Page 89 of Wild Night

“But you and your brother needed it, right? You needed it more, so you thought you should have it.”

Her upper lip curls. “He worked hard for it. They underpaid him. They abused him. He earned that money, every single dollar.”

Releasing my grasp on her throat, I run my fingers through my hair as the realization slams into me. “It was you,” I breathe. “You were going to have him blackmail me.”

The tears don’t stop streaming down her cheeks. She’s playing a good part, but it’s clear to me now that she’s playing. She came to my house, tried to weasel her way into my life, but it didn’t work, so then she got her brother in on it. And all because they wanted money. My money.

“Love of fucking money,” I whisper.

“I would have made you happy,” she breathes. “I just wanted to be comfortable. You don’t know what it’s like to have nothing,then to have a glimpse of something just to have it ripped away from you again.”

“Sit your ass in that fucking chair and don’t move. If you do, I’ll hunt you down and slit your throat myself. You’re nothing but a useless cunt. A couple holes to fuck, and you thought you could make yourself an old lady? Not fucking possible.”

“I just want happiness,” she whimpers.

I shake my head as my lips curl up in disgust. “You’re a liar, too. You wanted money.”

Without another word, I turn around and walk out of the office. I want to kill her right here and now, but I need answers from her first. So instead of murdering her, I walk out of the office and head to the bar, where the noise came from.

The sight that greets me is fucking mayhem.

CHAPTER FORTY

POSEY

I’m notsure what’s happening, but a loud sound, dust, and flying things fill the air. Dakota and I fall to the ground, climbing under the table. Out of pure instinct, I throw my body over the top of hers and Nathan’s, covering them to protect them from whatever the hell is coming their way.

There is screaming, men shouting, and then there is nothing. It’s too quiet. So damn quiet that I don’t move. I stay where I am. When I feel someone touch my back, I lift my head, looking over my shoulder to find Viking crouching down behind me.

“You girls okay?” he asks.

His voice sounds far away. I don’t know what’s going on. I open my mouth to ask him what the hell is happening, but I don’t get the opportunity, because he extends his hand, his palm facing up. Reaching out, I curl my fingers around his, and he helps guide me out from under the table.

Turning my head, I watch as someone else helps Dakota and Nathan out from under the table. As soon as I’m standing, I tilt my head back slightly to look up into Viking’s eyes.

“What just happened?” My voice is trembling.

He looks over his shoulder, as if that’s the only answer I need. Slowly, my eyes scan the area, and I gasp at the sight in front of me. It’s a car. A car is now in the middle of the bar, because it ran straight through the cement wall.

There is rubble all around the place, and a few men are limping and bleeding. I don’t understand anything that’s happening right now. Not a single thing. My brain can’t process any of the things my eyes are seeing.

Viking releases me and moves toward the crashed car. I watch him for a moment before my legs begin to tremble uncontrollably. I don’t know how much longer I’ll be able to stand. My legs are just about to give up on me, my head is feeling light, and I’m seeing spots in my vision when two arms wrap around me from behind.

I know exactly who it is.

“You okay, princess?” he asks.

Turning my head slightly, I touch the underside of his jaw. “I’m okay now.”

There is a moment of silence, of stillness, where we’re the only people in the whole world. Justin turns me around slowly, his eyes finding mine, and the expression on his face is one of concern, deep concern.

“I’m okay,” I repeat.

His eyes don’t look away from mine. He’s focused on me and only me. I want to fly away from here right now. I want to kiss him. I want him to touch me. I don’t know why, but I want to feel alive.

As each second passes, I realize I wasn’t far from that car. Something could have hit me, and I might not be alive right now. That realization causes my legs to tremble again. Justin slips an arm behind my thighs, bending his knees slightly before he picks me up, my feet dangling just a few inches from the floor.

Wrapping my arms around his shoulders, I look into his eyes as he carries me away from the chaos, from the screaming, from the people running around, from the absolute mayhem.

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