Page 43 of Spinner's Luck

She spun on her heel and stormed off, her boots slamming against the floor as she disappeared into the crowd.

I stood there, breathing deep, trying to shake off the tension crawling over my skin. I’d ignored the warnings. Chain and Bolt had both told me Ashlynn was trouble, but I’d brushed it off.

Lesson learned—the road to hell was paved with favors for the wrong people.

Brenda’s gaze caught mine across the room, her expression troubled as she followed after Ashlynn. Maybe she’d talk some sense into her because if not she had to go.

The bar suddenly felt too loud, music, laughter, voices pressing in like a vise. I shook my head and made my way back to my seat, my body still tight with frustration.

Lucy was already there, watching me, her eyes curious.

“You good?” she asked, tilting her head, her voice calm but edged enough to tell me she wasn’t fooled.

I forced a smile, though my hands still itched to hit something. “Yeah. Just had to clear somethin’ up.”

Her lips pressed together like she wanted to push, but she let it go.

That was Lucy. She could read a room better than most, knew when to press and when to leave it be.

The rest of the night, I let her pull me out of my own damn head. Every laugh, every touch, every glance, she was my steady ground, keeping me balanced and making the chaos fade.

And that scared the hell out of me.

Because if I lost her…

I wasn’t sure I’d come back from it.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

I BOLTED UPRIGHTin bed, my breath ragged, my throattight with the scream I hadn’t let out. My skin was slick with sweat, the nightmare clinging to me like a second skin. My pulse pounded in my ears, drowning out everything but the suffocating grip of the past.

Beside me, Spinner was awake in an instant. Years of club life, of listening for the wrong kind of silence, had sharpened his instincts. He didn’t ask questions right away, just reached for me, his grip firm, solid. Real.

“Lucy?” His voice was rough, thick with sleep but filled with concern.

I couldn’t answer. My lungs were working too fast, my hands fisting the sheets like they could hold me here, tether me to something that wasn’t the past. The room felt too small, the darkness too thick, pressing in like walls I couldn’t break through.

“Hey,” Spinner murmured, his arms tightening around me, pulling me against the heat of his bare chest. “You’re alright, darlin’. It’s just a dream.”

I flinched, still tangled in the nightmare’s grip, but the warmth of his body bled through the terror, grounding me. I blinked hard, forcing myself to see him, to recognize the jagged scar near his collarbone, the steady rise and fall of his breathing.

Reality.

“I… I couldn’t stop it,” I whispered, my voice breaking as I fought the tears burning my eyes. “I tried, Spinner. But I couldn’t stop it.”

His fingers skimmed my back in slow, steady circles. “Couldn’t stop what?”

I swallowed hard, my teeth sinking into my bottom lip to keep it from trembling. “Her. My sister.” The words barely made it out, brittle and raw. “I was there again. She was screaming, and I couldn’t— I couldn’t get to her.”

The sob I’d been choking back broke free. I pressed my hands over my face, my whole body trembling. “It’s always the same. She’s crying for me, and I’m useless. Weak.”

Spinner’s arms tightened, his whole body going rigid, like the weight of my words hit him square in the chest. His past had its own ghosts, but he shoved them aside. This wasn’t about him. It was about me. And he’d be damned if he let me drown in it alone.

“You’re not weak.” His voice was steel, cutting through the haze of grief and guilt clawing at me. “Not then, not now. You hear me? Whatever happened, whatever you couldn’t do, that wasn’t on you.”

I dropped my hands, lifting my tear-streaked face to him. “But it was. I should’ve been watching her. I should’ve done something.”

His jaw tightened, eyes blazing as he brushed damp strands of hair from my face. His touch was soft, but there was fire in that gaze, raw and fierce.“You were just a kid, Lucy. A damn kid. This weight? You’re not bearin' it by yourself anymore, you hear me? I'm here. I'll shoulder that burden with you, every damn piece of it.”

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