Journey (Soulless Kings MC: Marble Falls, TX #2)

22. Wren

CHAPTER 22

WREN

Somehow, I know you’d never hurt me.

“Morning.”

Journey’s deep voice filters through my lingering drowsiness, and I smile at him. We didn’t get much sleep, my body is reminding me of what we did do, and I’m… happy.

“Hey.”

He settles his mouth over mine, and for a split-second, I think about pushing him away until I’ve had a chance to brush my teeth, but the thought quickly disappears. I get lost in his taste, his smell… him.

And in an instant, that all changes.

Kaboom!

The bed shakes, and my ears ring. Journey is on his feet in a flash, and he grabs a gun from the nightstand.

How’d I miss that?

“Stay here,” he commands as he pulls a pair of sweats on and makes his way out of the room.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to argue, but I don’t. I scramble up the mattress, pulling the blanket up to my chin as I go, and watch as brother after brother runs past the open door.

What is happening?

Chaos permeates the air, fills the clubhouse to the brim. Panic sets in, and my mind races.

Told ya he was trouble.

He’ll keep you safe.

Fuck, he was hot-naked.

You’re gonna die if you stay with him.

He’s gonna die if he stays with you.

“Shut up!” I scream, covering my face with my hands.

“Wren?”

I peek between my fingers and see Addi coming toward me. Tears prick my eyes, and my chin wobbles. “What is happening?”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” she says, climbing onto the bed beside me.

“Maybe you can handle it, but…” I shake my head. “I’m not so sure about me.”

“Girl, you’re made of tough stuff. And you’ve got all of us to help. Trust me when I say, you can handle it.”

I lower my hands and look at her. “What exactly is it ?”

She tucks her hair behind her ear and sighs. “A bomb.”

“A bomb?!”

Addi twists and rests her hands on my shoulders as if anchoring me to Earth. “It wasn’t a big one, and no one was hurt.”

“A bomb is a bomb. Who gives a damn if it’s a big one or not?”

She chuckles. “True. And if my colleagues find out I was here when it went off, I’ll be buried in paperwork. I told Crow we should’ve gone home last night.”

“Wait. You don’t live here?”

“No. We stay here sometimes, but we have a house.”

“But I thought you had to live here.”

“Nope,” she says, popping the ‘p’.

“Oh. Good to know.” I roll my eyes. “Fuck, what is wrong with me? A bomb just exploded, and I’m sitting here talking about living arrangements.”

“Nothing is wrong with you,” Addi insists. “I’m guessing it’s your brain’s way of working through the muck.”

“Working through the muck,” I repeat. “I like that.”

“Why don’t we go out and see if we can help with anything?” she suggests.

“Yeah, that’d be good. Let me just throw some clothes on, and I’ll be right out.”

Bobbing her brows, she smirks. “You’re naked under there, aren’t you?”

“Yep.”

“I bet Journey is pissed as hell that he got pulled out of bed with you here.”

With that, she gets to her feet and leaves the room, pulling the door shut behind her. I throw the blanket off of me and swing my legs over the bed. The last thing I wanna do is put dirty clothes on, so I trudge to Journey’s dresser to find something suitable to wear.

Settling on a pair of sweats with a drawstring and an overly large t-shirt, I get dressed. I wish I had time to at least shower, but who am I kidding? No one's gonna care what I look like when they’re dealing with the aftermath of an explosion.

Just as I’m about to walk out of the room, a ping reaches my ears. Thinking it’s my cell, I retrace my steps and pick the phone up off the nightstand. When I tap the screen to bring it to life, my blood runs cold.

Unknown: Stay away from my daughter or the next time, the bomb will be inside

My legs buckle, and I crumble to the floor. I manage to use the bed for support, and stare at what I now know is Journey’s cell, not mine.

How did he know? How’d he get this number?

“What’s wrong?”

I lift my head and see Journey kneeling in front of me. He must be an expert at stealth because I didn’t even hear him come in.

“My, uh…” I swallow and try to gather my thoughts. Turning the phone so he can see the text, I say, “Stone texted you.”

His entire body tenses as he reads. “Sonofabitch!”

I flinch at his rage, and he immediately forces himself to relax and engulfs me in his arms.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s okay. Really. Somehow, I know you’d never hurt me. It was just an involuntary reaction.”

“I wish I could stay here with you, but there’s a lot to do,” he says, pulling back so he can look me in the eye. “Do you want me to get someone to take you home?”

“No. I can help with whatever needs done.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. Crow’s called an emergency meeting. But I’ll get back to you as soon as I can, okay?” I nod. “By the way, you look sexy as fuck in my clothes.”

Heat rushes into my cheeks.

“Thanks.”