Recovery by Nicole Dykes (best time to read books .txt) 📗

used to be the bar. It’s wrecked. The windows are shattered. Tables are everywhere.

The brick has fallen in shambles. It’s amazing how something so brief can do that much damage.

We all stare, stunned, as Logan calls Quinn frantically.

He reaches her and tries to find a quiet spot to talk to her in the chaos. There are news crews and people everywhere, assessing the damage. Mya looks up at me, tears in her eyes. “It’s gone.”

I nod, looking over at the tattoo shop that’s in even worse condition than the bar. “Yeah.”

She shakes her head slowly. “I was just starting to like it here.”

I laugh at that, tugging her to me, wrapping my arms around her. “It’ll be okay.” I’m sure she didn’t like admitting that.

I grab my cellphone and call Finn but still get no answer.

Please let him be okay.

“He didn’t answer?” I shake my head, and she leans against me. “He will.”

“I hope so.” There’s a sick feeling in my gut.

“He will. He’s strong. And kind of a pain in the ass. I’m sure a tornado can’t take him down.”

I smirk, but then my mood quickly sours, looking around at the wreckage around us. The entire street is leveled. Businesses that have been here for a century are just gone. People’s life savings, blood, sweat, and tears have been leveled in a matter of minutes.

“You still haven’t told me what you guys were talking about this morning.”

I tried to get her to, but she said it was nothing. I feel her smiling. “We were fighting over who loves you more.”

I stiffen at that as she looks up at me, that smile on her lips. “Did you just . . . ?” Say you love me . . .?

She shakes her head. “No. He won,” she grins, backtracking, “by far.”

I chuckle at that, but she did say it.

She loves me.

“I love you too.”

I feel her shudder as she leans back into me, looking at our grim surroundings.

Of course, this is when we would finally cop to our feelings.

Great timing.

Their cars are destroyed, but Quinn’s was okay, so she picked us up and brought us to their home. She and Logan both seem so damn relieved to be together again. I can’t imagine Logan’s terror during those hours we were stuck in the basement and she was at their house with their kid.

When we get inside, Jase continues trying like crazy to reach Finn. I have a sinking feeling that I can’t combat.

“That motherfucker.” Jase ends the call and puts his phone back in his pocket and wraps his arms around my waist, his front to my back.

“He’s fine,” Tommy tries to reassure him. “He’s probably still fucking that skanky chick and doesn’t even know anything happened.”

I smile at Tommy, thinking that’s a possibility, but I’m not sure even Finn could ignore the hell that ripped through town. I’ve never been through an actual tornado. There was a bad storm with microbursts when I was twelve that tore the roof off our apartment building. We were without power for days, but it was nothing like last night.

Jase grumbles and releases me with a quick kiss to the top of my head. “I’m going to go try again.” He moves out of the kitchen and heads into the living room.

Tommy and James shake their heads at him, but quickly follow. Logan takes the baby, giving Quinn a kiss before he leaves the kitchen too. It’s just Quinn and me left as she pulls open the refrigerator door. “I guess I should find something to feed everyone.”

“I can help.” I walk to where she’s standing, a bewildered look on her pretty face. “I’m so sorry, Quinn.”

Lyrics and Ink was their dream, a beautiful dream they made come true together. And now it’s destroyed, completely unrecognizable.

“As long as Finn is alive, we’ll be fine.”

She closes the fridge and turns to me. My eyes flick to the living room where Jase just disappeared and then back to her. “What if he’s not?” I know how close Finn and Jase are, the bile rises in my throat, thinking about him lying somewhere under the rubble.

She takes a deep breath that appears to be painful. “I don’t know. I can’t think about it.”

“I’m so sorry, Quinn,” my voice is soft with a sob catching in my throat.

Her eyes are full of concern as she places a hand on my shoulder. “Stop saying that. None of this was your fault.”

“Wasn’t it?” I wipe a tear from my cheek. “You guys had everything. You got out. You made a beautiful life here. And I came and wrecked it all.”

“Don’t do that, Mya.”

I can’t stop the grief coming over me, feeling like a curse. They were all fine.

Her hands hold both my shoulders firmly. “None of this is because of you. Tornados happen.”

“What if he’s dead, Quinn? They’re like brothers. We both know Jase won’t handle that.”

What if he starts using? I can’t fight the feelings taking over me.

“They are, but Finn is fine. I know he is.”

I shake my head, knowing no one is safe around me no matter how hard I try to keep them that way. “Your business is destroyed.”

“We have insurance. We’ll rebuild. We’ll do what we have to, Mya.” Her eyes are serious as they hold me hostage. “If there’s one thing we know from our upbringing, it’s rising up again after tragedy. It’s fighting. We keep going.”

“I’m tired.”

She hugs me, and I let her, tears falling down my face and feeling overwhelmingly exhausted from it all. On the outside, I’m young, but on the inside, years of pain is wearing me out.

“Now this, I can definitely get behind.”

I wipe my tears, and Quinn and I both turn toward the voice. I see Finn, standing in the doorway, unharmed and with a smirk on his face. Quinn walks over to him, smacking his arm. “You. Dick. You scared the fuck out of us.”

He just grins easily and pulls her into a hug. “I’m fine.” He pulls back. “But