Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Lynx
“Where’re you at?”
I pushed up off the couch when Rhys’s panicked shriek sounded through the phone.
“Home. Why?”
“Reagan’s… The bar … it fucking exploded.”
“What?” The growl that came out of me was pretty damn close to inhuman as I launched myself off the couch, my sleep-fogged brain working overtime to process the information.
Copenhagen shot up from his spot on the floor, his gaze steady on me.
“Yeah. Fuck. How fast can you get here?” Rhys was breathing hard. “Wolfe insisted I call you. Amy’s hurt, Reagan’s…”
“Reagan’s what?” I yelled, snatching one boot as I tucked the phone against my ear. “Goddammit, Rhys!”
“She’s… Fuck.”
I was tugging on my other boot as I headed toward the door, my blood pounding in my ears. “Come on, Cope. Let’s go!” Without bothering to lock the door—I never did—I scaled the wooden porch and took off toward my truck at a dead run, phone still to my ear.
Cope jumped in ahead of me, shooting over to the passenger seat as I hopped in, stabbing my key into the ignition.
When Rhys had been silent too long for my peace of mind, I took a deep breath, tried to calm myself. “Where’s Reagan, Rhys? Is she okay?”
“I… I don’t know, man. She seems to be, but I don’t know. She said they were leavin’, but the doors were jammed up. And then the goddamn place exploded. Looks like someone shoved a metal pipe through the front door handles, making it nearly impossible to escape.”
I tore out of the dirt drive and onto the main road into town, the back end of my truck fishtailing. My heart was jackhammering in my chest.
“Reagan blasted them with her shotgun, managed to weaken the wood enough… Fuck.”
Hell yeah. That was my girl.
“An ambulance is on the way,” Rhys continued, his words rushed. “Just get here.”
“On my way,” I said, my voice louder than I intended for it to be. “Five minutes, max.”
The phone disconnected, and I automatically dialed my uncle’s number.
“This better be good,” the old man grumbled.
“Calvin? How fast can you get over to Reagan’s?”
My uncle groaned softly. “What’s wrong, boy?”
“Don’t know, but there’s been an explosion. Wolfe was there…” I exhaled roughly. “Don’t know more than that. Can you get over there?”
When the man spoke again, he sounded completely coherent. “Grabbin’ my boots and I’m on my way.”
“Thanks.” I didn’t know quite what I was thanking the man for, but I knew for a fact Calvin would be pissed if something happened to Wolfe and no one notified him.
With my due diligence done, I tossed my phone onto the dashboard, then gripped the wheel with both hands and put my foot to the floor. “Hold on, Cope. It’s gonna be a wild ride, buddy.”
I wasn’t sure I'd ever driven that fast. A couple of times I had to reach over and grab Copenhagen to keep him from being thrown into the backseat or the floorboard.
By the time we made it to the bar—the fucking bar that was fully engulfed in flames—the place was in utter chaos.
Cars and trucks lining the side of the road and the outer part of the parking lot, lights flashing from the emergency vehicles on site, people every-fucking-where.
“Stay,” I ordered Copenhagen, leaving the window down after parking on the side of the main road.
I shot out of the truck and ran toward the ambulance, my eyes scanning anyone and everyone.
The instant I caught sight of Reagan, my breath seized in my lungs. I stopped, skidding on the gravel and changing direction. She was sitting on the tailgate of Wolfe’s truck, the ambulance parked beside them.
“Reagan.” My voice was nothing more than gravel and dust.
Her wide eyes lifted to my face and I nearly fell to my knees. Somehow I kept myself upright, not stopping until I reached her.
“Lynx.” There were tears in her eyes, but it was clear she was holding them back.
My heart didn’t start beating again until I had her in my arms, her face pressed to my chest.
“God, girl,” I whispered, cradling the back of her head as carefully as I could. I didn’t know if she was hurt, or where, and I damn sure didn’t want to hurt her.
Unable to help myself, I pulled back, forcing her to look up at me momentarily. I scanned her face, noticing the soot smudged on one cheek. Other than that, I saw no signs of damage. Only when I was satisfied there were no injuries—none that were visible anyway—did I pull her back against me.
While I held her, I glanced around, cataloging all the faces. I knew it wouldn’t matter. The bastard who had done this wasn’t sitting around waiting for us to catch him. If I had to guess, he was probably halfway to Houston by now.
“Hey, Reagan,” Rhys said softly when he approached.
I met her brother’s eyes, ignoring the concerned look the man gave me.
When she didn’t pull back, I didn’t let go.
“They wanna take you to the hospital,” Rhys said, talking to his sister. “Said you probably have a concussion. You need to be looked at.”
She shook her head, but the movement was shielded by my body.
“No hospital,” she muttered. “I’m fine.”
I met Rhys’s hardened gaze and held it. “I’ll take care of her.”
That didn’t seem to be what he wanted to hear.
Sure, I got it. My reputation preceded me, and I understood why Reagan’s brother would be worried. That didn’t mean I gave two shits. I wasn’t leaving Reagan, and if she didn’t want to go to the hospital, no one could make her.
“Damn hardheaded women,” Rhys grumbled.
I glanced over to see Amy shaking her head, her eyes wide, her face as white as the bandage on her head. “I take it she ain’t goin’, either.”
“Nope. They said hers isn’t serious. Shallow wound on her scalp from a piece of glass, which bleeds like a bitch.”
They did. I knew that for a fact.
“But she was unconscious,” Reagan said, pulling back slightly to look at her brother.
“Not from a head wound. They think she passed out from the shock.”
Considering all the woman had been through, I could understand that.
Reagan seemed content with the answer because she pressed her face against my chest once again.
“I’ll take Reagan home with me,” I assured Rhys.
The man’s eyes narrowed.
“I’ve got two guest rooms, man. Not like I’m gonna throw her in my bed and never let her go.” Although I fucking liked that idea. Still, I wouldn’t do it. “You can stop by whenever you want and check on her.”
Rhys seemed to consider that for a moment before nodding. “I will stop by.”
I grinned. “I know. I’ll even leave the door unlocked.”
“You do that,” Rhys stated, then slapped me on the shoulder before walking over to the ambulance.
Leaning down, placing my mouth close to Reagan’s ear, I whispered, “You good with that? I’ll take you home if you want, but I ain’t leavin’ you alone, so don’t ask me to.”
Reagan’s arms tightened around me and that was all the answer I needed.
For a brief second tonight, I'd thought my entire world had been shattered. Again.
It brought back memories of the night we’d gotten the call about my mother. She’d been on her way home from the hospital where she worked. Her car had skidded off the road and gone headfirst into a tree. They said she’d been going too fast for the corner, probably never saw it coming.
Yep, one woman in my life had been stolen far too soon. I wasn’t sure I could handle if Reagan was taken from me, too.
No fucking way was I going to let her out of my sight. Not yet.
Hell, maybe not ever.
Reagan
My bar was gone.
Completely burned to a crisp.
According to Rhys, the fire department said it appeared someone had rigged the above-ground propane gas tank behind the building to blow. However, they wouldn’t know for sure until the fire inspector got out there.
My own gas tank. The one that supplied heat and hot water to the building had been used to blow up my livelihood and damn near kill me and two of my closest friends? Who the hell would do something like that?
I clicked the seat belt into place and took a deep breath, watching the scene before me. It wasn’t as chaotic as it had been earlier, but there was still quite a bit going on. I probably should’ve stuck around, but when Lynx offered to take me back to his place, I hadn’t been able to refuse.
“Give her some love, Cope,” Lynx urged the dog, his gaze briefly swinging toward me as he pulled out onto the main road.
When the dog’s big muzzle nudged my arm, I reached over and gently petted him, leaning my head back against the seat.
I was tired. My body ached from the impact I'd made with the wall.
And yes, the paramedic had finally given me a good once-over, telling me I should probably go to the hospital, but at the very least, someone needed to keep an eye on me through the night and not let me sleep for more than an hour or so at a time. Something about a possible concussion.
I was fine.
But my bar was gone.
I sighed.
What I wanted to do was sleep for the next week. Then I wanted to wake up and go back in time to before today. Before I'd had breakfast with Lynx, before I'd known the pleasure he could offer me, and yes, before my entire world had been blown to bits.
“Did you call your mom?” Lynx asked.
“Yeah,” I said softly. “She told me to come stay over there.”
“You want me to take you there?”
“Nope.” I loved my mother, but we didn’t get along. Plus, my grandfather was nothing more than a burly old bear who enjoyed berating me every chance he got. I did not need to listen to either of them harp on me right now. “I’ll stop by there tomorrow.”
“Okay.”
He seemed content with that, but I didn’t open my eyes to look at him. I couldn’t. Not right now. The second I'd seen him racing toward me, I had nearly lost it. And when he wrapped me in his arms, I had to fight back the tears that had threatened.
After all I'd said to him that morning, Lynx had still come to check on me in the middle of the damn night. Not only that, but his father had called after Wolfe’s dad had informed him of what happened.
I had been shocked when Lynx handed me the phone.
I had expected it to be my mother, surprised when the deep, raspy voice so much like Lynx’s had echoed through the phone.
“Reagan, honey? Are you okay?”
“Yes, sir,” I replied softly. “I’m okay.”
“Good. Lynx said the bar burned down.”
“Yes, sir, it did.”
“Well, I don’t want you worryin’ about that tonight. We’ll all be helpin’ you to get it up and runnin’ in no time at all.”
I knew he wasn’t included in that “we” because Cooter never left the house, but I appreciated the sentiment anyway. “Thank you.”
Cooter grunted. “Put Lynx back on, honey.”
I hadn’t heard the rest of the conversation. I'd been too busy trying to ignore the paramedic who wanted to shine a light in my eyes to check my pupils.
“You hungry?” Lynx asked, his fingers linking with mine and tugging my arm toward him.
“No.” I wasn’t sure I'd ever be able to eat again. My heart seemed to have dropped to my stomach, and the damn thing throbbed like a bad tooth. I hurt and not only in the physical sense. My only income had been obliterated in one fell swoop, and now I was left with…
Nothing.
It could be worse, the little voice in my head chided.
And yes, I knew that was true. At least no one had been killed. Amy would be fine; Wolfe was fine. Thankfully, no one else had been in the bar at the time.
“He obviously planned this, huh?” I asked Lynx, forcing my eyes open.
“Rhys thinks so,” he noted, gently squeezing my fingers.
“To kill Amy?”
“That’s my guess.”
“At first, when I couldn’t get the door open, I thought the guy at the bar had done it,” I explained.
“What guy?” Lynx’s tone was hard.
“The one who was flirtin’ with me. Never saw him before. When I shut him down, he just walked away. I remember thinkin’ it was odd. Thought maybe it was a joke that he locked us in the bar.”
Then, when the world exploded, I hadn’t given that guy a second thought.
Clearly, I'd been the only one who had thought it was anyone other than Amy’s ex.
I had heard my brother talking, knew he suspected the guy was watching Amy.
Obviously, the police chief knew Amy worked at my bar.
I had even briefly wondered if he was still there, watching the destruction.
Lynx had sounded completely sure of himself when he told Rhys that the bastard was long gone. My brother had agreed.
“Do you think he’ll be back?” I asked him now.
“I do.”
I peered over at him. “Amy said she’s gonna take this opportunity to talk to a reporter since they’ll be doin’ news coverage on it.”
“I heard.”
“Do you think that’ll make it worse?” Not that I thought it could really get any worse than this.
“Don’t know.”
I closed my eyes once again, sighing heavily. I felt defeated.
And the only thing I wanted to do was sleep. For a decade.