Page 93 of Burned & Bound

I was fucking dying. I barely managed to drag my ass through my daily routine, and I sure as hell didn’t do a good job at any of it. The world swam around me—slow as fuck and painfully loud. My skin crawled, and I couldn’t focus for the life of me.

And the fucking screaming.Every time I closed my eyes it was right there, ripping me apart little by little.

I just wanted to drown.

To forget it all.

To just float away.

I grabbed the stool farthest from Lenny as he glared at me.Yeah, I was back, motherfucker.I threw cash on the bar with hopes that it’d be enough to keep Lenny quiet.

It was.

He swiped up the cash and left a cold beer in its place. It worked in my favor that he fucking hated me. There wasn’t a damn person in the world I wanted to talk to right now.

I just wanted to silence the demons in my head.

That first sip hit the back of my throat, bringing a flood of relief. Any tiny part of me that would’ve felt guilty about breaking my sobriety washed away with it.

I downed that fucking glass—chasing something I couldn’t explain.

Cash.

Beer.

Drink.

Cash.

Beer.

Drink.

Each glass went down faster than the others until my demons were drowning alongside me.

CHAPTER 63

jackson

It was one thingto be ditched for a date, it was something entirely different to get a call at one in the morning that West was fucking drunk. To say I was livid was an understatement. But I dragged my ass out of bed anyway because I wasn’t about to let a drunken West end up in a ditch or worse.

By the time I found him, he was staggering his way out of town—presumably heading toward the ranch. I eased off the brake until I was practically crawling alongside him. I kept enough of a distance to make sure he didn’t stumble in front of my truck and get his ass run over.

“Go away,” West snapped when I rolled down my window.

“Get in the truck, West,” I ordered

“Go the fuck away.”

“Get your fucking ass in the truck.”Fuck his attitude.I was fucking tired and wanted to go home. I didn’t want to be driving alongside his dumbass.

He ignored me, shoving his hands in his pockets.Yeah, I wasn’t having that bullshit.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I demanded loudly.

“I don’twant to fucking think!” West exploded. His words slurred together as his breathing turned heavy with anger. “I don’t want to fucking think! I don’t want to fucking feel a goddamn thing! I don’t want to fucking remember! Today ofall fucking daysI don’t want to remember a fucking thing!”

Without another word, he continued storming down the street. I slowed to a stop and watched him in my headlights.Today? What the fuck happened today?We’d had a goddamn normal day on the ranch besides me dealing with Amy, but that had nothing to do with him.