Page 61 of Wicked Truths

Rhett picks me up and throws me over his shoulder as he rushes to the front yard before throwing me into the backseat of his truck.

I barely have time to scoot over before he is jumping in beside me.

“Hit it.” He yells as he slams his door shut.

I glance at the driver, surprised to see my brother driving Rhett’s pickup truck. Spencer Reed is in the passenger seat with his phone glued to his hands. His fingers furiously type out a long message.

As soon as my brother drives through the front gate, I lean over and kiss Rhett like my life depends on it.

He doesn’t hold back. His lips press against mine and his hands wrap around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to his body.

Fuck. I needed this.

The safety. The protection.

Rhett’s kiss breathes life into me, restoring the hope I felt earlier, but a lot has changed since our last conversation.

After a while, we break apart. Rhett rests his headagainst my forehead and I can’t help but to swoon at this tiny gesture.

I whisper, “Thank you for coming to save me.”

“Anytime, baby girl.”

My heart flutters for a moment at the nickname.

I want to be his more than anything in the world, but the truth is, he lied to me.

For two years!

Spencer clears his throat and turns around in his seat to grin at the two of us.

Rhett pulls away and laughs. “Chessie, this is Spencer Reed, fellow winger for the Sharks, and my best friend. Spence, this is Chessie.”

“Nice to meet you, Spencer. Officially, of course.”

Spencer says, “Ah, the infamous Francesca Marino.”

I’m infamous?

“Infamous because of my father?”

He shakes his head. “No, because this fucker here has talked my ear off about you for the past two years.”

Rhett punches him in his arm, but Spencer only laughs in return. “Take us home, Joey. There’s a long list of things I need to do, and an even longer list that Chess and I need to discuss.”

He’s right. We can’t put this off any longer.

Chapter Seventeen

RHETT

I wringthe excess water out of the washcloth before gently washing off the dried blood. Francesca’s legs are scraped and bloodied from the two fuckers at the shipyard.

Why was she even there?

Why did they want to kidnap her?

What does she know?