23. Thorn
CHAPTER 23
THORN
“Ima be sick.”
Scooping Delaney into my arms, I hightail it to my room. As soon as I get her to the bathroom, I drop to my knees, and she scrambles to the toilet. The sound of her vomiting cuts through me like a knife, and I quickly get to my feet to get a washcloth out of the cabinet.
“You really tied one on, sweetheart,” I say when I lower myself to her side and pull her hair away from her face.
“Fuck you,” she says between bouts of puking.
I chuckle, happy that she’s maintaining her attitude despite her obvious discomfort. After several more minutes of her heaving, Delaney shifts to sit between my legs.
“Feel better?” I ask.
“Sure. I was jus’ makin’ room for more,” she quips.
“Very funny.”
She drops her head back against my chest and shivers. “I feel… gross.”
“Wanna shower before I tuck you into bed?”
Delaney moans. “Sounds wonderful.”
I help her to stand and strip out of her clothes. Once I’ve got her under the hot spray, I strip myself and join her. She remains still, allowing me to wash her body and hair, and I make quick work of it.
“C’mere,” I instruct after stepping out of the shower and securing a towel around my waist.
Delaney slowly steps forward, and I engulf her in another towel.
“So tired,” she mumbles as I rub the terrycloth up and down to dry her off.
I ease her out of the bathroom and to the bed where I gently push her down and cover her with the comforter. I’m about to climb in next to her when my cell pings from the pocket of my jeans which I left on the bathroom floor. It pings again before I get to it, and I snag it to glance at the screen.
Soul: Come to the meeting room
Soul: Don’t bring D
After putting on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, I quietly leave my room and make my way to the meeting room. My stomach twists into knots as I walk because meeting at this time of night never means something good.
“How’s she feeling?” Soul asks when I enter the room.
“Okay, now that she’s puked her guts up.”
“Hopefully she gets some sleep because you’re both heading out in the morning.”
I narrow my eyes. “What? Why?”
Before Soul can answer, Malice, Spike, Abyss, and Fort stride into the room.
“I was balls deep in Mel,” Abyss grumbles. “This better be good.”
“As soon as the others arrive, I’ll dive in,” Soul says. “Fort, get everything set up.”
Fort moves to his seat and sets his laptop on the table. While he’s pecking at the keyboard, the rest of the patched brothers enter the room.
“I left my wife naked in our bed,” Grim sighs, his movements agitated. “Someone please tell me why.”
“Sit down everyone,” Soul instructs, his expression darkening. “You know I wouldn’t have called you here at this time of night without a good fucking reason.”
“Pres, what’s going on?” I ask.
“Fort, go ahead,” Soul says, nodding at him.
“Jesus,” I snap. “Would someone please tell me what the fuc?—”
“He struck again,” Fort says. “The Phantom Strangler struck again.”
My blood runs cold. I told Delaney that she could take a break, that we’d be fine if we stopped hunting for a night.
“Where?” I snarl, dreading the conversation I’m gonna have to have when she wakes up.
“Louisville.”
“That wasn’t marked on the map,” I remind Fort.
“But Delaney and you stopped him in Nashville,” Malice says. “I’m guessing he had to kill to make up for it.”
“And you’re sure it’s him?” I ask.
Images appear on the large screen, and my question is answered.
A dead woman is propped up against a tree, and she’s naked. Dried blood smears her inner thighs, and there’s a rope around her neck. It’s secured on a branch above her, which is different, but not so much so that I think it’s anyone but the Phantom.
“She was found earlier in Cherokee Park by a family,” Fort begins. “I’ve got a trap set on the web to alert me to any similar cases as they’re entered into the system. For once, the cops are doing their job because this was entered much faster than his other murders.”
“And Jez missed this?” I demand, whirling to glare at Soul. “I’ve had her on this for years, and she misses this?”
“Don’t,” Soul snarls. “This isn’t on her.”
I heave a sigh. “Sorry, it’s just…”
“We get it,” Grim signs. “We’ve all been where you are.”
He’s right, they have. At least, my married brothers have. All of their women have been in danger at one point or another. And each of us has stepped up and done our part to keep them safe.
I take a deep breath. “If he was in Louisville, I’m guessing he’s on his way to Philly. That’s the closest point that he marked on that damn map.”
“Which is why you and Delaney are leaving first thing in the morning,” Soul says.
“Excuse me?”
“We’re gonna take a vote, but I think it’s best if we let Delaney have her way with this one,” Soul explains. “She’s proven that she can ha?—”
“No fucking way!” I shout. “We’re not using her as?—”
“Take a breath, brother,” Malice bites out. “It’s not like we’re saying we should let her go out there on her own. You’ll be there.”
“And I can get the Phantom without her,” I insist. “She’s been hurt enough by this freak.”
“So have you,” Grim signs.
I don’t have time for Grim’s words to sink in before Soul’s calling for a vote, and all thoughts of stopping my club from using my girl as bait fly out the window. When I try to argue, I’m reminded that the vote stands and am ushered out of the room, ordered to fill Delaney in, and be ready to ride at eight.
Slapping my hand against the sensor, I wait for the door to my room to slide open before trudging inside. Delaney is still out cold on my bed, and the last thing I want to do is wake her up, so I don’t. Instead, I strip and crawl in beside her, gathering her in my arms and pretending that morning won’t come.
“You’re stalling.”
I tug on my boots and pull my pant legs over them once they’re tied. We’re not taking my Harley on our cross-country trip, and to say I’m unhappy about it is an understatement. Shit, I’m unhappy about the whole thing.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about,” I snipe.
Delaney crosses my room to stand in front of me. I had the foresight to set my alarm before falling asleep, and as soon as it went off an hour ago, I woke her up with my tongue.
Might as well get my rocks off before driving straight to Hell.
Of course, Delaney was more than thrilled to head to Philly, and she read me the riot act for ‘making’ her take a break. I tried to talk her out of this, knowing full well that if I was able, I’d pay a steep price with the club for defying a vote, but she wasn’t having it.
“Thorn,” Delaney says as she cups my cheeks and forces me to look at her. “It’s gonna be okay. I can take care of myself.”
I shove her arms away and jump to my feet. “So, you keep telling me.”
“Dammit, Thorn,” she snaps. “You can let me in on this and have my back or not. Either way, I’m going after the Phantom. How it all goes down is up to you.”
“You’d really go without me?” I demand.
“I’ve been hunting on my own for years, and I’m not about to stop just because some man feels the need to be all protective and shit.”
“Some man?” I seethe, closing the distance between us.
“You know what I meant.”
“Do I?”
“Thorn, please.”
“Please what, sweetheart?”
“Why does it have to be your way or no way?”
“Because I can’t lose you too!” The words are out of my mouth before my brain has a chance to catch up.
Delaney’s eyes widen, and she wraps her arms around my waist. “You’re not gonna lose me. We’re gonna take the Phantom out together.”
“You’re making me crazy, Delaney,” I admit. “From the moment I laid eyes on you…”
“Let’s just get this fucker, and then we can talk about how crazy I make you.” She tightens her hold. “Or better yet, you can show me any time we have to stop driving for the night.”
“Aw, hell.”
She steps back and levels her gaze on mine. “What?”
“I forgot to tell you…”
“Tell me what?”
“This trip is straight through with no overnight stops, and Mark’s coming with us.”
“Oh, well… Shit.”