Page 55 of Stone
Ashley? As in Trigger’s wife, whom he cheated on?
“Not now, Trigger,” she replies, and I hear a growl, not one of those sexy ones, more like, I don’t know, like an angry dog growl.
“Then when?” he demands, “You won’t take my calls or even allow me to pick Cole up,” he sighs, “You and my mama never even got along, and now she’s suddenly your best friend?”
“Your mama had it in her head that I was only after your patch, that I got pregnant on purpose at eighteen, something sheapparently only got in her head because of you!” She snaps, and even I want to flinch back at the pain in her voice.
“I put my entire life on hold for you and this stupid ass club, my career, lost my family, and for what, huh? To find out you never even wanted our son? That you never wanted to marry me? That I was never even thought of as family while your entire club sat back and watched you screw that woman when I was in the other fucking room!” she sneers, and I swear I can hear Trigger gulp. Ashley chokes, “I have loved you since I was ten years old, I have given you everything, and you tore us apart, you broke us, and now I want nothing to do with you or your club. I’m here because Cole loves Caleb, and Caleb sees me as family and needed me, not for you. Sign the papers, Trigger.”
“Ash, please…” He whispers, but instead of replying to him, I hear her whisper in my ear, “Cage needs you, Rose, wake up.”
Everything goes dark, her whispered plea fading…
“He misses you,” I hear my sister whisper before I feel a few drops of water hit my cheek, “He won’t come here, won’t watch you like this,” she chokes, “Please Rose, come back to us, to him, please…”
Kimmy sobs as I feel pressure on my hand before I hear my dad choke, “Kimberely, sweetheart, you need to go get some rest.”
“Her own husband won’t even sit with her dad, I can’t let her wake up on her own,” Kimmy snaps back, and damn, I didn’t think she had it in her, not with dad anyhow.
“He’s hurting Kimmy, you know this. He blames himself,” Dad whispers.
Blames himself? For what?
I can feel my heart quicken and the beeping echoes louder as Kimmy gasps, “Dad…” before everything goes black.
“Still nothing?” I hear Dr. Conners rasp full of pain.
“No,” my best friend replies before she says, “Hi, I’m Donna.”
“Hi,” a voice of a woman I don’t recognize whispers, but doesn’t return her name. Instead, she asks, “Can I get either of you a drink?”
“No, thank you,” Donna says just as Doc replies, “I’m good, tinkerbell. Besides, I don’t want you far.”
Tinkerbell?
“Okay,” she whispers.
“How have her SATs been, Donna?” Doc asks, and Donna instantly replies, “Steady, no spikes since yesterday when her sister was here.”
“She needs Stone,” Doc sighs.
I feel my heart rate pulse again, and Donna confirms, “Yes, she does.” before everything goes black yet again, and I don’t fight it, suddenly feeling tired.
“He can’t do this!” I hear snapped, full of anger and pain, shocking me back from the darkness.
It sounds like Mama.
“He can and he is,” Doc replies, full of frustration. “Judge Jones has already got the paperwork started, much to his dismay, Stone is filing for divorce,” He admits. I swear, my heart rate picks up as the confusion I’ve felt every time I come in and out of consciousness disappears and memory after memory flits through my mind, playing to me like a movie.
Meeting Cage, his smile, his charm…
Dancing with him at Rebel’s Phoenix Dance Club…
Falling head over heels in love…
Finding out he was married and running away to New York, only for him to find me in mere months…
Him fighting for me, for us, after admitting we were actually married…
