When Dove Cries Read Online Free PDF Page B

Draven.
    “Sweetheart—”
    “My father died not long ago, and I’ve… I’m… Everything is just a mess right now,” she interrupted, hoping to hold off Draven’s ‘it’s been nice knowing you’ speech. “Please. I promise I won’t cry anymore. Please just stay with me.”
    Draven sat on the edge of the bed holding her. She felt his hard muscles under his T-shirt, and the strength rippling through them made her feel safe. Cherished.
    “I’m not leaving you, Dove.”
    “ We’re not leaving you,” Cade corrected, sitting on the other side of her. “Do you have any other family we can contact?”
    Dove shook her head. Her family had been a group of mercenary soldiers that had given their lives to save strangers somewhere in the Middle East.
    “Well, you have me now,” Draven told her.
    “How is it you keep managing to forget the word us ?” Cade demanded.
    Draven glared back.
    Dove couldn’t help the small giggle. It was like watching a funny pissing match between them. Draven sighed and glanced at her with one eyebrow raised.
    “What’s so funny?”
    “You two. The original Odd Couple.”
    Cade snorted and stood. “You don’t know the half of it. Well, if we’re going to be staying here for a while, I’m going to get us some food and entertainment.”
    “No porn,” Draven warned.
    Cade gave him the finger. “No shit, Sherlock.”
    He walked out of the room without a backward glance. Draven watched him with narrowed eyes.
    “Why don’t you like him?” Dove asked.
    Draven sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “He did something I can’t forgive.”
    “And yet you’re still friends?”
    “We’re not friends. We’re partners, and hell, I suppose technically we’re club brothers right now. But not friends.”
    “Well, that explains everything.”
    That brought a ghost of a smile to his face. “Cade and I are complicated.”
    “I get that,” she replied. “Can I ask you another question?”
    “Sure.”
    “Was Allis truly a victim like me?”
    “She was. Hiller had abducted her, but she managed to get free and run away. He shot her in the back, and she was rescued by Givon and North.”
    “Is she all right now?”
    “Yeah. She’s, uh, in a relationship with both men.”
    Dove blinked. How did that work out? Sure, both men were handsome, but how did they not get jealous? Did they all share one bed, or did they take turns sleeping in hers? She shook her head. It wasn’t any of her business, and truthfully, she didn’t care what Allis’ love life entailed. All she wanted to know was how Allis had moved past the trauma.
    “Do you think she’d come back and visit with me?” she asked.
    “Of course. Allis is a great person. I’ll talk to North and see when she can come back.”
    Dove studied the man before her. He seemed toughened, as if the world around him had erased all tenderness from him long ago, and in some respect, he reminded her of her father. Both men had an exterior that seemed…brittle. Her father had pushed himself because of the death of his wife. So what pushed John Draven?
    “What’s going through your pretty little head?” he asked, pinning her with his electric- blue eyes.
    “What’s it like to be in a motorcycle gang?”
    He pursed his lips. “It’s a family. I rely on my club brothers to have my back, no matter what.”
    “Is it dangerous?”
    “It can be. But it’s not like you see on television. We don’t ride around shooting people and being badasses all the time. We’re just a club that watches out for our town and each other.”
    “I like that,” she murmured. Her father’s men had been her family. They’d taken care of each other. But oh, how the memories hurt her heart. Suddenly a yawn hit her, and she raised a hand to try to hide it. Draven ran a finger down her cheek.
    “Why don’t you sleep?”
    “I don’t know why I’m so sleepy all the time,” she said, even as her eyes began to close.
    “Your body needs to heal.