All is Lost (All Series, Book 2) (13 page)

Rushing over as I drop to my knees, Sam
reaches me in time to catch me, preventing me from hitting the
ground. I hear a muffled sound and see her talking on her phone.
She shoves it back into a pocket then jerks me up, pulling me to my
feet. I am aware that she is speaking, but my hearing is now dull
and I can't understand a word she is saying. My mind is buzzing
with a numbing sensation. My vision begins to distort with blind
spots eclipsing Sam’s face. I want to slip away so
badly.

“
You keep your shit together.”
Shaking me hard, Sam screams loud in my face. “Do you hear me? We
have to move. Now! Move your ass Breesan, we're leaving.” She drags
me toward the bike, lying on its side. Lifting it with a loud grunt
followed by kicking a leg over it and straddling the seat, Sam
starts the loud beast and turns toward me. “Breesan get the fuck on
the back of this motorcycle now or so help me god I'm going to slap
the shit out of you.”

I can’t move. I’m frozen in a strange hypnotic
state that keeps me from doing anything. Sam reaches a hand out,
grabs the collar of my shirt and roughly pulls me toward her. I
mechanically climb on the back and wrap my arms around her waist.
Soon Sam rushes us down the ramp and out of the parking garage.
Reality is too much for me now. Sam screams something else at me,
but I lose all fight and my mind slips into oblivion.

Chapter Nine

Marcus

Rushing through the city center wanting to get
back to Breesan, I take the last turn that leads to the hospital.
Signaling to the trailing vehicle of my upcoming turn into the
parking garage, I slow down while turning in. Suddenly, I hear a
loud noise and spot a motorcycle matching Sam's, descending from
the top of the exit ramp.

Distracted by the bike, I turn too soon and
feel my right tire bump the curb. Quickly shifting my attention
back, I am two seconds from running over Raithe. I jam down hard on
the brakes just in time. Raithe is panting breathlessly, pointing
toward something to my left. I look back in the direction of the
exit ramp again and realize Raithe is pointing at the
motorcycle
.

It is Sam
. She's not wearing a helmet
and she has Breesan riding on the back.
What the
fuck?

Noticing me at the same time, Sam waves me to
follow. Throwing my Jeep into reverse, I back out into traffic and
after a few quick maneuvers without incident I am on the road
leading toward Rhys’ house. Breesan's body is draped over Sam's
back and an all-consuming fear rushes through me. As we speed
through town in the pouring rain, my heart rate increases too.
Wrecking that motorcycle with both of my girls on it would be the
death of me.

The gates to Rhys compound stand open allowing
our three vehicle fly through, one after the other. Sam rests her
bike practically inside the front door and kills the switch, just
as Raithe and I park.

“
What the fuck Sam?” I yell running
over to them. “Is she hurt? What happened to her?”

Breesan's head rests against Sam's back, eyes
closed and body unmoving. Her clothes are drenched, caked with dirt
and her body is covered in blood. Not waiting for an explanation, I
reach and pull her off of Sam.

“
No!” Fighting against me, Breesan
begins screaming in a strangled plea, “No! Leave them alone! Get
your hands off me!” She waves her arms not wanting me to touch her.
I can't stand her fearing me, and only want to comfort her, so I
reach out for her again.

“
Wait Marcus,” Sam yells. Twisting
around to Breesan, Sam takes hold of one of her violently thrashing
arms. “Breesan get off the bike.” Sam orders and Breesan obeys,
dropping her arms loosely to her sides. After they're both off the
motorcycle Sam draws Breesan into an embrace. Breesan’s eyes are
open, and glazed over. The level of despair in Sam’s eyes isn't
something I would've ever expected. “Here,” Sam passes Breesan
over, depositing her into my arms.

Bringing her into a tight embrace with her
head tucked against my chest, I let out a heavy sigh feeling
relieved the moment our bodies connect. Breesan wraps her arms
securely around my waist and I relax more now that she is receptive
to me.

“
Son of a bitch.” Bending over at
the middle, placing both hands on her knees, Sam lets out a string
of cuss words. Frightened by her yelling Breesan's body crushes
into mine, trying to put space between her and Sam.

Lowering my mouth against her ear, I whisper,
“Baby, I've got you now. Shhh, it's okay, I promise nothing is
going to happen.” Pressing my lips on her forehead, I trace several
kisses down her face.

Sam lifts her head hearing my words, followed
by arching an eyebrow and then the sides of her mouth curl upward.
Breesan trembles uncontrollably. Seeing her so distraught causes my
heart to beat frantically and my mouth suddenly goes completely
dry. I can't stand to see her hurt or scared. Gripping the back of
my shirt so tight in her fist, she buries her face into the middle
of my chest.

“
She’s…” Still struggling to calm
her breathing, Sam pants, “in…shock….Passed out… on me… pulling out
of the hospital.” She takes a deep breath, “I had to hold her up
while steering my bike…so I could get us the hell out of there.”
She blows out another heavy breath, “Damn I'm fucking worn out.”
Raithe wraps an arm around Sam’s shoulders, helping her straighten
up.

Panic and anger begins building inside my
chest as I growl, “What the hell?”

“
This storm is getting nasty and
I'm soaked to the bone.” Sam glances at Breesan. “Let's get her
inside before she gets sick. Rhys and Kole are on their way to the
compound. Take Breesan upstairs to the empty guest room, first door
on the left. I'll grab her some dry clothes to change into.” Sam
adds, “And before you ask, I'm only telling this story one time so
we're waiting for everyone.” She turns her back on us, walking into
the house.

“
Better do as she says.” Raithe
shrugs his shoulder then says, “You know Sam’s stubbornness is
epic. I want to know what the hell happened too, but it won't do a
bit of good to argue.” I nod fully aware of my sister’s
temperament. Lowering his eyes, Raithe adds, “Sorry I fucked up
Marcus.” I nod, but can’t say anything in response to his
apology.

I pull on Breesan's arms wrapped around me,
trying to loosen her grip, but she won't budge. Speaking softly
into her ear again, I somehow manage to reach her in the darkness
that she has mentally escaped into. Finally, Breesan’s arms drop
slack. Bending down, I lift her legs into my arms and sweep her
body against me, carrying her inside the house toward the guest
room.

Not giving a damn about getting the bedding
wet, I place Breesan in the middle. Without hesitation, I climb in
beside her, pulling her damp body into my arms. She snakes her legs
around mine and buries her face into my neck. Feeling her searching
out comfort in me relieves some of the knotted up anxiety in my
chest. As I begin making shushing noises, hoping to soothe her,
Breesan relaxes her hold and begins taking deep breaths, but she’s
still lost to me.

The cold chill in the house causes goose bumps
to rise all over her body. With my foot, I manage to scoot the
blanket from the end of the bed up. Reaching it with my free hand,
I cover us and where her flesh touches my flesh warmth begins to
soothe both our bodies and minds. The storm outside is raging while
inside we seek comfort in this embrace.
I need her.
Breesan’s soaking wet body shakes violently in my arms, but all I
can think about is she's safe and I am never going to let her
go.

Finally, Breesan’s trembling slows until she
becomes completely still. For the past half hour I’ve been talking
to her, but she hasn't responded once. Loud voices and stomping
footsteps quickly ascend the stairs, coming toward our room. With
wild eyes Breesan jerks her head up followed by pulling her body
away from me. When I yell at Rhys and Kole to shut up it causes
Breesan to draw further away. I reach for her arm, but she resists
at first. So I slide my body across the bed moving closer to her. I
know Breesan is in shock, but I fucking hate seeing her like this
and being unable to reach her mentally is damn near killing me. I
need her to come back to me.

“
Sorry Marcus.” Rhys says walking
into the bedroom followed by Kole, Raithe and Sam. “We need Breesan
to tell us what the hell happened up there.”

All of them come over and stand next to the
bed. Sam places clothes on the counter in the bathroom, and then
sits on the edge of the bed behind Breesan. Reaching a hand up, she
begins tenderly smoothing Breesan’s hair down her back. Her eyes
hold the same concern that mirrors mine. Sam gives me a questioning
look and I shake my head, knowing that Sam wants Breesan to come
back too.

“
Not right now Rhys.” Sam says,
keeping her gaze on me. “She's in no condition for
questioning.”

“
Again? Mother...” Pacing the room,
Rhys is pissed. “How long is she going to need this time? I mean
seriously this shit is getting out of fucking control. I think I've
had enough of the drama that surrounds this girl. What the hell are
we supposed to do in the damn meantime?” He stops in front of me
and says, “We need to know why the hell some guy was beating the
hell out of your girlfriend, but we won't know that answer until
she decides to return to the land of the ....”

“
Dammit Rhys she's in shock.” Sam
interrupts his rant. “I'll tell y'all what I saw. Then when Breesan
is feeling up to it, she can fill in the holes.” Rhys grunts and I
nod in agreement with her idea. Still running her hand over
Breesan’s hair, Sam sighs, “As I was cresting the top of the ramp
on the second level I noticed a car backing down the middle of the
garage at a high rate of speed with the back passenger door open. I
slowed down slightly hoping they would see me and prepared to go
around them if they didn’t. In my peripheral I noticed a guy coming
from behind one of the large columns and he was carrying a girl.”
Sam’s eyebrows draw in and she corrects herself, “More like
dragging a girl. She was under his arm and he was clutching her
around the neck. Terror was written all over her face. Hoping to
intercept him and prevent him from hurting the girl, I gunned the
throttle on my bike.”

My gut wrenches as she recounts the scene and
what terror Breesan must have endured up to the point of Sam’s
arrival.

“
Apparently Breesan came up with a
plan too.” The corners of Sam’s mouth tips up. “The next thing I
know, her leg tangles between his and I see them trip. He rolls one
way and she falls…right in front of my damn motorcycle.” She shakes
her head. “I swerved to miss her and dropped my bike on its side.
As I was crawling out from under the bike I hear another guy yell
at Breesan’s attacker to move his ass. I am fairly certain that he
called him JV. I drew my gun and yelled for him to freeze. He
didn’t and then I saw the second guy get out of the front passenger
side, drawing a weapon too. He fired off a couple of shots at me
before they took off. But…I did hit the first guy.”

Pausing just a moment to take a deep breath,
Sam averts her eyes and focuses on Breesan. I stretch my hand out
and she takes it before continuing her story. “It was a mortal shot
Rhys. He won't…” She glances at Rhys, and then looks back at me.
“He won’t last long. I hit him on his spine or very near it just
above his right ass cheek.” She curses under her breath. Tears
filling her eyes, Sam looks up to Rhys again. I also look over to
him and see that his anger has been replaced with sympathy. He
looks like he is battling a demon himself. He knows what she is
feeling because he has been in her situation before. Although Sam's
been in law enforcement for several years she's never shot someone
and if it turns out to be a mortal wound there will be an
investigation.

I can only imagine where her mind is going
with this whole situation. She's most likely thinking about the
hell our father is going to raise about ruining the unblemished
Walker family name. We have both heard Barret’s shit about what
being in law enforcement means or doesn't mean to him. He doesn't
see it as an honorable career the way Sam and I do.

Facing Rhys, Raithe clears his throat and
says, “Rhys, I'll alert the shift supervisor to be on the lookout
for the vehicle. We're looking for three suspects, right?” Sam
nods. “Okay, well, it's unlikely that they will take that fucker to
the hospital, but just in case I’ll notify the ER.” Speaking to
Rhys again, “Also, I think I'll run down to the docks. Maybe we’ll
get lucky and I will find them trying to slip away. If I do I'll
call you.”

Raithe walks over and stands in front of Sam
extending his hand. She accepts and he pulls her into his arms.
Glancing over at Rhys her body stiffens, but relaxes after a
moment.

“
Sam, we'll get these bastards.
Just don't worry about what happens next. Okay?” Sniffling, Sam
bobs her head against Raithe’s shoulder. “Honey, if I was the one
shot at, I would have done the exact same thing. It could have been
you Sam and that's just not acceptable.” He pulls away, lifts her
face with his finger under her chin and stares into her eyes.
“Understand me? If it's you or him, then he gets it in the ass
every time. A storm brews wildly behind her gray eyes, but she nods
her head then sits back on the bed with me and Breesan. “Yeah?”
Raithe asks her, needing confirmation.