Page 20 of Wrecker

I used to think my brothers were all fucking crazy. Thought love made a man weak.

Now I knew better.

It made you a dangerous son of a bitch.

And I’d turn heaven to ash and hell to ice before I let anything hurt her.

8

PEYTON

My dream started off innocently enough, but it quickly twisted into a nightmare I’d already lived, starting with the heavy silence. The kind that came right before something terrible was about to happen.

I stood inside the parking garage again, light filtering through cracks in the ceiling, casting long shadows across the floor. My fingers clutched my infrared camera, and everything felt wrong. The air was too still.

Then the rumble started.

A deep, shuddering groan that vibrated up from the concrete. I turned, heart pounding, and saw the ceiling begin to sag. Dust rained from above. Metal creaked. My body wouldn’t move fast enough.

The collapse came too quickly. I couldn’t make it to the stairwell. There was nothing to protect me from the wreckage.

My scream ripped from my throat as I stumbled, falling backward. The walls closed in.

Something crashed near my head. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t?—

I jerked awake with a gasp, my lungs tight and chest heaving.

I wasn’t trapped. And I wasn’t alone.

A strong arm banded around my waist, grounding me. A low murmur brushed against the back of my neck, the deep voice unmistakable. “Easy, baby. You’re safe.”

Reid had rescued me from my bad dream, just like he had from that parking garage.

The tension in my body drained at the sound of his voice, my heart still racing but slowing as the nightmare receded. His warmth surrounded me, his powerful body curled protectively around mine like a living shield.

“It was the garage.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “I was back there, but I couldn’t get to safety.”

“It was just a bad dream, baby.” His lips brushed the shell of my ear. “You’re safe now. I have you.”

I turned so I could see his face in the shadows. “How did you know?”

“You were restless. Figured I’d hold you in case the dreams got bad.”

“They did,” I whispered. “The last thing I wanted was to relive that whole thing. I’m so glad you pulled me out of it.”

His gaze flicked between my eyes. “You trust me, baby?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Yes.”

Something raw and real shifted in his expression.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. Not again.”

I believed him. He hadn’t given me any reason not to.

Without another word, I nestled closer, letting the steady rhythm of his breathing calm me. Somehow, wrapped in his arms, the fear couldn’t touch me.

I wasn’t sure how long we lay there in silence, his body warm and secure at my back, his breath brushing softly against my skin. Eventually, I turned to face him again, needing to see him in this quiet moment.

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