Dismantled (Girls on Top #2) Read Online Free PDF Page A

side. I turn and escape from Notso’s and Keagan’s embrace.
    Brianna stops in front of me when she reaches our group, and grabs my arm while giving me a sad look. I gently push around her so I can see Traxx, calling after him.
    “Traxx!”
    Slowly, he lifts his face to look at me. My eyes grow wide, when I notice his cheek and neck peppered in red.  Instead of his usual cocky smile, I see sadness surround all his features and his brown eyes are spark-less, similar to the darkness found in a hollow tree. I gasp loudly and use my hand to cover my mouth so the scream that wants to escape stays secure inside.
    “Can we go with him?” I asked the detective.
    “Ciara… It’s better if I drive you.” Brianna says close to my ear. I look at her and shake my head from side to side.
    Detective Hall looks at me and says “I will be escorting him since our crime scene investigation team needs to gather evidence from his clothes and body, before he can be released.”
    I nod to make sure he knows I heard him. My tears are on full cascade mode now and I can’t speak. Traxx looks like a different person. He may not be physically hurt, but the Traxx I know is missing at the moment.
    “Come with us, Ciara. I’ll take you to the hospital. Give me your keys, Colton will drive your car there.”
    I can’t move. I stay standing there like a statue, watching the paramedics help Traxx inside the ambulance and close the doors behind him. Then, Brianna being true to her impatient self, pats down my jean’s pockets, but can’t find what she’s looking for.
    “Colton, she must have left the keys in her car. Can you go check? If they are there just text me and I’ll meet you at the hospital.”
    With a head nod, he is on his way.
    “Keagan, will you be okay to drive?” Brianna asks.
    “I’d rather ride with one of you, actually.”
    Notso immediately offers to take her and soon after we’re on the move to our vehicles. Colton’s text came in as we were buckling our seatbelts. We have to wait a bit before we can start driving, because some of the patrol vehicles and other first responders have started to clear out and move about the street.
    “Are you going to be okay?” Brianna asks me.
    “I think so.” I manage to whisper but knowing Brianna, I know she’s got something on her mind. “Why do you ask?”
    “Well, you have never been a ‘crying it out’ kind of girl. So I was wondering what’s up with the river of tears you’ve got going on this evening. No bullshit, please.”
    “I care about him, Brianna. What do you want me to say?”
    “I think you more than just ‘care about him.’ Tell me.”
    Taking a deep breath I start to voice my thoughts. “I’m scared for what this is going to do to him. He was messed up before, you know how he never let anyone get close to him. That’s not normal. I can’t help the way I feel about him. I have always wanted it to be more between us, but stayed away because I didn’t think he was ready. Now, after this experience, I’m worried and scared that he will push me away even further. I don’t know. My head’s just rambling around all the possibilities. Bottom line is that I’m nervous about what tomorrow and the days after will be like.”
    Brianna lets out a sigh. “Yeah, you are right. But he’s not alone. He has us. You have us. We will figure it out. You’ll see.”
    I wanted to believe her. I really did – and even with all my doubts, I hung tight to her every word and kept quiet until we arrived at the hospital.
     

     

Traxx
    I feel numb. I want to be angry. I want to feel sadness. I wish I could yell and scream and smash some things and throw others out the window. But all I feel is blank. My brain is not helping me make things happen. It’s like it’s tied or tethered to something stronger than itself. It still creates thoughts but it’s unable to act on them.
    The investigators swabbed and collected what they needed from my skin, hair and nails,