Page 82 of No Apologies
“A message?”
“They think they got cheated and they want Lincoln to know that if they get hit where it hurts, we get hit where it hurts.”
“Jesus.” She swiped a hand over her face as her mind finally stopped whirling long enough to latch onto a piece of information, “This is about Lincoln? About those fights he has Colt competing in?”
Remy’s eyebrows went up, “You know about that?”
“Of course I know about that. Colt told me that he’s fighting for Lincoln until he can pay him back for the loan.”
“The loan?”
She met Remy’s eyes and felt an insane urge to laugh or cry or both. This family and their damn secrets. From the confusion coloring his face, it was clear to her that despite whatever parts of the puzzle Remy had been clued into, he didn’t have the full picture. Since he’d decided to enlighten her, she figured she might as well return the favor.
“Yeah, the loan. Lincoln loaned Colt money a few years ago when he and Cash were first trying to get out from under Decker’s rule. Colt’s been fighting for him ever since to pay him back and earn his freedom because only in your fucked up family could helping each other mean paying back money with blood, sweat and tears.”
Remy’s mouth thinned, “That’s what Lincoln has over Colt? The kid owes him some money?”
“Yeah.”
“Son of a bitch.” He surprised her by slamming his fist into the cabinet and then cursing some more, “I knew Link had somethin’ on him but nobody would tell me what it was. That bastard put my brother in a ring and risked his life for some fuckin’ money?”
She assumed that was a rhetorical question and remained quiet.
“Does Cash know about this?” Remy scowled.
“No. Colt kept him in the dark. He said Cash would’ve stopped him.”
“Damn right Cash would have stopped him because somehow that twin got all the brains.” Remy kicked the cabinet, “Goddamnit, they never should’ve gotten involved with…”
Before he could finish his sentence, the door to the apartment opened again and the man they were discussing came through it. Lincoln Bomar looked exactly like he always did. Smug, arrogant, self-assured and not a hair out of place. The only sign that something might even be wrong was the fact that he was scowling instead of smirking.
Knowing that Colt was lying in bed hurt while this man walked around untouched made Skylar’s blood boil. Before she could think better of it, her temper got the best of her. She rushed towards him and raised her hand. She slapped him so hard it made her palm sting but he barely budged so she shoved him in the chest, trying to inflict some sort of damage as she railed at him.
“You did this!”
“What the fuck!” He snarled as he easily restrained her.
“This is your fault!” She struggled against his hold and when she couldn’t break free she raised her knee.
“Stop!” Lincoln scowled and twisted, clearly sensing her intention to harm his favorite body part and pushing her back away from him, “I said stop! We’re all on the same side here.”
“Fuck you, Lincoln! You’re the reason he’s hurt!”
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and hauled her backwards. She struggled against Remy but when he didn’t budge an inch she gave up. She couldn’t fight them, not physically, and another round of tears blurred her vision.
“I’m the reason he’s gonna survive this too so back off and let us through.”
“Skylar, calm down. Let Nessa go look him over.” Remy whispered, his touch softening as soon as she stopped fighting.
Skylar shuddered out a breath and managed a nod. She hadn’t even noticed the woman standing behind Lincoln in the doorway. The other woman seemed altogether unfazed by Skylar’s outburst. As soon as she nodded, the nurse darted past her towards Colt’s bedroom.
“Nessa will take care of him and if she can’t, she’ll tell us and we’ll get him to the hospital.” Remy promised as he released his hold on her and stepped between her and Lincoln.
Nessa. Right. She was a nurse but she was also family. She’d been engaged to one of the Bible Bomars, Joel, before he died. That was why they trusted her to keep this quiet and help them. She was one of them.
“I’ll go see if Nessa needs anything...”
Skylar shot a hand out when Lincoln started to go past her and shook her head, “No. You’re not going anywhere near him.”
