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I shake my head. “No questions, please. I just need you to get me out of here without Lucas seeing me.”
We both glance back to the hallway and both Lucas and his brother are gone and the air feels a little less heavy as I turn back to her. She studies my face for a moment before nodding.
“Okay, but I’ll have to tell him that I took you home after I get back.”
I nod. “That’s okay.”
When she agrees, I gather up my things and Brooklyn before following her outside. After I buckle Brooklyn into her car seat, she climbs behind the wheel of my car and I promise her that Alice will give her a ride back after giving her directions to my house.
“You have to tell me what’s going on here, Quinn,” she urges and I shake my head.
“I can’t. Not yet.” Hell, I can’t even process it myself yet so there’s no way I could coherently explain it to her. She sighs and nods, glancing over at me periodically as we drive to my house. I’m counting down the seconds until we get there as my insides feel like they’re exploding.
Just one more mile, I tell myself, barely holding the tears at bay.
Just one more block.
Just one more street.
Just one more house.
By the time we pull into my driveway, my hands are shaking and my jaw aches from clenching my teeth to keep the scream at bay.
“I’ll go get my sister,” I whisper to Tate before jumping out of the car and running up the front steps as my stomach rolls. Alice pokes her head out of the kitchen as I burst in the door.
“What are you doing back so soon?”
I meet her gaze as the tears start to fall. “Alice…”
“Oh my god, Quinn,” she gasps, dropping her plate on the island and rushing over to me. “What the hell happened?”
“Brooklyn is in the car and I need you to give Tate a ride back to the clubhouse.”
She scowls. “Who the hell is Tate?”
I point over my shoulder and she peeks through the window.
“Please, Alice. I’ll explain everything when you get back but I need you and Brooklyn to not be here right now and Tate needs a ride back to the clubhouse.”
She studies me for a second before grabbing her purse. Before she walks out the door, she lays her hand on my arm. “Are you okay?”
“No. Please go.”
She nods, her gaze lingering for a second before she steps outside and I watch her get in the car. As soon as they drive away, a deep aching sob tears through me and I sink to my knees, gasping for air. Tears pour down my face and my hands shake as I press them against my racing heart and pain overwhelms me. It feels like a thousand dark hands, reaching up from the depths of hell. They grip my clothes, my arms, my legs, fighting desperately to drag me back into darkness and finish me off.
And this time, I might just let them.
Chapter Seventeen
Lucas
Sighing, I glance over at the bed in my room at the clubhouse and sigh as Clay rolls away from me, snoring loudly. When he showed up here last night during the baby shower, looking for money, I wanted to get him out of here as soon as possible but it became clear, pretty quickly, that he was in no state to go anywhere. Kodiak and I hauled him up to my room and got him into bed. I was so fucking preoccupied that I didn’t even notice Quinn was gone until Tate came upstairs to tell me that she hadn’t been feeling well so she took her home. I glance at my watch and sigh again. It’s only eight in the morning so I doubt he’ll be awake anytime soon and I need to try and call Quinn. Tate said she wasn’t feeling well at the party but I get the feeling that she might be mad at me for ditching her to take care of my brother. Time to do damage control.
I leave Clay in my room and step into the hallway before dialing her number. As it rings, I lean my shoulder against the wall and tuck my hand into the pocket of my jeans. Truthfully, she has a right to be a little mad. Clay showed up and it’s like I forgot all about her until Tate reminded me. He became my sole focus and it pisses me off that I let him.
“Hi, Lucas,” she answers but her voice sounds different.
“Hey, darlin’. You okay?”
