Chapter Nine
Griff was still sleeping when Honor awoke.
She slipped quietly from the bed. She glanced down at Griff.
There was no way she could walk away from this unscathed.
She wasn’t sure it would even be possible to walk away.
How could a person’s world change so drastically in such a small window of time? Hers would never be the same.
Being with him made her understand what her dad wanted for her.
It was frightening to realize how much she wanted it, too.
She wanted to go out, to date, and to explore relationship boundaries.
She wanted the potential of a happily-ever-after.
Of living together, being part of a couple with all that entailed. She wanted it all with Griff.
Right now, looking at him, she wanted nothing more than to crawl back into bed and cuddle into his heat.
Maybe, he’d wake up and feel frisky. She almost laughed.
There was no maybe to it. She could already see the length of his cock tenting the sheets, and she wondered what he was dreaming, if she was playing a starring role in it.
Before she let that thought lead her back into bed with Griff, she pulled on some clothes and quietly left the bedroom.
She’d accepted that her father was busy wrapping up everything last night, but she still wanted to call him.
She had a lot to talk to him about, especially when it came to the man whose bed she’d slipped out of.
She snagged her keyring as well as Griff’s from the table in the entryway before heading out of the apartment toward the lot and her car.
She really needed to hear her dad’s voice, and she wanted privacy.
He’d be mad at her for trying to go around him.
She’d deal with it and Jack’s part in selling her out, later, when the dust finally settled, and she knew where she stood.
She couldn’t wait to introduce Griff to her father. It was so important to her they like each other and get along. Her dad was the most important man in her life. Griff had the potential to be just as important.
Would he want to? She nodded. She’d have to make sure he did.
She glanced up as she exited the building, but her mind was too wrapped up in thought to relay what she saw fast enough.
A hand came out of nowhere. One second, she was walking, and the next, her head slammed against the brick of the building. Pain exploded. Two hands tightened around her throat, and she grabbed for them as dots appeared before her eyes.
“Where’s Vince?” The voice reeked of hate and violence. Spittle sprayed her face, and his rancid breath made her wonder how long he’d been without the convenience of a toothbrush.
She gurgled and clawed, but her fingers couldn’t get a solid grip on the gloves he wore.
Lack of oxygen made her sluggish and weak.
Her legs kicked, but even she could tell they were weak attempts.
He was plastered against her, holding her in place against the wall.
She had no room to maneuver, and the will to try faded along with her air supply.
“Where is he?” The man cracked her head back against the wall again.
Why did he keep asking her questions? It wasn’t as if she could answer him. Not when she was seconds from passing out. Who was this guy? How had her dad missed him?
The hands let up, and she gasped in air, struggling to fill her lungs. She’d have bruises, could already feel them forming.
“Who are you?” she managed to croak. Not the response he wanted as his hands quickly cut off her oxygen supply again.
“I’m the one asking questions, you fucking cunt. Where is Vince? Where are my brothers? What the fuck have you done with them?”
He really needed to quit asking her questions when he was choking the life out of her.
Her oxygen-deprived brain struggled to engage.
He was obviously another of Vince’s cousin.
Why hadn’t he been with the others? More importantly, how had he found her instead of her dad finding him?
His hands finally eased up just enough to allow another gulp of much-needed air.
“Can’t breathe.” She hated the burning in her throat as she tried to suck air in.
“I don’t care, you fucking bitch. I told them.
Begged them to leave it alone. Just let it go.
They couldn’t. Too pumped up by the old man’s deathbed wish for revenge to walk away.
I should have been with them.” He was rambling, and she wondered how far over the edge he was.
It seemed he was talking to himself. She didn’t care.
It gave her time to breathe and plan. How the fuck did she get out of this one?
“Your dad has them, doesn’t he?” This time, she felt the pinch of his nails through the gloves as he tightened his grip on her neck yet again.
Then he slammed her head back against the wall one more time.
“You better hope they’re still alive.” His face was right back in hers.
She felt the heat of his spit-flecked breath and was glad she couldn’t breathe now.
She was too close to throwing up as it was.
Her lips moved, but no sound came out. She thought she saw movement to her left, but she couldn’t be sure.
The dots were connecting and blackness was taking over.
She didn’t want to die. Not here. Not now.
Not like this. She wanted to go back upstairs and crawl into bed with Griff.
Wanted to wrap around him and never let go.
She wanted to see her dad’s face. To hug him and tell him she loved him one more time.
She wanted a life. She wanted everything.
She heard the smack of flesh-on-flesh but had no idea if he was hitting her. She couldn’t feel anything. She embraced the dark and let the world slip away.
* * * * *
Griff fumbled for the phone. “Hello.”
“Get your ass down to the parking lot now.” The voice was no more than a whisper.
“Who is this?”
“It’s Tyler. Good thing I decided to keep an eye out for Honor.”
Griff felt the emptiness in the bed beside him and sat up, all traces of sleep gone.
“Where is she? What’s going on?”
“Currently pinned against the side of the building by someone. I just took a second to call you for back up.” Griff heard Tyler’s infuriated hiss loud and clear through the phone. “Fuck. Hurry up. I’m going in.”
Griff jumped out of bed. He grabbed his jeans and hurried into them while he snagged his gun from the bedside-table drawer.
He hit the living room on the fly and didn’t bother pulling shut the door as he raced for the stairs.
Someone had Honor pinned against the building.
Griff didn’t feel the need for stealth. He felt the need to hurry.
If something happened to Honor…
His heart stopped, and his mind refused to engage in the what-if game. How could a woman he’d known for such a short frame of time mean so much to him? How had she managed to get so far beneath his skin that even now she worked her way into his heart?
His heart stopped when he shoved out of the building and saw Honor crumpled on the pavement.
He heard the harsh grunts and blows of fighting and shifted his gaze only long enough to see Tyler fighting with another man.
Griff flew straight for Honor and knelt beside her, feeling for a pulse.
Thready but there. He scanned the lot for the possibility of any hidden assailants.
Movement caught his eye, and he lifted his gun. He’d kill to protect her.
“Ambulance is on the way,” Chetan said as he jogged past Griff toward where Tyler still fought. “Guess I better make sure there’s someone left to question.”
Griff didn’t care. Let Tyler kill the cocksucker. He saw nothing but red as he took in the swelling and bruising around Honor’s neck. He smoothed her hair and felt a lump on the back of her head. On second thought, he wanted Tyler to let the other man live long enough for Griff to kill him.
“Honor. Hey, baby, it’s Griff. I’m here.
I’m going to yell at you later. I think we might have one hell of a fight about this.
You’ve got to wake up first. I need you to wake up and let me know you’re okay.
Please, Honor. Open those gorgeous eyes and look at me.
Tell me to fuck off or get the hell out of your face.
Whisper those sweet words of yours to me. Just wake up.”
He held her close. The bruising and swelling worried him.
He prayed as he hadn’t prayed for a long time.
It was like being back with his dad when he’d died.
Those memories had Griff thinking about what Honor had mentioned in their conversation earlier.
Griff would be devastated if something happened to Honor.
His heart already ached at the thought of what might have happened if Tyler hadn’t been watching.
Losing her would wreck Griff. They hadn’t had nearly enough time together.
His mother and father had spent years together and lived a lifetime within them.
What had Griff’s mother felt when Mick had been taken from her?
Griff remembered a million little things, which he’d let slip from his thoughts in recent years.
How he’d catch his mom talking to his dad sometimes when she thought no one was around.
How she’d cry when she thought no one was there to see.
And he remembered her face that night at the hospital when they hadn’t been sure if Roman had been caught in a fire, when they weren’t sure if he’d make it. She’d been utterly devastated.
Griff’s mom had managed to find love a second time with Roman, and Griff had been too selfish to be happy for her. Too selfish to give a great guy like Roman a chance. His mother deserved better, and Honor was right. With clarity, Griff realized his dad wouldn’t be happy with him, right now.
He heard the sirens and looked up to watch the emergency vehicles pull in.
He’d make things right with his mom and Roman.
Just as soon as he knew Honor was okay. He kissed her on the temple before the EMTs eased her away and lifted her onto the gurney.
She would be okay. She had to be. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to convince her to stay, and he would convince her. No couldn’t be an option.