“But my stuff,” she mumbles, stumbling over her own feet as I drag her down the stairs and out the door.
I’ll be giving her a personal escort out of town.
Chapter Seven
Serenity
“You okay, honey?” the bartender I met last night asks me.
I nod, swallowing my tears. What Rage said about Tiffany cutting her daughter’s hair was a punch to the gut. My mom did the same thing to me when I was a kid, but not for the same reason. She wasn’t jealous of me. She just didn’t want to brush it.
“I’m … gosh, I don’t really know. Everything’s been so …”
“Crazy?”
“Yeah.” I rub my temple.
“You’ll feel better when we get some food in you,” Cole says, helping me to my feet.
“I’m not hungry,” I tell him, scooting to the edge of the bed.
The other men walk out, leaving me alone with Cole and the bartender.
“My wife worked her magic, I see. You look good.”
“Shelly is your wife?” She was so nice to me, and she made my hair look great. It’s going to take me a while to get used to the new style, but at least it doesn’t look like I was run through a woodchipper.
“Sure is. I’m a lucky man,” the bartender says. “I’m glad she got you all fixed up.” He places his arm over my shoulder and guides me out of the room. “You can call me Wolfe.”
On the way to the Rage Cage, I remain in a daze. I know what’s happening, but it’s like I’m watching life through a window. Dissociation at its finest. When the chaos gets to be too much, I tend to check out. I don’t do it purposefully. It just happens.
“This is Prospect. He’ll get you set up in the room,” Cole tells me.
He snaps in front of my face when I don’t respond.
“I heard you,” I snip, shoving his hand away from me.
His attention turns to Prospect. “She belongs to Rage, so keep your eyes and hands where they belong unless you want to lose them.”
My heart would normally race at such an absurd statement, but I don’t have it in me. The last two days have completely drained my social battery. It seems no matter where I go or who I meet, I’m doomed for a life of insanity.
Once I’m geared up, Prospect leaves. He was nothing but gentlemanly, so I guess he took Cole’s warning to heart.
I stand in the center of the room, remembering my rage last night. It came from nowhere. Well, probably not nowhere. It was stuffed down somewhere in this body of mine, but it’s not there today. If it is, I can’t seem to find it. Nor do I want to.
My gaze roams over all of the items placed around the space for me to break. I’ve never related to so many inanimate objectsin my entire life. Just sitting still, waiting for that final blow. The one that sends you scattering into nothing but a pile of broken pieces.
Prospect’s voice echoes over the loudspeaker. “Are you okay in there, hun?”
“I’m fine, why?”
“Well, you haven’t hit anything.”
“It’s my time, isn’t it?”
“Uh, yeah, I guess. Just let me know if you need something.”
“I will,” I say, pulling the gloves from my hands and tossing the helmet to the ground.