22. Ghosted

Chapter Twenty-Two

GHOSTED

E merging from the private room, Layne's hand was wrapped around Gage's as she stuck close to his side. He had spent nearly twenty minutes giving her appropriate aftercare and ensuring they didn't leave that room until he was convinced she had recovered enough.

They both made their way back into the main area of the club where everyone was still partying the night away. Gage led her to the bar, where he ordered them both drinks.

As the bartender began crafting the cocktails, Hunter approached Gage, leaning in, and whispering something into his ear.

Shouting over the thudding bass of the music, Gage pulled back and yelled, "What?!" Struggling to hear what Hunter was trying to tell him.

When his buddy tried to shout into his ear again, it was to no avail. Gage shook his head and gave a tug on Layne's hand. He nodded his head in the direction of his office where things would be a little quieter.

Stepping away from the bar, Layne began to follow but then stopped short. She lifted a finger for him to wait. His eyes stayed glued to her as she released his hand and squeezed back through a couple of people to grab the drinks waiting for them unattended at the bar.

Once she had the two glasses, she came right back to Gage. They made it to his office with Hunter joining them. Closing the door for additional buffering from the loud party music, Gage took one of the glasses from Layne.

"What were you saying out there, Hunter?" He remained standing by the door.

Layne leaned back against a wall and observed quietly as she sipped her beverage, licking her lips at the sweeter-than-expected taste.

Hunter looked at Layne and then at Gage, wondering what he should say since it had been made clear that they weren't supposed to let Layne know their purpose for being there tonight.

"I was just trying to update you. Jax said everything has been all clear on the inside, and Dev said the same for the outside. No signs of…anyone." He shoved his hands into his pockets.

Picking up that this wasn't just typical security measures, Layne furrowed her brows. As she typically did, she inserted herself into the conversation. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Her eyes shifted to look at Gage as she tilted her head questioningly as she stepped away from the wall.

He cleared his throat, avoiding looking at Layne. "Nothing. Just making sure tonight went smoothly."

"Bullshit." Layne was now changing her stare to direct it at Hunter.

It wasn't an easy feat for a woman to make Hunter feel uncomfortable, but the way Layne was looking at him he got the sense he didn't want to fuck around and find out with this one.

Gage saved Hunter from trying to explain himself, "Layne. It's not a big deal. I just wanted to make sure tonight went off without any issues."

"And by issues, you mean Liam." She cut straight to the point.

He looked at Hunter and waved him off with his hand. The man walked by them both, slipping out the door without another word.

She sighed as she looked at Gage, clearly frustrated.

Putting his untouched drink down on his desk, he stepped up to Layne. Both of his hands landed on her upper arms as he looked into her eyes. "Baby, I needed to make sure we had people I could trust."

"I have a team for this sort of thing, I don't need you bringing in fucking SEAL Team Six." She rolled her eyes.

He grinned at the comparison. "It's just for tonight. Though, if you keep scowling at me like that, I may see if they can sign on full-time." His hands rubbed over her arms gently.

"I swear to God, Gage, if I see them hanging around after tonight, I will kick your ass." Her finger jabbed him in the chest to accentuate her threat.

"Noted," he chuckled. "Now, let's go back and enjoy the rest of the party, okay?" He walked over to the desk and grabbed his drink, taking a large sip.

He coughed and scrunched up his face. "Fuck, this is definitely your drink. You and the damn ass water you call whiskey." Gage's least favorite liquor was whiskey, that shit burned like a motherfucker on a good day. The brands Layne enjoyed were some high-octane blends that left him questioning if she had any taste buds at all.

Layne laughed as she continued drinking Gage's cocktail. "Well, you're stuck with it now. I'm really enjoying your Negroni." Playfully she stuck her tongue out at him.

He shook his head and took another sip, trying to get past the harsh bite of the alcohol. Swatting her ass with his hand, he nudged her towards the door. "Damn brat. Get out there before I give you something else to do with that tongue."

With a giggle, she opened up the door and went back out to the club. Once they were back on the dance floor, Layne leaned back against Gage's chest as she suggestively moved her body against him to the pulse of the music. Idly, she sipped on the drink in her hand.

Her mind wandered as to what delicious trouble they were both going to get to once they got back to his condo. Gage's hand roamed over her body wondering how he got so damn lucky with a woman like Layne. This night was turning out to be everything he hoped for, and more.

While she was lost in her thoughts, her eyes caught a face in the crowd. It startled her so much that she dropped her drink. Her body immediately went stiff as a board.

The music began to fade, the volume becoming more tolerable as it transitioned to the next song.

Gage straightened as Layne's glass shattered against the floor and splashed the beverage around their feet. He came around to face her, his face filled with concern. "Baby, are you okay?"

Layne craned her neck to try and look around him to see if she could catch another glimpse of the face she saw. "I…" She looked all around them, and she wondered if she had seen anything at all. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just thought…"

"You're as pale as a ghost, Layne." He also took a look around at their surroundings. He didn't see any threats, but he did see Joey over by the bar and flagged him down.

God, was she losing her mind? Her heart felt like it was leaping over massive hurdles inside her chest. She looked at Gage and tried to force an at-ease smile on her lips. "I promise, I'm good."

Gage chugged down the rest of his drink, not liking the way she looked so spooked.

Joey wasted no time in forcing his way through the crowd of people when he saw Gage's hand wave him over. "What's wrong?" He looked at Layne and immediately got on the defensive seeing how shaken she looked, even if she was trying to conceal it.

"Nothing is up." Layne tried to calm them both down.

"She just clammed up and dropped her drink," Gage explained. "I'm going to take her home." He set his empty glass on the tray of a waitress as she walked by.

"I will go update Jax and the rest of the guys, then meet you back at your place." Joey patted the side of Gage's arm. Then, he reached out and captured Layne's chin between his thumb and finger. "Seatbelt on," he demanded with a smile before he locked his mouth on hers firmly.

She happily accepted his kiss, returning it with one of her own. "It's a five-minute drive, and you both are overreacting."

The look they both gave her after that said it all. They had every right to be on edge given everything all of them had been through. Her face fell as she slumped her shoulders in defeat.

Satisfied that Layne wasn't going to put up any more of a fight, Joey left to go find his brother's backup crew. Gage wrapped an arm around her shoulder and guided her towards the door.

Once outside, Layne looked at the cars parked out front. She didn't see his busted-ass Jeep anywhere. "Where did you park?"

Gage pulled out Layne's car keys from his pocket and pressed the remote start on the key fob. "Ran into a bit of car trouble when I went to leave this morning, so I took yours."

She couldn't hide the fact she wasn't surprised. "The Jeep wouldn't start—again?"

Leading Layne towards the silver BMW, he kept his head on a swivel. "Look, she's an old gal. Some days she needs a little extra love to get movin'."

"For fucks sake, Gage, that damn Jeep has been revived from the brink of death five too many times." Arriving at her car, Gage made sure she was strapped into the passenger seat per Joey's instructions, five-minute drive or not.

He came to the driver's side, sliding in behind the wheel with the intention to be her chauffeur back to Hudson Yards.

She looked over at his profile while he focused on the road. At this time of night, the roads were mostly empty, making the trip rather peaceful.

Layne wondered how it was that she had two handsome men willing to go above and beyond for her. As irritated as she got with their protective efforts, deep down it made her feel more valued than her family ever did. That feeling of being worthy was something her brother was slowly trying to destroy.

A few beads of sweat started to appear on Gage's forehead. He blinked his eyes several times as the traffic lights and their surroundings began to gradually shift in his vision. His hand came to his eyes, trying to rub the focus back into his brown hues.

Layne noticed his drawn-out blinks and the way he wiped the sheen of sweat from his head with the back of his hand.

"Gage, are you okay?" She reached over, placing a hand on his bicep.

His foot pressed the brake to roll to a stop for a yellow light. Layne's voice sounded so far away like he was in an underwater cave. His breathing grew shallow while attempting to swallow the pooling saliva in his mouth, willing himself to stay conscious as he struggled to maintain clear thoughts.

Gage's hand dropped to the shifter, attempting to push it into Park but missing the knob.

Noticing that his eyes were fluttering, she cursed and shook his arm harshly. "Hey! Stick with me!"

Somehow, she heard the impact a microsecond before she felt it. An unexpected force slammed into the back of her car, launching it across the intersection and only stopping when the front of her vehicle collided with a pole. Another impact hit the backend again, crushing the Beamer further against the pole.

The hit was strong enough that airbags popped off after the first hit, providing a little bit of buffer from the way they both were violently jerked around inside their seats. Fortunately, seat belts kept her and Gage from suffering worse injuries.

Moments after the wreck, Layne was slumped in her seat with a small line of blood trickling from a minor head wound a couple of inches above her eyebrow. It was unclear how long she had lost consciousness in the aftermath of the incident.

Trying to open her eyes, she squinted at an imposing light shining directly on her face. The door on her side of the car was wide open, a presence looming there over her. Her head was pounding and for a brief moment, she couldn't even recall where she was or what had transpired.

"What…?" Layne groaned as she turned her face away from the bright light. She lifted her hand to try and shield her eyes.

A hand roughly grabbed her by the hair, turning her so that the light continued to blind her vision. "Stupid little bitch," the faceless voice said with such an air of disdain.

The voice was rough like sandpaper, prompting all the hairs on the back of her neck to stand on end. It elicited fear to perk up from her gut, telling her to sound all her alarms. Yet, her body wouldn't coordinate the efforts on behalf of her head.

The flashlight came down harshly, striking her across the face. The hit knocked her back into her seat. Layne noticed Gage still in the driver's seat, slumped over the steering wheel passed out.

She winced, squeezing her eyes tightly with the pain radiating from the side of her face. The man who had been speaking to her cursed as he seemed to talk to himself, "Fucker and his timing." Something fell into her lap.

Turning her head back towards the man, Layne's eyes strained as they opened back up to see the outline of a man jogging back to a pickup truck waiting next to her car. Her body wanted to drag her into the dark of unconsciousness again, but she willed herself to try and see the person responsible before it did so.

Just when she thought she wouldn't be able to hold out any longer, the man turned and looked over his shoulder at her. A fucking evil smirk on his face. The same face she thought she had seen at the club.

No. Fucking. Way.

The man climbed into the heavy-duty pickup with front-end damage before it peeled off, the tires squealing against the pavement as it did so.

Her head was spinning through its haze as she tried to distinguish what was truth and reality. Did she simply hit her head hard enough to land in some mental ward where nothing was real anymore? None of this made sense and that made her head ache even more.

Rolling her head to look back over at Gage, her hand shakily reached out. Her fingertips barely rested against his side in an attempt to provide comfort via touch for them both.

Joey's voice sounded miles away as he shouted her name. Hearing him, she knew she was safe—they both were.

She surrendered and her eyes fell shut.