Chapter 44
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Iris
Forcing my eyes open, I find my head propped on someone’s legs, and I’m lying down. The bump, bump, bump of the road vibrates through my spine as my swollen lids refuse to open all the way.
Fingertips brush my forehead.
“Hey,” Kali greets, looking down at me as I rest on her thighs. She looks rough.
“Hi.”
“You passed out.”
“Ah.”
“We’re almost to Kat and Ryker’s.”
“Kat? Ryker?” I ask.
“Bear’s son and daughter-in-law.”
“Oh.”
“We’re gonna lie low there for a few days.”
Who’s this we? I wanna ask, but don’t bother.
Turning my head to the side, I’m met with the black fabric back of a driver’s seat.
“You’re safe,” a man with a deep rumble says. I recognize that voice. Thunder. The guy who gave me his cut.
I look down.
Which I’m still wearing.
Kali brushes her thumb across my cheek. “Sleep some more. I’ll wake ya when we get there.”
“Where’s Sola?” I ask, hoping she’s okay.
“On her way back home with Rot.”
That’s good.
“Sunshine?”
Pressing her lips together, Kali shakes her head.
“Nothing?”
Another shake of her head.
Damn.
“We’ve tried to call him. His phone goes straight to voicemail.”
“He went to the hospital alone?”
“I guess so. I don’t know. Angel said Sunshine carried Dark to one of their trucks, put him inside, and took off. They’ve sent brothers to local hospitals, but so far, no luck.”
“Sunshine wouldn’t…” I hedge, and Kali picks up exactly what I mean.
“Kill himself? No. He wouldn’t do that to me.”
Kali sounds convinced, but I’m not so sure. If you watched your son die, I can’t imagine what you might do to ease the pain. I’m not a parent, but those bonds are strong. Then again, my brain is all over the place right now.
It’s like I’m here, but I’m not.
This is real, but it isn’t.
Kali nods off with her temple against the window. When I try to sit up so I’m not resting on her, she pushes my shoulder back down with her eyes closed, leaving me no choice but to sleep.
Hopefully, when I wake up, this nightmare will be over, and it will all have been a joke. A sick, twisted, unfunny joke.
But something tells me… deep down… I’m not walking out of this nightmare anytime soon.