Page 17 of Sleeping with the Dark (The Righteous 3)
Trev paced the floor, his rage not helping to ease the aching need that Cody had stirred. It wasn’t just the unnerving passion that had come alive. Like a once snuffed-out wick in a lantern, hope for something real was burning—real feelings, real love, anything other than his dedication to work. He closed his eyes as he took a few deep breaths. He couldn’t stop his pulse from pounding hard, making him feel lightheaded. The room began to swim like he’d been on a three-day binge, and he collapsed to his knees. Grabbing his head, he fought the images that wanted to break loose.
“No, no, no.”
Boom.
Trev flew backward and landed hard, his helmet smacking against the hard ground. Dirt raining to the earth pelted him in the face, and he slowly rolled to his side. He coughed as he tried to piece together what had just happened, his mind feeling like a dish of his mother’s scrambled eggs.
His ears rang, but he could make out yelling as he laid on his back dazed. Wiping his face, he stared between the two sets of truck tires on either side of him at the running booted feet. The dirt and smoke making it hard to see as he blinked it away. His mind raced as it pulled the pieces together like a puzzle. Flipping over on his stomach, he got on his hands and knees. He shook his head, trying to clear the last of the fog, but the fuzziness in his mind was stubborn. What happened? He patted down his body and didn’t find any immediate signs of injury. All parts moved, and nothing seemed to be missing. A smile flashed before his eyes.
“No,” Trev screamed as his brain showed him what it had been reluctantly holding back.
The rancid scent of burning flesh filled his nose until it was all he could smell. His eyes burned with the smoke as he jumped to his feet and ran.
He crashed into the side of the large truck, unsteady on his feet, but didn’t care as he bounced off and continued running.
He didn’t know who was yelling but wished that they would shut up, then realized as he began coughing uncontrollably that it was his own voice in his ears. Someone was pulling on his pack, but he dropped to his knees, his fingers digging into the course dirt as he crawled and fought off whoever had a hold of him. His mind did not want to register what he’d seen. There was a chance, there had to be a chance. The scorched earth and deep recess in the road told another story. Blood and bits of human flesh scattered across the beige-colored surface like a smattering of paint from hell.
“No, no, no.”
“Trev, stop.”
Trev continued to pull on whoever had him. “Let me go.”
Arms wrapped around his shoulder, trapping his arms to his side as he turned to take a swing at his unknown assailant.
“Stop it. It’s me. It’s Arek. It’s your brother, and you’re in your bedroom, in California. You’re safe, Trev. Listen to me, stop struggling,” Arek’s voice broke through the memory, pulling him back into the now. His body shook, sweat trickling down his back as the remnants of the memory began to fade and drift back into the sea of his subconscious
Arek let him go when he stopped fighting, but he turned in his brother’s arms and let the emotions loose. Trev cried as he had that day. Tears slipped down his cheeks in streams as the pain of his past made an unexpected appearance. He gasped for air as he clung to his lifeline. The only thing keeping him from completely breaking was his brother’s arms.
“It felt so real, like I was back there, like…” Trev couldn’t complete the sentence
“It’s okay. You’re okay.”
Glancing up, Renee and J.J. were in the doorway, and Trev couldn’t stand the look of pity in their eyes. Even at such a young age, J.J. understood just how fucking messed up he was, oddly the kid probably understood him better than anyone else in the room.
Pulling away from Arek, he stood and marched for the bathroom door, locking himself inside. Stepping into the bathtub, he flopped down.
“Trev, don’t lock me out. Trev, open up,” Arek called out, but he couldn’t look his brother in the eye.
He needed to pull himself together. He had a mission to complete.
“Trev.”
“Go away, Arek. I need to be alone.”
“I’m not leaving you. I won’t leave you.”
“I need you to go. I’m fine. I just need a moment alone.” He could hear the heavy sigh and knew that Arek had to have his face pressed to the door.
“Fine.”
He’d had small flashes and memories from his time before, but nothing like what just happened. Trev held up his hands, and they shook with the lasting effects. Closing his hands into fists, he clung to his anger. His mind turned to Alejandro. That was his mission. That was what he needed to focus on, and having an episode or whatever the hell that was just wouldn’t do. Standing, he turned on the water, not caring his clothes were still on. He needed to get his head back into the game. He just had to.
Trev stepped out of the massive courthouse front doors and smiled for the cameras that were already assembled. The large group of awaiting reporters looked like a pack of hyenas waiting to pounce.
He’d successfully gotten another one of his clients off the hook for a charge that should’ve sent him to prison for life. Not that he was surprised, there was a reason he was paid so handsomely. If there were even a sliver of doubt in the prosecutor's case, he’d find it, and he’d exploit it.
It had been over a week since the episodes with Cody and then with his brother. He’d made a point of avoiding the house and those in it by staying at the penthouse he owned in the city. He put every ounce of energy he had into this case and his quest to get dirt to lure in Alejandro. He wanted the man to trust him enough to give him information on the Golden Dragons. If Alejandro happened to kill off the Dragons, he wouldn’t complain about that either. Either option was a win-win. It was completely infuriating that his efforts the night Cody had randomly shown up had seen no results. Millions in drugs and cash had been stolen, eight men dead, and they hadn’t retaliated with any of the other gangs at all. In fact, it had been too quiet, eerily quiet.
