Dark Fall (Back Down Devil MC #3)(38)

Thankfully, the alcohol did its job and sleep took Erik away from reality and away from his thoughts. When he dreamt, it was mostly quick snippets of the day Shay’s car blew up and almost killed him. Sometimes he dreamed he found a kitten in the backseat of the car. He had no idea what it meant. Maybe something to do with *, but it seemed too weird to analyze.

Tonight, as he reached into the backseat of the car, he heard a scream. A woman’s scream.

“No… just no… how are you…”

Erik looked around and everything in the dream was normal. The same place. The same guys. The same nice day. Those were always the worst; the days when life seemed too good. That’s when the most bullshit happened.

The screaming continued.

“Don’t do this to me… just don’t… you’re dead. I know it. You are dead. Brad, don’t touch me. Don’t touch me, Brad…”

Erik shook his head in the dream, wondering who the f*ck Brad was. It didn’t make sense at all.

Then Erik felt something hit his face. But it wasn’t in the dream. The dream was suddenly sucked away and he opened his eyes to a mostly dark bedroom and Kaity next to him in bed, thrashing and yelling.

Erik sat up, turned on the light, and looked at her.

“Fuck you,” she growled. She shook her head. “You’re dead, Brad. Go away.”

“Kaity,” Erik said. “Kaity, wake up…”

Erik grabbed her wrist and she pulled his arm to her mouth and bit.

“What the f*ck!” Erik yelled.

He rolled on top of Kaity, grabbed both her wrists, and held her down. She screamed and arched her back, trying to get out of the hold.

“Open your f*cking eyes,” Erik said. “Kaity! Now!”

“I hate you,” Kaity cried as tears ran down her cheeks. “I f*cking hate you.”

“Kaity,” Erik yelled. “Wake the f*ck up, babe.”

Erik shook the bed, forcing all his weight to Kaity’s slender body. He feared breaking one of her ribs or one of her wrists, but, damn, what was he supposed to do? She was going to hurt herself in this nightmare.

Erik called her name two more times and then Kaity’s eyes opened. She gasped for air and screamed. Erik let his grip go and Kaity grabbed his t-shirt and pulled. She sat herself up and buried her face into his chest. Erik fell back to the other end of the bed, taking Kaity with him.

He held her and she cried.

He swallowed hard, stroked her hair, and felt his heart racing.

What the f*ck…?

After a minute of trying to assess what the hell had just happened, Erik reached down and put his hands to Kaity’s face. He forced her off his now wet t-shirt and stared down into her eyes. Instantly, she made a move. Lunging up at him, Kaity’s lips touched Erik’s. He lost himself for a moment and kissed her back. Their mouths opened together and he kissed her hard.

But then Erik stopped.

“Wait,” he said. “You have to tell me what the f*ck just happened.”

“Nothing,” Kaity said.

“Doesn’t seem like nothing,” Erik said. “Fucking tell me, Kaity.”

“Don’t. Just, please, don’t.”

“I will,” Erik said. “You were screaming. Hitting me. Who the hell is Brad?”

When Erik saw the color leave Kaity’s face, he thought she was going to pass out. She shivered and tried to back up but Erik wouldn’t allow it.

“Fuck, babe, you have two choices. The right choice is to tell me who Brad is. The wrong choice is to lie to me. You want to hide? Do it outside. You see the f*cking shit I’m up against. What the club is up against.”

Kaity lowered her head. “Will you tell me about your face?”

“My face? You’re bringing that up right now?”

“I want to know everything. I’m sorry, Erik. But I want to know.”

“So do I.”

“Please…”

Kaity looked at Erik and her lips quivered.

Christ…

“I don’t know who did it,” Erik said. “That’s what we’re trying to find out. Someone has it out for Shay and I ended up on the wrong end of it. Now it’s a club problem and they know it is. That’s why things are happening as they are.”

“Shay?”

“Wild man out there that talks funny.”

“Yeah, I know,” Kaity said. “Just how did you get hurt then?”

“Shay bought a new car. Brought it to the clubhouse and got out of it. He went to celebrate with the rest of the guys and I climbed into the backseat to check it out. Beautiful black car. I heard a ticking sound, followed by a hiss, and then it was… boom.”

“Boom?”

“Car blew up. Shay was supposed to be in it when it happened. It threw me back, ripped up my face, and I hit the ground so hard, it knocked me into last Tuesday. I remember most of it, but then I was in the hospital for a while. Healing. Thinking. Getting angrier. When I got out and there was no clue who did it, I went downhill.”

“You’re here now though,” Kaity said.

Erik took note how her hands gripped him. It was like she was trying to hold him.

“You don’t get it,” Erik said. “I’m here but most of the time, I wish I was gone.”