Chapter 10 Wren
CHAPTER TEN
WREN
This is the strangest dream I’ve ever had. First, I was kidnapped by a bunch of bikers, then my penpals busted the door down and started killing everyone. Sly said something incredibly sweet, then they took me away, rescuing me from that horrible place.
I’m pleased my nightmare has finally turned around. Being curled up in dream Dex’s lap is much better than being with those bikers. He’s much bigger than I typically envision him, much warmer, too.
I wonder if this would turn into one of my usual dreams of them, where they kiss me and do things that make me wake up with a strange longing deep in my stomach.
I never knew what they did, though, as when I woke, the dreams were fuzzy.
All I remembered were the kisses, and their hands running over my body, then… nothing.
Dream Dex pushes a piece of hair behind my ear before his hand trails down my side gently. I let out a sigh of contentment. “That feels nice.”
“You like that, baby?”
“Mmm hmm,” I mumble as his hand trails up and down soothingly.
“I thought she was asleep?” another male asks.
“Can’t sleep in a dream,” I mumble, trying to snuggle in closer.
Dex’s hand stops moving as he asks, “Dream?”
“Mmm. A good one, too. Don’t stop.” I tap his hand and open my eyes to look up at him.
A huge grin covers his face as he looks down at me. “You dream about me, baby?”
“Obviously. But less talking, more touching.”
“With pleasure,” He starts to move his hand again, but someone behind me grabs his arm, stopping him.
I can’t see who it is, but when Dex looks at him, his shoulders drop, and he nods.
“You’re right.” He looks back down at me and shrugs.
“Sorry, baby, he’s right, no touching until you’re fully awake. ”
I take a second to study his face, realizing that for the first time, my dream is actually showing me clear images of them. Normally, they are blurry with no distinct features, like my mind can’t decide what they look like. But not this time.
I study the way his brown hair, which is much longer on top, flops to the side.
He has beautiful hazel eyes that seem to study me back.
He has a close-cropped beard that only accentuates his chiseled jaw.
There are small scars scattered all over his face, and I reach up to trace one with my finger.
He gently grabs my hand, stopping my perusal.
“Do they hurt?” I ask, eyeing all the marks covering his face.
“No, but you don’t have to touch them. I know they’re gross.”
I shake my head slowly as I pull my hand from his and reach up to touch another one. “Not gross. They’re part of you, which makes them amazing. They tell me a story of what you’ve been through.”
“Not to break up this tender moment, but do we want to figure out where we’re going now?”
I move to sit up, and Dex helps me, but keeps me seated in his lap, his thick arm banding around my center. My eyes follow it up to his shoulder, realizing just how built he is.
Turning back, I see Pete behind the wheel, and Sly sitting beside him, staring back at me as if he’s trying to reach into my mind and read my thoughts.
“Guys?” Pete asks again, turning his head to give me his side profile.
I suddenly get a flash of a memory of him slitting one of the bikers' throats and laughing when they grabbed their neck and dropped to the ground.
Memories of Tony and the bar flash through my mind, and I take a few deep breaths, trying to stay calm as reality sets in.
“Wren?” Sly asks when he sees me start to freak out.
“I’m not dreaming, am I?” I lick my lips nervously.
“No, little bird. This is real.”
“But… how are you all here?” I glance back up at Dex in confusion.
“We escaped.”
“Oh. Ohhh!” My eyes widen in shock.
“Don’t be scared, we’d never hurt you,” Sly says, reaching back to give my knee a squeeze of reassurance.
I grab his hand and shake my head. “I’m not scared of you. I’m scared for you. Won’t they be looking for you?”
“Looks like we’ll be on the run together then,” Pete says, throwing a smile over his shoulder.
On the run… together? I’ve felt alone all of my life.
Sure, I had my brother, but he acted like a parental figure.
I could never talk to him about anything that actually mattered to me.
Frowning, I wonder why I’ve never realized that before.
Why was I trying so desperately to be the perfect sister and make his life easier when he had no clue how I really felt about anything?
Ever since I ran, I’ve been terrified of him finding me or him handing me over to Ivan and shipping me off to Russia.
He had treated me like my opinion never mattered.
I had hoped I’d be able to make it on my own out here, but tonight has taught me that there are apparently a lot of things about this world that I’ve been sheltered from.
I never imagined I’d have anyone to help guide me through it, let alone my four favorite people in the entire world.
I take a second to look at them, realizing I haven’t seen Jagger yet.
Remembering Dex looking at someone beside us, I twist my body around and gasp as my eyes meet a pair of beautiful blue ones, staring at me with such intensity I feel it all the way to my soul.
The second I see him, my pulse stutters. Not because he’s handsome, though he is, but because something about him feels like gravity. Heavy. Inevitable. Like I am being pulled in before I can think to resist.
“Jagger?”
He nods his head, and a strange sort of laugh-cry erupts from me. I reach over and cup his face. He holds my palm against his cheek, pressing into my touch as he continues to watch me silently.
His short brown hair is a little darker than Dex’s, and he’s sporting a five o’clock shadow that suits his intense appearance. He has broad shoulders, although not as wide as Dex's, and a jaw cut from stone. He’s built like restraint and violence stitched together.
There’s something behind his blue eyes, quiet and sharp, as if they miss nothing.
They pin me where I sit, calm but burning.
My stomach flutters with the kind of nerves that don't feel entirely unpleasant. There’s something familiar about him, too.
And I think it’s because I already feel like I know him so well, like my soul recognizes his.
“It’s really you,” I whisper, and he gives me the barest hint of a smile.
Dex releases me as I wiggle out of his lap and kneel on the seat between them, facing Jagger as I take in his whole appearance.
Muscles that stretch his T-shirt to its limits and a penetrating gaze, still staring right into my soul.
Of the four of them, we know each other best. He had a way of writing that revealed the depth of his soul, forcing me to reply in kind. I care for all of them equally, but I feel most connected to Jagger.
“I can’t believe you’re all here, that you came for me,” I whisper. Reaching toward me, he grips my hips and pulls me into his lap so I’m straddling him. Then he grabs his seatbelt and secures it around us both.
He remains silent, and I find myself desperate to hear his voice. “Jagger, say something,” I whisper, and a look of pain crosses his face. He shakes his head and points to a long scar I hadn’t noticed running down his neck.
Frowning, I trace it with my finger. “I don’t understand.”
“Jagger can’t speak, baby,” Dex says quietly from beside me. My wide eyes meet Jagger’s, seeing pain and embarrassment there.
I throw my arms around his neck and hug him tightly. “I don’t need you to say a word,” I whisper, so only he will hear. “I just need you.” His arms wrap around my back, and he squeezes me tight, his face pressing into the crook of my neck as we hold each other.
“We’re heading back to the motel. Wren? Did you have anything there to pick up?” Sly asks, interrupting our moment.
Jagger helps me awkwardly turn, under the seatbelt, until I’m facing the front.
I reach down to my side and gasp when I feel nothing there. “My bag!”
“It’s right here,” Dex says, lifting it off the ground by our feet to show me.
“Oh, thank goodness!” I let out a deep breath of relief. I’d hate to lose their letters, they’re irreplaceable. “I don’t need to go to the motel, I have everything I need in there.”
“Alright, then let’s head East for now. I don’t feel safe sleeping anywhere near this town. Those bikers are likely to hold a grudge,” Sly says, and I couldn’t agree more.
“What were you doing in a biker bar anyway?” Pete asks, tilting the review mirror so he can see me.
“I was trying to get a fake ID. Someone said to go there and ask for Tony.”
“And he kidnapped you?” Dex asks, but I shake my head.
“Not at first. I… Uh… He told me that his equipment was at his office.”
“You went with him willingly?” Pete asks in disbelief.
My cheeks heat with embarrassment as I look out the side window and shrug. “I guess.”
“Thank fuck we found you when we did. It’s surprising you lasted this long without getting hurt,” he says, exasperated.
The car is silent for a minute before Sly asks, “Nothing happened before tonight, did it? Nobody touched you?”
I shake my head, my eyes still on the darkness outside the window. “No, nothing like that happened… before tonight.”
I feel a tear roll down my cheek and turn my body to face the window, curling up sideways in Jagger’s lap as he wraps his arms around me. I feel him kiss the top of my head and close my eyes, thankful for his silent strength.
Through all the excitement, I almost forgot what happened with Tony. He groped me and tried to… to do more than that. Much more.
My cheek stings from where he hit me, and I wonder if I can ever forget that part of tonight. If the guys hadn’t arrived when they did, I’m not sure what would have happened, but I know it wouldn’t have been good.
Tilting my face toward the rest of the guys, I tell them, “Thank you for coming for me.”
“I promise, we’ll always come for you,” Dex says, his large hand rubbing comfortingly down my back.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I whisper, thinking about how many times I wished they weren’t in prison.
“If a maximum security prison can’t keep us from you, nothing can,” Pete says with a grin aimed my way.
“We’re not going anywhere,” Sly agrees.
There are so many things I want to say to them, to ask, but the steady beat of Jagger’s heart, combined with the surrounding darkness, has my eyelids drooping.
“Sleep, Wren. We’ll still be here when you wake up,” Sly says softly.
I let my eyes close and drop my head against Jagger as I whisper, “Promise?”
In the comforting, warm embrace of Jagger, surrounded by men I trust, I don’t hear a response as I quickly fall asleep.