Stripping Callum (Last Hangman MC Book 6)(76)

Slowly, he stops shaking and crying in his sleep and comes around.

Stroking his cheek, I go to move away from him, but he holds me tightly against him and rolls us over so that he’s lying on top of me.

“I’m here,” I whisper.

“I know. I’m sorry I keep doing this to you.” He sighs, sounding defeated.

“It’s alright, baby. I know you’re not doing this on purpose or can control them. Did you use to have them this frequently before?”

“Not really. I had them once every other month or maybe I don’t remember them. I only remember the times where I would wake up drenched in sweat.” He sounds so annoyed with himself about having them.

“The shit storm that happened with Shane and what he said didn’t help. That’s probably why you have them more often.”

“Probably. It’s always the same nightmare. Exactly how it happened, but there’s a different element to them. Last time was Shane and my father standing in the background, smirking at me.”

“What was it this time?”

“It was Alina setting the car on fire.” He sits up and rubs his face.

“You know that’s just your mind playing tricks on you.” I rub his back and give him a bottle of water that was on my nightstand.

“I don’t know.” He sighs and downs most of it.

“You don’t seriously think that she could have done that?” I ask dumbfounded.

“Honestly? Nothing surprises me anymore. After knowing that she was paid to seduce me and f*cked my father and Shane, I don’t know. Shane did say that she wanted them to leave us alone. That she wanted out of the entire masquerade. Maybe she knew they were coming closer and were going to hurt us or them and decided to take hers and Billy’s lives.” I’m speechless for a minute. He looks at me to see my reaction.

“I’m trying to come up with something that would actually disprove your theory, but I can’t. It could be possible. But why kill yourself and your kid in such a horrible way?” I shudder just thinking about it. Callum wraps his arms around me and holds me close.

“Because she wanted to make it seem like an accident? I don’t know. It’s all a theory, but it’s a possibility. I don’t even know if she ever loved me or just wanted a sugar daddy. To get protection from the bad guy and save her from the life she was living.”

“Don’t think that way, maybe in the beginning that’s what it was, but she could really have fallen in love with you.”

“I doubt it more and more.”

“Why?”

“Well, the whole thing seems a bit farfetched. That she would just fall in love with me and do all she could to get away from the life she was living before and separate herself from the scam she was hired to perform.”

“You’re very easy to fall in love with.”

“Am I now?” He looks at me, intrigued, and kisses me softly.

“Yes, the moment I realized I was f*cked and in love with you was the way you reacted to Elijah hugging you for the first time. I knew you were it for me.”

“Yet, you left me later that night.”

“You pushed me away and made that stupid ass comment about the fact that it was such a bad thing for me to be a stripper when I was a young mom.” I glare at him.

“Why the hell did I bring that up?” He chuckles hiding his face in my neck.

“Lucky for you, I forgave you. I didn’t forget that moment when I saw you with the hoover.” I shudder.

“Gabe told you?”

“Yeah.” I chuckle. “You’re all such *s for giving her a nickname like that.” I shake my head.

“She’s proud of that nickname, Bella.”

“What?” I raise my eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, she was rather proud when she was given that nickname.” He shrugs.

“I don’t even want to know who gave it to her.”

“Not me, if you want to know. We lost that guy. He was one of the good ones.” He sighs.

“To club business?”

“No, lung cancer.”

“Oh.”

“We’re not indestructible.”

“Sadly.” I blow out a breath and brush my fingers under the scar along his side.

“Hey,” he says lifting my chin so that I look at him, “I’m always careful on club business. Yes, we’re always risking our lives. We would put our lives on the line for our brothers, you ladies, and the kids, but in the eventuality that one of us dies, you wouldn’t be left alone. You’d be well taken care of.”

“I don’t even want to think about it.” I frown.

“I know, it’s just something you need to be aware of.”

“I’m well aware of it. The girls have kept me up to date on all the rules of being ‘an old lady’.” I snort at that. That term still sounds so weird to me.

“That’s good. I’m glad you get along so well with them. Did they tell you about the safe house?”

“Yeah, and they gave me the address. I have a bag with the necessities for Elijah and me in case we must go there quickly.”

“So, you did listen to them.” He smiles.

“Well, I figured I’d rather be prepared then feel like I’m losing it in case we have to go. I’m not thrilled about the prospect of having to go there and the possibility that something bad could happen to all of us. I know it has happened in the past. They’ve told me their stories, and I get why it’s a must for our protection.”