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“Sweetie, you have to try to slow your breathing down.”
Her body starts to shake, and her breathing quickens even more before her eyes roll back and Thor rushes to her side, catching her just in time. I jump off the couch, racing to the door and fling it open. Colt and Drae are at the bar, but I don’t see Patch.
“Colt! Get Patch–quick! Have him bring his kit just in case. Drae–toss me that rag and grab some more.”
Colt darts off toward Patch’s room and Drae reaches under the bar for the stash of new bags of rags that we keep there. Phoenix follows me back into the office, followed closely by Drae. Thor lays Trixie down on the couch as Drae and I drop to our knees to clean up the mess so no one would slip.
As we finish, I look up and see Drae staring intently at something behind me. Pivoting on my knees, I look between him and Trixie. It doesn’t escape my notice that the guys are doing the same.
“Drae?”
He drops the rag on the floor, walks over to the couch, and kneels next to it. Turning her head so she’s facing him, he just stares at her. After a few moments, he smooths her hair back away from her head, tilts it, and looks closer at her ear. Thor steps nearer, and they both sucked in a breath.
“Thor? What’s going on?” My voice is shaky, and I’m starting to get really worried about what’s going on.
Instead of answering me, Thor looks toward Drae, raising his eyebrow in question. Something flits across his face that I don’t recognize. Drae looks between Thor and Phoenix just as Patch and Colt come into the office.
“Have any of you been with Trixie intimately?” His voice is harsh, but shaky. Patch, Phoenix, and Thor nod. I swallow thickly and Thor gives me an apologetic smile.
“Does she have a tattoo of butterflies on her right hip?”
Confusion crosses their faces and Drae’s breathing starts to become irregular as he stands up. Patch pushes closer to him, but Drae steps out of his reach.
“Please, just answer me. Does she?” He’s almost yelling as he looks between the guys, almost frantically.
Colt pulls me to my feet and pushes me behind him slightly. I grip his arm as I look between them all. What’s happening? Did Drae and Trixie know each other previously? If so, why didn’t they recognize each other sooner?
After a moment, it was Patch who spoke. “Yes, she does.”
Drae sinks to his knees next to the couch and he places his head against Trixie’s shoulder as he clutches her hand, tears streaming down his face. “CJ,” he mumbles.
Thor, Phoenix, and Patch all suck in a breath and then blinding smiles light up their faces as they each clasp Drae on the shoulder.
“Drae, can I get near Tr- I mean CJ to check her out? Then we can wake her up and talk to her some. I think we’d all like to know how both you and your sister both ended up at Steel Archangel’s MC without realizing the other was here.”
I gasp and Thor looks at me, nodding.
Drae gives Patch a chin lift and pulls back slightly, but doesn’t release her hand. I step out from behind Colt and walk over to Thor, wrapping my arms around his waist. He kisses the top of my head and wraps his arms around me tightly.
Patch checks her pulse, listens to her heart, and then looks into her eyes.
“I think she’s wearing colored contacts, but we can ask her for sure when she wakes up. Time to wake up sweetie,” he says as he waves smelling salts under her nose.
She jerks awake and looks around in a daze before her gaze lands on Drae. She looks at him in confusion, tilting her head slightly as she studies him closely. He kneels in front of her and then ducks his head. When he looks up, I realize he’d been wearing colored contacts. Whereas before he had green eyes, he now had dazzling blue eyes. Trixie sucks a breath.
“Try to picture me with light brown hair, without a beard, and really skinny. Also having scars here, here, here, and here,” he said as he points to various places on his face and neck. Her eyes widen before she lowers her head and, like Patch suspected, takes out her contacts. When she looks up, she no longer has brown eyes but dazzling blue eyes to match Drae’s.
“JD, oh my God, I can’t believe I finally found you!” she cries as she flings herself into his arms, both of them instantly in tears.
I can’t believe it! My baby brother’s been right in front of me for months and I didn’t know it! To be fair, he’s changed so much since I last saw him five years ago. I cling to him tightly, but pull back when he sucks in a pained breath.
“Easy sis, I took a beating today for my fuck up,” he says with a tight smile.
Alarmed, I pull up his shirt and see the bruises already forming. JD grabs my hands and shakes his head, silencing the words I was about to let fly. I’d seen him beaten enough when we were kids. I didn’t want to see him beat anymore.
“Trust me, CJ, I deserved these bruises and then some. Are you feeling well enough that we can talk?”
Was I ready to share my story? Especially with my brother? Looking up at Levi, she gives me a small smile and nods. Yes, she’s right. I can trust these men. Especially since I now know my brother trusted them enough to prospect with them. He wouldn’t have done that if they were anything like Black Plague.
