Page 53 of Trusting Skulls (Rebel Skull MC #8)

Chapter Fifty-One

Lexie

" J D,” I whisper, shaking him lightly so not to wake Elizabeth.

He sits up straight, grabbing my arm. “Is your ankle hurting?”

“No,” I say quickly. “I just need to talk to you.”

I went to the doctor today, and they finally freed me from that stupid boot. He said it healed beautifully. I attribute it to Ash taking such good care of me on the mountain after I broke it.

But my newfound freedom has made me antsy. Especially after the news I got today. I’ve been called to testify against my dad’s boss. I guess I should have seen it coming, but I can’t sleep, and I … well, I just really need Ash.

“I’ll be out in a minute.” He rubs his eyes sleepily, and I feel bad for waking him, but I couldn’t leave without letting him know. Last time I left the house without telling him, his dad got in, and I’ll never forgive myself for that.

I wait nervously on the couch, my leg bouncing. I’m not sure how JD’s going to react to me wanting to go out.

After a few minutes, he sits down beside me.

“I’m sorry for waking you, but I can’t sleep, so I’m going to go over and see Ash. He doesn’t have to work tomorrow.” I bite the inside of my cheek and turn away from him. He probably thinks I’m such a whore, going over to the warehouse for a late-night booty call.

“Lexie, look at me.”

When I don’t, he gets up and moves to my other side. “You’re worried about testifying.”

I shrug. “It makes me wish I would’ve kept my mouth shut and not told the police anything. I’ll have to be in the same room with him.” I bite my bottom lip to keep it from trembling.

JD pulls me close and hugs me. “I’m going to take care of it. Don’t you waste one more second worrying about it.”

He squeezes me tight, and I want so hard to believe him, but I’ve already told the police everything. There is no way out of this.

“But how?”

“That’s for me to worry about.” He holds me at arm’s length and looks me in the eye. “Now, about this visit to Ash.” He wipes my eyes for me. “I want you to go straight to the warehouse. No detours. Call me when you get there, and I expect a call when you leave tomorrow.”

My gaze bounces over his face. There’s no sign of judgment whatsoever. “You think it’s okay that I go see him?”

“You’re an adult, Lexie. You and Ash have been apart long enough. I think your heart has been calling you to him for a long time now. I think it’s about time you listened to it.”

“What would I do without you?”

JD leans over and kisses my forehead. “You don’t have to worry about that either. I’ll always be here for you.”

My fingers tingle at the thought of surprising Ash as I drive. I drum them over the steering wheel, begging my heart to share some of the blood pumping through it with my extremities.

So far, Ash has always been the one chasing. I’ve never sought him out before.

When I get to the warehouse, I see there’s a party going on out back. Shit, I didn’t think about whether or not Ash would be busy. I don’t know if he’s even here. I pull up his location on my phone and see that he’s here somewhere.

I dart across the parking lot, hoping to go unnoticed. I’ll check his room first, and if he’s not there … well, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.

As I’m about to head up the stairs, someone whistles loudly, making me jump at least ten feet. I turn around to find Dirk sitting by himself at the bar with a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other.

He chuckles darkly. “I’ve still got it.”

“Ha ha, very funny. It’s a good thing I don’t have heart problems.”

“Join me?” he asks, his crazy scary eyes letting me know it’s not really a question.

I glance up the stairs. So close yet so far.

Dirk pours two fingers of whiskey into his glass and then pushes it in front of me.

I politely decline. “I’m good.”

He nods, pleased that I passed his test. “Did you text JD to let him know you made it?” he asks.

“Oh shit!” I pull my phone out and quickly send him a message, telling him I arrived safely. “Thank you for reminding me.”

“You’ll eventually get used to having people look out for you.”

“Is Ash in his room?” I ask, hoping he’ll dismiss me soon.

He taps his glass on the bar before bringing it to his mouth. “Don’t know.”

It takes everything in me to keep my mouth shut. Laughter wafts in from outside.

“So, what are we doing?” I finally ask.

Dirk leans back in his chair, shrugging. “Just thought we could chat. I haven’t talked to you since you jumped off the side of that mountain.”

“I didn’t …”

He smirks. “I’m just kidding you.” He glances down the hall and then over his shoulder. “So, I hear you’ve been spending a lot of time with my sister.”

I stutter in surprise. “Um, yeah, um, you know, she’s been helping me with my therapy.” I point to my foot.

One of his eyebrows climbs up his forehead. “Raffe tells me it seems to be a little more than that.”

“Well, you know, I’m a hard person to work with. Sometimes it takes a lot of encouragement, and …”

When he leans forward, putting the two of us nose to nose, I about fall out of my chair. “What is she up to?” he asks, his eyes narrowing on me.

He’s just worried about her , I remind myself. He’s not upset with me. Just the situation.

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he says, spinning away from me in his chair. “Ash is in his room.” He downs his drink and then stands to walk away.

“Wait.” I grab his hand. “I’m helping her. She’s preparing to say goodbye.”

He falls back into his chair and proceeds to drink straight from the bottle, emptying it despite my best effort to pull it away from him. When it’s gone, he covers his face with both of his hands.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.

A sob escapes him, and he shakes his head. “I can’t lose her again,” he chokes out.

I’m not sure what he means by that, but he needs someone stronger than me to get him through this. I jump up and hurry outside.

I push through the group, looking for Jesse, but I bump right into a wall of a man in a black jacket. Big Dan grabs both of my arms. My gaze slowly climbs up his giant frame. His brows pull together.

“What’s wrong?” he asks.

“I was looking for Jesse.”

Dan continues to hold me as his gaze roams over everyone’s heads. When he spots her, he pulls me through the crowd. Everyone at the table stares at us as we approach. Dan keeps his meaty hand around my bicep, waiting for me to talk.

“What’s going on?” Jesse asks, standing up.

I glance at everyone before leaning in and whispering in her ear, “It’s Dirk. He’s … he’s crying.”

Her head snaps back, and she looks as surprised as I feel.

She gives the group of men she’s with a quick once over and then turns back to me. “Where?”

“Inside. He finished a whole bottle of whiskey. I tried to stop him.”

Dan catches on to our conversation, and he lets go of me to grab her. He pushes his way back toward the warehouse, and I breathe a sigh of relief. They’ll take care of him.

Kelsie jogs over to me. “Hey.” She gives me a big hug. “I didn’t expect to see you here. How are you doing?”

“Good. Um, I was just here to see Ash.”

She looks up at a window, and I follow her gaze. “He’s probably in his room. I think parties are still a little hard for him. You know, with all the drinking.”

I nod as someone bumps into me from behind. Suddenly, everything seems too much. Too many people. Too loud. Too everything. My heart starts beating wildly as I search for a way out.

A warm arm wraps around my waist, and Ash’s familiar scent instantly calms me.

Kelsie gives me a kind, knowing smile before she heads back to her boyfriend.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” Ash whispers in my ear as he guides us around the house. When we get to the other side, we slip into a door and up a set of stairs. “JD told me you were coming over.”

“Sorry, I got distracted.”

“I see that.”

“It’s not what it looks like. I wasn’t …”

He pushes me against the wall and dips his head to get in my face, his arm resting above my head. “I’m not accusing you of anything. I’ve been watching you since you pulled in the driveway.”

“Oh.” I blink at him, and he chuckles.

“Do you want to go to my room?”

My stomach flips at his invitation. His tongue runs along his bottom lip, and I almost pass out.

He chuckles again as he pulls away from me.

When we get to his room, and he shuts the door behind us, my nervousness amps higher than the music that’s still pulsing outside. He walks over and closes the window. “I like to listen to the excitement downstairs, but I haven’t really been up to joining them quite yet.”

I nod, understanding exactly what he’s saying. “I used to live for a party, but I’ll admit I was a bit overwhelmed.”

He smiles at me and sits down on the end of the bed. “I know. I saw the look on your face. That’s when I decided to intervene.”

“It seems you’re always around to rescue me,” I say quietly while I take in his space. His room is spotless, and everything is in its place.

There’s a picture of him and Willow with their parents on his dresser. I walk over to get a better look. They look so happy. My fingers trail lightly over the books stacked beside it.

“I’m glad you came over. I was missing you.”

I glance at him over my shoulder. He pats the mattress.

Slowly, I move closer and lower myself beside him.

“We could watch a movie,” he says, pointing to the TV hanging on the wall.

“We could.” I pinch my bottom lip between my teeth, drawing his eyes there.

He reaches up and gently strokes my cheek. “You’re nervous.”

I don’t think I can find the right verb to describe how good his touch makes me feel. Who needs alcohol or drugs when you have a man who has magical hands?

“You don’t want to watch a movie, do you?”

I shake my head, evidently unable to find any words at the moment.

The vibration of his deep chuckle sends me over the edge. “I’m going to need you to tell me what you want.” His hand slides down to the side of my neck.

“I just want to be close to you,” I whisper.

“Good, because I want that too.”