Page 24 of Their Wicked Ways

The rest of the guys called out their greetings, but it wasn’t until River said “totally not what I expected them to look like” that my gaze snapped up of its own accord.

Standing next to Quinn in all his tattooed glory was Ez, and next to him was Wes.

The couple I’d let fuck me in a hotel room three nights ago.

The world around me flickered and went snowy.

Shitshitshitshitshitshit.

Barely aware of everyone talking around me, I dropped my eyes to the ground unseeingly and breathed through my nose, trying not to be obvious or let anyone else know I was seconds from passing out.

Nononononono.

This couldn’t be happening. This had to be a dream. Or a hallucination. Any second, I was going to wake up or snap out of it.

“Jett?”

I gulped in a breath.

Any second now.

“Jett?” Strong hands gripped my arms. “Look at me.”

The sharp voice was enough to partially drag me out of my panic. I lifted my eyes. Quinn was in front of me, concern written all over his face. He loosened his hold on my arms but didn’t let go.

“Are you okay? What’s wrong?” he asked. “Do you feel faint?”

I wanted to lie and say I was fine, but I could only nod. My mouth wasn’t listening to my brain, and I was so dizzy I would have fallen if Quinn hadn’t been there to ground me.

“Come on.” Quinn wrapped my arm over his shoulders and gripped my wrist and waist to keep me in place. “Walk with me. You’re okay.”

Numb with shock, I let him pull me to the back of Noah’s truck. River was already there and pulling down the tailgate.

“Sit.” Quinn helped me perch on it.

“Here.” River stuck my water bottle under Quinn’s nose.

I dropped it?

I looked at my hand, which was empty. When had that happened?

Quinn flipped up the cap and held the bottle to my lips.

Fuck.

Not now.

My chest was so tight it felt like I was being squeezed in a vise. Every breath was a chore, and my mind was spinning so fast everything around me was a blur as my brain and body seemed to detach from each other.

“Drink some for me,” Quinn said softly. “Do you get panic attacks?”

I nodded, dribbling water down my chin because I couldn’t get my throat to work properly and swallow.

“Can you guys take Ez and Wes on a tour of the site?” Quinn called over his shoulder, never taking his eyes off me.

“I’m sorry,” I croaked.

“Don’t be sorry.” Quinn rubbed my arm comfortingly and put my bottle on the tailgate next to me. “Just tell me what you need.”