Page 110 of Praying for Thunder

His brother trembled with craze, as did the paper in his hand. “Your boy has another man’s last name.”

I backed away, knowing that would cause me to be struck again, but was in disbelief. “Whose? What are you talking about?”

Piercer’s huff was so unsettling, my stomach soared. “Diablo’s last name is Holmes. Semloh spelt backwards.”

Terrified and honored. What a combination.

I promised myself I’d never tell Dio about this day, before hitting the floor again and being kicked unconscious.

He never would have forgiven himself.

When my eyes finally opened, it was nighttime and Roam was sitting on the floor next to me, holding a bag of ice to my head. He sighed with relief. “You scared the shit out of me.” He was propped against our bottom bunkbed, only a lamp shining light on his face.

Tempting to understand why my bottom lip was throbbing, I touched it, quickly regretting the action. “How long I been out?”

“A little over a day.”

“Rya—”

“I answered her texts. Told her you have been… sick. Not that she believed it.” He grinned. “I didn’t know you could text country slang.”

My ribs hurt, but I loved how she still made me laugh. “Yeah, she spells like she speaks.”

“Ta and ya?” Knowing the answer, he teased, “You sure about this one?”

My body ached when I tried to roll from my stomach. My neck was stiff. I had pissed Onus off something fierce. How far would he go?

Groaning in aches, I asked, “She in danger?”

He sighed again, staring at the bag of ice in his hand. “I think so.”

Choices… Life is full of choices.

And mine was detrimental…

All the pain my body was in didn’t compare to my dying heart. “I may be a bastard for a while,” I warned my friend.

Roam appeared so sad for me. “As long as you make the other Bastard proud, I can handle it.”

Dio…

I burst into tears, curling into the fetal position. How much could my heart take?

The much-needed light in my life, I was going to have to release her into what I believed to be safety. Having her attached to me gave Onus ammunition to use against me.

I simply couldn’t live with that danger.

⚡⚡⚡

After a couple of days of healing, I slowly made my way into the Mess Hall. I was still very sore and thankful all the men were still sleeping.

A new club girl was in the kitchen, cooking breakfast. Her name was Tabi. She tried to smile. “You hungry?”

My split lip didn’t hurt quite as bad when I talked. “No. Thank you.”

Her expression was full of sympathy. “Cup of coffee?”

My tongue pushed against the inside of the wound. “Never had any before.”