Page 29 of Blood Revealed

“Fuck, I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. Tell me, am I coming or going?”

“I know. Christ, I know. Call Hannah. Don’t tell her what needs to be kept, but call. A good woman can help soothe the pain.”

He’s right. I can’t tell her shit, but I need to hear her voice. When I dial, it rings three times before going to voicemail. I hang up and try again. On the third ring, just before voicemail picks up for a second time, she answers.

“Hey, how are you?” she asks, and instead of answering, I start blubbering like a goddamn baby. It’s just so good to hear her voice. “Blood, honey, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

“Raif,” I manage out.

“What?” she asks.

“Call me ‘Raif,’ not ‘Blood.’ I need you to call me ‘Raif.’”

“Okay—I’ve never called you ‘Raif,’ though.”

“You weren’t my old lady before.”

“Okay, Raif. What’s wrong?”

“I’m not supposed to tell you, but it’s killing me, baby.”

“I won’t say a word to anyone. Give it to me. Please, Raif, let me take some of your pain.”

“We lost Carver, baby.” I hate having to tell her. She sucks in a breath but doesn’t do any more than that.

“Can you tell me what happened?”

“Not yet. But Chaos and Crass are in surgery as we speak. Boss is getting the hole in his thigh patched. It’s bad—I wish I could hold you.”

“When—When are you coming home?” She’s fighting back tears. Her voice is thick, but if she cries, she’ll have to explain why.

“Not for a while. Too many men injured. Sneak, Boetcher, Hero, and like I said, Boss, Chaos, Crass.”

“Hero, again? Why would you take him with you?” she asks, whispered. “Brin is—”

“Pregnant, yeah, he told me. He’s fucking ecstatic. He got one in the shoulder earlier and another in the arm. He’ll make a full recovery. Be around to raise that baby. But we needed him and that’s all I can say about that.” There’s a horn honking in the background, which is odd because she’s supposed to be at the compound. “Are you in the clubhouse?” I ask suspiciously.

“Sure, why?”

“The horn?”

“I think one of the brothers is tired of waiting,” she says. I guess that’s plausible. There’s a doctor coming out from the surgery area and Duke and I need to grab him, see if he knows how Chaos and Crass are faring. “Gotta go, baby. I’ll call later tonight, okay?”

“Are you sure?” she asks.

“Yeah—gotta go. Love you.”

“Be safe, Raif,” she says. “Love you too.”

Both Duke and I hop up from our chairs at the same time to wrangle the doctor. “No one’s talkin’. We got two men in there. Need to know the status,” Duke orders the poor guy.

“Who are you asking about?” he asks.

“Gage St. James, his cut says ‘Chaos,’ and Gunner Duncan, his cut says ‘Crass,’” Duke tells him.

“Well, I can tell you we haven’t lost anyone. Those were the gunshots, correct?”

“Yeah,” I answer.

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