“Thanks, babe,” I said as I sighed, feeling elated at his words of encouragement. He had to be way more tired than me. Despite the night at the hotel room, it had been nearly two days of driving. And I knew he hadn’t slept well when he’d had the chance.
I knew the responsibility to his brothers called to him, haunted him even. And the need for vengeance ran deep.
“I’ve got some shit to take care of.”
“Are you going anywhere?” I asked. The fact that Ettie had been kidnapped scared the crap out of me.
He glared at me as though outraged by the mere suggestion that he’d leave me alone.
Apparently, Sal wasn’t leaving the house. And apparently Sal was really freaking cranky. Rather than push him when I knew he was at his limit, I changed my clothes and laid down in our incredibly welcoming bed for a quick nap.
When I woke up, I was momentarily disoriented. Sal’s side of the bed looked untouched, and I winced for my man and his obvious lack of sleep.
I wandered out to the kitchen still half-asleep surprised to find Cole, Sal, and Wes in quiet conversation. They all turned to look at me when I walked in and Sal’s eyes narrowed.
“Babe, go put some fucking clothes on, Christ,” he swore.
I felt my brow crease as I looked down at my shorts and tank top. I mean, sure it was sleepwear, but it was far from indecent.
“Clothes!” he barked when I hesitated.
Instead of moving, I put my hands on my hips and glared by way of reply.
“We’re rollin’ out,” Wes spoke up, and I knew both he and Cole wanted to get far away from our impending blow up. Chairs were scooted back, coffee cups abandoned all while I stood glaring at Sal.
“Wes, can I catch a ride with you to the club?” I asked. “I need to meet with Scar and Connie over there for the dinner shift,” I explained.
With other club members in town, we all took turns cooking meals and keeping the fridges stocked.
“Yeah, I’ll swing back by in an hour,” he agreed.
“I don’t want you over there without me,” Sal shook his head.
I rolled my eyes at his over-protectiveness.
“I’ll hang with them, Sal, no worries,” Wes spoke up.
Sal nodded reluctantly as the guys headed out.
“Look, I know you’re tired,” I began as soon as Cole and Wes closed the front door behind them. I was ready to lay into him for being such a jerk, but his forehead resting on the front door and slumped shoulders stopped my impending tirade. Instead, my heart lurched for him knowing he and all the guys were exhausting themselves trying to find Ettie. I walked up behind him and wrapped my arms around his middle. “Honey, you need to sleep. Please, come on,” I coaxed, taking his hand.
He seemed to deliberate for a minute before simply nodding as he allowed me to pull him to the bedroom.
I didn’t ask if there was any news on Ettie. For right now, I needed my man to rest for a bit. He wouldn’t be any good to anyone if he kept on like this. I pushed him gently into bed, unlacing his boots and letting each one drop with a resounding thud to the ground.
He was asleep before I even left the room.
Wes picked me up as promised an hour later with Connie in tow. We swung by my old place and picked up Sophie as well.
“Does Axel know you’re headed to the club?” Wes asked Sophie, glancing at her through the rearview mirror.
“No, why?” she asked clearly perplexed by this question.
“I’ll call him,” Wes muttered.
“Whatever,” she mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
Obviously things with her and Axel were far from sorted.