harley I’d fixed up, totally against my dad’s wishes. At least the memory brought a smile, one of the few I’d had. She’d been fascinated by it, watching me as I’d tinkered with the engine a dozen times. Then she’d begged me to go for a ride, unrelenting until I’d agreed.
I’d been shocked how much she’d loved it, wanting to ride forever. I would have let her. She was the one bright star in a sea of shit in my life at that point. If only she hadn’t hooked up with some bad boys that held Missoula hostage.
