Page 34 of Hounds Ascend
“I’m sneaky.” I pull a cigarette from my pack, and he lights it for me.
“Thanks, old man.” I grin at him and nudge him with my elbow. He has grown on me since I’ve been spending so much time around him.
I open my phone and see a missed call from Cass. I excuse myself and hurry to my room to return his call. I’m anxious to hear about what he’s been up to. Dialing his number, I plop on the bed and kick off my shoes. It only rings twice before he answers.
“Hey, baby.”
“Hey.”
“How’s Mindy?”
“She’s good. Better than I thought she was going to be. Thanks for telling me, by the way.” The sarcasm in my voice doesn’t go unnoticed.
“I didn’t want you coming home until I took care of shit. Guess that didn’t matter though cause here you are. If something would’ve happened to you again…” he trails off and I hear him sigh before he continues.
“I’m glad you didn’t get into harm’s way.”
“Where are you?” I ask.
“At the gas station down the street from our clubhouse. I’ll be headed there soon then I’ll come to the hospital to see you.”
I scoff. “Don’t bother. I’m at the clubhouse, so I’ll see you when you gethere.”
“Damn it, Lilly.” Cass huffs.
“See you soon,” I say sweetly before hanging up the phone. When he arrives, I have questions and I know he has answers. It’s time for me to be in the know of what’s going on especially because it’s a threat to me as well as the club.
Ten minutes later, I hear the door to the clubhouse slam followed by heavy footsteps climbing the stairs. The door to my room swings open then slams shut once Cass is inside. He looks like hell. His hair is everywhere. His face is covered in road grime. His jeans are nearly black from whatever the hell he had gotten all over them.
My heart pangs at the sight. Above all else, though, is the scowl on his face. He isn’t happy with me in the least. He doesn’t say a word. He kneels and unlaces his boots, taking them off before walking slowly toward me. The silence is eerie, and I almost wish he was yelling instead of not saying anything at all.
“Why are you so fucking hard-headed?” he asks.
“I wasn’t just going to sit in another state while my best friend was in the hospital. If you want a woman that doesn’t give a fuck about people, I suggest you go find someone else, Cass, because that isn’t me.”
“I know you give a fuck about people which is exactly why I didn’t tell you! We didn’t know that they only went after Mindy because they thought she was Linc. We only knew that they went after her. Having you here could’ve meant they would’ve gone after you again, and this time who’s to say we would have been lucky enough to get you back alive?”
“I don’t give a shit about that! I wasn’t going to let her sit in a hospital in a condition that I didn’t know the severity of. What if she was dying and only had the rest of the night last night before she was gone? Then how would you have felt? Because I can tell you how I would’ve felt, Cass. I would’ve lost my fucking mind and I would’ve blamed you!”
Cass shakes his head, stands up, and slams his fist into the wall above the bed. The wall caves easily under the strength of his blow, leaving a gaping hole and an echoing thud. He shakes his head again at the damage before walking into the bathroom and shutting the door behind him.
The sound of the shower sounds and I consider getting into the shower with him, but the bed is too comfortable and I’m barely holding on to consciousness as it is. I’ll talk to him when he comes out since our other conversation wasn’t going well. But the longer I lay here waiting, the heavier my eyes get. I focus on the sound of the water beating down in the shower, letting it lull me to sleep. I finally give in to the comfort that tugs at me to drift off. My mind, for the first time, is so tired that it’s quiet, allowing me to succumb to the long-awaited slumber calling my name.
Chapter Six
Lilly
The sound of a gunshot rips me from the peaceful slumber I was submerged in. Disoriented and confused, I bolt upright in the bed and look around frantically. I’m alone in the room. Cass isn’t in the room or the bathroom. I listen carefully for any indication that things were going awry downstairs, but I hear nothing. I lean over to open the nightstand beside the bed, knowing Cass keeps a piece in there. I grab the nine-millimeter and turn the safety off before chambering a round. If anyone is coming in here with bad intentions, I’m not going down without a fight.
Rising to my feet, I tiptoe through the dark room toward the bedroom door that’s halfway open. Peering out, I don’t see any movement. But I can hear people talking. I strain to make out anything that’s being said but to no avail. I ease the door open a little more, pistol in hand and ready to shoot, and tiptoe a few steps out of the door.
“Just grab their book and get the hell out. Meet me at the spot in twenty.” I hear a man talking in a hushed voice before the door to the clubhouse clicks closed. Whoever is in here isn’t supposed to be.
The realization that a shot had been fired has me on edge. I replay the morning over and over in my head. Hell, I don’t even know what time it is or how long I’d been asleep and the lack of windows in the clubhouse doesn’t help any.
I can’t see what’s going on down below and the only way I’m going to get a glimpse is if I walk down a few of the steps, putting myself in the line of sight for anyone between the bar and the front door of the clubhouse. I think better of it and ease my way back into the room to check my cell. Six p.m. already.
I type out a text to Cass.
