I am wrong.
I leave Dragon behind. It hurts to look at him. I told him all along, but I can’t let him shoulder the blame. I went through with it, knowing that Michael would retaliate if I went against him. I just didn’t want to hurt Dragon. I wanted to be his wife. I was selfish. Is Dani still alive? Did the bastard kill her? I’m so engrossed in my thoughts, I’m not noticing anything around me. Which is a shame. I’m sure a bride with a stomach that looks like she swallowed three watermelons whole, hoofing it down the sidewalk of downtown London just as it starts to rain (which by the fucking way is just a cherry on top of a sundae) is a sight to see.
I scream when I feel a hand clamp around my shoulder. I expect to see Dragon. Part of me is disappointed when I don’t. Which is crazy, since I walked away from him. Instead, there is Bull looking down at me.
“Need to get you back.”
“I’m not getting married today, Bull,” I argue, my voice is almost as hoarse as Bull’s.
“I know. We still need to get you back to the compound where it’s safe.”
“I told Dragon we shouldn’t have done this,” I whisper looking down at the ground.
“A man can’t bow down to others in this world, Nicole. You do and you’re weak and you lose it all.”
“So you do things that hurt people in your lives and say the hell with it because of pride?” The thought of Dragon being that way pains me.
Bull puts his hand under my chin, pulling my face back towards his.
“If men like Dragon don’t stand strong, more than just Dani would suffer, Nicole. Drag carries a heavy load.”
“She could be dead, Bull.”
“Nothing Dragon could have done, would change that, Nicole. You two needed to come to him sooner. A man can only work with the hand he’s dealt.”
I look at him and I know what he is saying, but I don’t have to like it. Still, I know he’s saying the straight up truth. If I could go back, I would talk to Dragon the minute we first got Michael’s note.
“Let’s get in the truck. It might not be safe here.”
I nod, following him like a lost lamb. Once we get settled, he starts the truck and turns on some music. We drive down the road in silence. Bull doesn’t talk much and I can’t function enough to talk. If I close my eyes I can still see Dani’s finger. The bastard took the time to clean the finger and wipe any blood around it. He placed her pinky finger into the box, like a fucking trophy. Was she alert when he did it? Did she know? God, is she breathing?
A fire truck passes us with its sirens on and pulls me from my morbid thoughts.
A few minutes after that an ambulance and a rescue squad truck go by.
“Wonder what happened?” I question out loud.
Bull remains silent. When we pass two more emergency vehicles, I notice he is watching them in his side mirror. He still doesn’t say anything. So I shrug it off. Maybe I’ll hear what happened on the news tonight. If I even stick around. I figure Michael will contact me. Do I go to him? If I don’t will he kill Dani? Has he already? If I do, he’ll kill both of us. Unless…I manage to kill him first…
Bull’s cell phone rings and distracts me before I can continue planning. I need a plan…
“Yeah?”
“Fuck! Who’s hurt?”
“We’ll be right there!” Bull yells into his phone and immediately starts cutting into the opposite lane to make a U-turn. He swerves yet again before our turn is complete. This time he cuts back in our original direction and lets out a stream of cuss words that would make a sailor blush. “Fuck! I need to be there! Yeah, okay but you better tell me the minute you know something you son of a bitch.”
He growls, tossing his phone onto the empty part of the seat between us.
“Bull, what’s wrong?”
“There was an explosion at the church…”
“Oh no! Bull, we have to go back!”
“I can’t the cops aren’t letting anyone in and I’m supposed to take you home and keep you safe until…”