Opal reaches over and grips my hand to the point of pain. But I welcome it. I need it to ground me.
“Whiskey will look into it. I already have brothers checking everything out and going on frequent runs through the county. We have feelers out to people we know and trust in the area. If he pops up close by, we’ll know it.”
“Okay,’ I breathe out. A thought hits me and I open my mouth, but Ryker is already putting the phone to his ear again.
I can hear my man’s voice, frantic, on the other end of the line, “What’s wrong? Is Graycie okay? I got this weird feeling, brother.”
Ryker pinches the bridge of his nose and shoots me an apologetic look.
Was I going to ask him not to call Turner? Yes. Was he going to listen to me? Hell no, and, honestly, he shouldn’t have.
“Opal picked up her mail?” Ryker phrases it like a question and I swear I can hear Turner grunt in response. “Your woman got another envelope.” He pauses before shouting, “Snake, calm the fuck down and listen to me. She’s fine. She’s sitting in theclubhouse right now. I’m looking at her with my own eyes and Opal is sitting right next to her.”
He listens for a moment and then huffs out a breath and rolls his eyes. As he puts it on speaker, I hear some sort of scuffle on the other end. “Fuck, brother,” Turner’s tone is chastising, “calm the fuck down. I’ll put it on speaker.”
“Turner?” My voice wobbles slightly and I hate it. I clear my throat and try again, this time stronger, “Turner, I’m fine. I mean, I’m shaken up and it’s really fucking freaky what is in that envelope, but I’m not some messy puddle on the floor right now with tears and snot and whatever,” I blurt out the words like I’m a damn stream of consciousness poet or something.
Turner’s breathing changes into something choppy. His words are clipped, “What was in the envelope?”
I freeze and look up at Ryker with eyes the size of dinner plates.
“Uh oh,” Opal breathes out, “he’s going to detonate.”
“There was a lock of hair,” Ryker tells my man without any preamble or warning. He doesn’t mumble it like he’s trying to hide the truth or make it less fucked up.
I’ve got to respect a man like him.
Pride filles me at being part of this family.
And I’ll fight like hell to keep them.
“I’m on my way,” Turner growls and the line goes dead.
Opal pats my shoulder and teases, “‘Twas nice knowing you. You’ll be in a coma, one I don’t want to think about, because he’ll have to reaffirm his claim about a million times. I’d recommend hydrating now.”
Ryker chuckles and smirks. “She’s not wrong.”
I face palm and peek at the two of them through my fingers. But it’s mostly for show.
I’ve felt possession that only destroys.
If my man wants to claim me a million different ways, I’m not going to complain. Not when he worships as he possesses.
CHAPTER 22
SNAKE
The wrench slips out of my hands. A-fucking-gain. It takes everything in me not to throw it across the shop. I don’t.
But only because I don’t want to deal with the damage I would do. It would only make me have to stick around longer instead of going back home to my Graycie.
Thinking about her brings a smile to my face. I’m sure I lookslightly deranged, but I don’t have it in me to care.
My problem isn’t just being away from her, which would be bad enough, but I can’t stop thinking about the fucking envelope she opened a few days ago. With a lock of hair, which we can only assume is hers, inside.
The sick fuck.
There wasn’t even a note this time. I think the hair was more than enough of a message.