Chapter 27
“Breathe, Q. I’m not going to hurt you. Do you recognize my voice?”
I can’t stop shivering, and it feels like my lungs won’t fill up. There’s a wheezing noise, and I think it might be me. My legs give out, and the man holding me helps me go down gently instead of collapsing in a heap.
“I’ve got you. Do you know who I am?”
It’s low and in my ear, but there is no way I wouldn’t. I nod with as much freedom of movement as he allows me.
“If I let you go, will you stay quiet?”
I nod again. After a moment, I’m free to move.
I close my eyes and whimper. Where’s Colt?
“Hey, I don’t want to rush you, Q, but we don’t have time to sit around and say all the things that need saying.”
This is a dream. Maybe I have to look at him in order to make myself wake up. But I’m afraid. I’m afraid I’ll look up and see nothing but blood. I open my eyes and see boots next to my legs. I follow them upwards, until I’m looking at a ghost.
“Surprise.” He smiles gently. “How are you holding up?”
“Axel.” It comes out as a whisper.
He’s tall. Was he this tall before he died, or did death give him a growth spurt?
And scars. He still has the mark next to his eye from when he and Heath went swimming and smacked his head on something underwater.
But now it has friends. A long slash near his jaw, and a circular burn mark on his throat.
What do I even say? So I don’t.
Instead I throw myself at him, surging to my feet and throwing punches as hard as I can, pounding his chest like it’s a drum. He doesn’t do a thing to stop me. Just lets me keep hitting him and hitting him.
“You’re dead!” My voice cracks as I break my promise to stay quiet.
“Do you have any idea how hard it was when you left? Do you know what I went through? Did you watch me use the money on your funeral? Did you see when it ran out and we got evicted? Did you know when I got too big for her to keep hitting, so she started pinching? Did you know what it was like to sleep in the car with one ear open because she took sleeping pills and sometimes people would try the doors?” Every horrible thing I can think of comes pouring out, until all that’s left is to howl, “Why aren’t you dead? ”
I trail off, ugly sobbing into his chest, my punches losing their power until I’m just holding my palms flat against him.
And then he finally puts his arms around me just like he used to, holding me gently. He is taller and definitely broader.
It’s impossible, but he’s here. With me.
I don’t know whether to laugh, or cry, or murder him.
“You have no idea how fucking sorry I am, Q. I didn’t want to leave, and there’s a lot you don’t know.”
“The cops told us they’d identified your body. We buried you!” I punch his chest again.
“Listen, I—”
“No! You listen. If anyone’s going to listen, it’s you. I’ve been so alone, and it’s just been me and Mom. You left me alone with her!”
“I know that.” His growl is impatient. “But we don’t have the time. You’re in danger, and I need to get you—”
The door from the hallways slams open and is filled with well over six feet of furious Colt. He’s got his gun up and it’s aimed right at Axel’s head. “I’m gonna give you one whole second to let go of her, or I’m gonna clear your skull of whatever little brain that’s left in there.”
Axel lifts his hands up immediately and backs off. “Not gonna hurt her. Trust me, she’s the last person on the whole planet I’d ever want to hurt.”
“Do you know him?’
I step back, too, until I’m safely behind Colt. I don’t know anything about Axel anymore. He’s not wearing a cut, but otherwise he’d fit right in with the Sons. Clearly he didn’t just run away to study marketing. “No.”
Axel glares at me. “Q…”
“He looks like my brother.”
“The fuck? Axel?” Colt’s gun hand doesn’t waver. “Your brother Axel?”
“Yeah.” I want to add some kind of smart quip or a better explanation, but I’m coming up empty. “It’s him.”
“I have no idea what the fuck is going on, but you could be the fucking Pope for all I care. You touch Quinn, I’m gonna fuck you up. We clear?”
Axel keeps his hands up. “Crystal. I’m not here to hurt Quinn. I’m here to save her. We have to get out of here.”
“You got a funny way of showing it. Now here’s what we’re gonna do.
I’m gonna bring Quinn outta here, and you’re gonna stand over there with your hands where I can see them.
If you want to plead your case, we can set up a meeting.
You know where the Outlaw Sons clubhouse is?
” Colt’s voice is a thinly veiled threat.
“Be there tomorrow. We’ll meet with you on our turf or not at all. ”
Axel’s head jerks once in a nod. It’s obvious he doesn’t like it, but Colt isn’t giving him much of a choice. He looks at me just like I remember, and I almost break down again.
“I’m going with Colt,” I tell him.
Colt puts his hand on my shoulder, pushing me towards the door as he starts backing up. “Save the chat for tomorrow.”
“Wait! I didn’t wait all this time to drop in for no reason. You don’t have to trust me, but if you give a shit about my sister, don’t let her out of your sight. She’s not safe.”
Colt looks him in the eyes. Eventually he nods. “That’s nothing we weren’t doing already.”
“I fucking mean it. If she gets hurt I’m coming for you.”
“Do it,” Colt spits out.
We leave Axel. Colt pulls the door closed so my brother can’t see us, and then nudges me towards the exit. “Outta here. Now.”
He doesn’t have to ask me twice. My mind is a mess, a whirlpool of questions that I won’t have any answers to at least until tomorrow. I need somewhere safe to be, and no one makes me feel safer than Priest, Colt, and Sinner.
We walk into the restaurant lobby and the ma?tre d’ hurries over. “Ms. Callahan, is everything—”
Mom pushes past them with Romero on her heels. “Quinn! Where do you think you’re going? We’re not done talking!”
“Oh, you’re done,” Colt says before I get a chance to reply. “We’re out. You can call her later if you need to, but we’re not staying.”
Romero looks furious. “I believe that’s up to Quinn to decide, not you. It’s obvious she and Sheila still have a lot of things to discuss. I’ll take them back to my home where there’s actual privacy.”
Is he for real? “I’m going with Colt. Like he said, call me.”
I half expect Axel to pop out too, just to make the chaos complete, but he remains hidden, already starting to feel like a terrifying figment of my imagination.
Colt throws his leg over the bike, glowering at everyone as I put on my boots and helmet before jumping on behind him.
As soon as my arms are around his chest, he revs the engine once, and then we’re out of there.
The sudden lurch as we take off doesn’t even faze me anymore. I lean with Colt, enjoy the wind in my face, and by the time we’re pulling up in front of my apartment, if anything, the ride has helped clear my head.
“You okay?” Colt looks at me over his shoulder, his fingers stroking the back of my hand that’s still around him. I know we should go inside, but it’s just so comforting to be wrapped around him on the back of the bike.
“Physically? Yes. Mentally? I have no idea.”