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Suddenly afraid we won’t be heading back to the compound, I ask, “We’re going home after this, aren’t we?” My fingers are crossed, and I’m praying that we are because my king-sized, luxurious bed that feels like I’m lying on a cushy cloud, is calling my name. It feels like centuries have passed since I’ve gotten a good night's rest. Lately, I’ve slept with one eye open—every clatter, creak, buzz, and ruckus woke me, no matter how minor or insignificant it was.
“Yeah, baby,” Luca answers, walking out from the depth of the shadows. He’s being assisted by Julius and Gunner, acting as his crutches. “We’re going home.”
“Thank the maker,” I moan. Then I take in his appearance, and I become worried. He’s not steady on his feet, and his normal endurance looks peckish. His clothes are disheveled, as if he had to fight his way to freedom but lost all his steam once he won. “Are you okay?” My brows pull downward as I carry on scanning him over from head to toe. His complexion is pale and his skin sags like he’s lethargic. He has darkened bags under his eyes, they are saggy, dull, and so black that they resemble bruises. I don’t like it, not one bit.
“I will be,” he promises. “Nothing a few good meals and nights of sleep won’t cure, Curly Sue.” His fingers raise up and he pulls on one of my corkscrews. My hair is horrendously tangled from not being able to brush my long, blonde tresses to unthread the knots, that the action tugs my hair from the roots, and causes me to wince. “And a bottle of conditioner for you, it seems.”
A snicker bursts free from my mouth. Out of all the things to pop free from him, that was the last thing I’d been expecting. “Possibly two,” I joke. “You’ve got a lot to learn when it comes to women and their hair, Luca. Especially a mane as curly and thick as mine.”
“Is the danger gone, Luca? Will we and our family be bringing danger to the house if we go back?” I couldn’t live with myself if something were to happen to any of them. “Should we find somewhere to lay low for a little bit? Should we bide some time and be one hundred percent certain that nobody’s going to come after us due to the carnage we caused tonight?”
“We’ll be safe, Mera. No one will ever lay a finger on you again,” he implies, and now I’m the one being inspected. “Graham told me he touched you. What did he do? Did he hurt you?”
Sighing, I shake my head negatively, I can’t believe that jackhole threw it in Luca’s face that he got a little handsy with me. I bet he made it seem a lot worse than what it really was. “It wasn’t that bad, Luca. Garrick made him stop before things got out of hand. He was trying to put me in my place and show me that I had no room to be making any demands. Graham was throwing his weight around, trying to prove to me that he was the big man, and I was on his turf, therefore, at his mercy. Seriously, it wasn’t a big deal.”
“No man, no, scratch that, nopersonhas the right to put their hands on you, ever, Mera. If I hadn’t already killed him, I’d make him pay for the transaction a lot more than what he did. I had to make it quick, so he hardly suffered.” He pouts, his bottom lip sticking out and everything. Unable to help myself, I poke it which causes a smile to split on his lips.
“Luca, let's get you and Mera home,” Julius suggests. “The boys can take care of this. I want to get home to my temptress.”
I have a thousand questions running through my head where it pertains to my best friend. Instead of asking every single one of them, I decide to wait until I can ask Shayne those questions myself.
I miss her terribly. She was the first person I ever cared about, and now, I’d die for her if a situation called for it. Not many people get that extreme level of loyalty from me, but she, Luca, Julius, and their family have earned that in every way that counts.
They may be outlaws, but they’re my outlaws, and if I have to do things that seem unimaginable to those who know me, which let’s face it aren’t many because I don’t trust anyone to show my true self to, they’d have me committed.
“Let’s go home,” I say to Luca, holding my hand out for him to take.
He laces his fingers through mine and agrees, “Let’s go home.”
* * *
Luca and I both passed out on the ride home. The ride in the sedan was soothing, I didn’t feel any bumps or rough patches in the road. Either that, or it was how virtually drained I was that nothing could’ve kept me from finding some relaxing peace, especially now, knowing that I was unconditionally protected and guarded by these honorable men that would ensure my safety—even at the risk of their own.
I don’t hear the creaking of the gate as it opens to allow us entrance, I don’t feel the rock of the car as we pull into the driveway, it’s the sound of Shayne’s voice that has me perking up, miraculously wide awake, and alert.
“Tammera!” she screams.
“Shayne!” I holler.
Both of us shouting for the other one as my door is yanked open and she all but crawls into my lap. “Don’t you ever put me through that again,” she cries.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll make it my life’s mission to never be dragged from a car wreck after being attacked, held against my will, sold in a human auction, and kicking a man’s balls into his throat.”
“Good,” she snaps.
“Good,” I mirror.
“Love you, bitch,” she whispers.
“Forever and always. You’re my sister, my best friend, my do or die, Shayne.”
“Soul sisters,” she states.
I sniffle, then say, “Sisters for life.”
Luca
For the last week,Mera and I have been in and out of it. We’ve done nothing outside of eating and sleeping. But the more down time our bodies have gotten, the more we’ve medically healed. The only time I was alert for more than thirty minutes at a time is when I woke up to a shouting match going on between Marco and Matteo.
