With that final thought, I snuggled her closer and whispered at the shell of her ear, “Goodnight, Angel.”
“Goodnight, Storm.”
14
Tara
JUST AS I’D figured, Storm wouldn’t let Maddy go to The Bullet to sing karaoke. If he couldn’t be with her, she wasn’t going. Overprotective much? Hell yes, he was, and for a good reason. Being the president’s old lady put a target on her back. I’d have been pissed if he let her go after what the Hunters had done to her.
So instead of giving Maddy a hard time about her overbearing biker husband, I agreed to hang out at the clubhouse while he was at the fight. I really wanted to be there to watch Boxer and Ire pummel their opponent. It would’ve been freaking awesome.
But without Maddy by my side, it would’ve been weird attending the event with a bunch of bikers.
They only reminded me of who I would never have.
On the bright side, Steph agreed to go with me to the club if I could wait to pick her up after her haircut appointment at six. She didn’t have any issues with Storm and his crew. My girl was an easy person to please. Nothing and no one bothered her. It was probably why I loved her so much.
I glanced out my rearview mirror, wishing there was a single headlight behind me. I missed Copper. Regretted yelling at him. To be honest, I was also a little nervous about seeing him at the club. Would he hate me for kicking him out of my house? God, I had acted like a bitch.
My phone startled me when the light from the screen illuminated the inside of my dark car. It was after seven, so it was pitch-dark. Kinda creepy. I should’ve turned the ringer on after school like usual. But I’d forgotten while playing with Luna before I left her for the night.
“Hellooo,” I answered on the Bluetooth without digging my cell out of the cupholder. Steph probably wondered why I was late.
Big, gargantuan mistake blindly taking the call.
“Dorothy? Know who this is? Of course, you do. How ya been?”
My heart seized. I slammed on the breaks right before I blew through a stop sign. The car rocked, my head hitting the headrest. Was this a nightmare? No, much, much worse. This was real.
I grabbed my phone like an idiot to check the number.Unknown. How stupid was I? As if his name would be on the screen.
“Are you so stunned to hear from me? Or maybe your cat got your tongue.”
A violent wave of tremors ripped through my body.
Wait. What did he say?
My eyes bulged out of their sockets as I gripped the steering wheel like it could protect me. How did he know I had a cat?
A horn blared, scaring the hell out of me. My eyes flicked to the rearview mirror.
Please don’t let it behim.
An annoyed woman appeared to be shouting at me to go. I read the curse words on her lips.Bitch.
I looked both ways before proceeding through the intersection. No words came to me as my pulse raced. How did he get my number? Why was he calling? Why, why, why, after all these years, why would he contact me now?
“Your silence is pissing me off, Dorothy. I expected a warmer greeting. I didn’t raise you to be rude. What happened to my obedient little Dorothy? Perhaps you need a reminder of what happens to naughty little girls who make their daddy angry.”
Bile shot into my throat. I haphazardly pulled off onto the side of the road, reached for the empty Taco Bell cup, ripped the plastic lid off, and vomited into it. I gagged and gagged, my vision blurring as tears filled my eyes. The mere sound of his evil voice made my throat constrict. I felt his fingers cutting off my air supply like before. Saw the hate in his brown eyes staring down out when he was tripping and wanting toend me.
The headlights of an oncoming car scared me. For a moment, I’d forgotten where I was. I gasped for air, heaving in gallons as my whole body shook at the onset of a panic attack.
Please help me,I silently pleaded with Maddy’s God.Please save me.
“Well, fuck, Dorothy. It’s just like old times.”
I slammed my hand on the button to end the call as tears dampened my cheeks. I dug my nails into my biceps, trying to gain control of my breathing. It was no use. My stupid coat was too thick.