Saving Dallas Forever (Saving Dallas 3)

“Maddie? She can’t help us now,” Red said, constantly shoveling dirt from the shallow grave we had dug. Was Maddie hurt? Was it so bad that she couldn’t lift a shovel?

“Where is Maddie? What’s wrong with her?” I asked, the car headlights that were once in the distance now upon us. Red stopped what she was doing, a look of devastation on her dirty, wet face.

“Whose grave do you think this is?”

My eyes flew open to find Luke squatting in front of me. His face looked concerned, as he wiped the sweat from my head and spoke softly to me. I looked around, searching for Maddie in my lethargic state. She, along with Red, Marty, Regg, Big Al, Bryce, and Shark stood behind Luke, eyeing me with concern. The lights were on and blinding as I sat on the floor, propped against the wall trying to calm my harsh breathing and my racing heart. I stared at them all, wide-eyed trying to wash the horrible image of Maddie wrapped in a white sheet from my mind.

“Luke, she needs a doctor,” Red said, coming up behind Luke and placing her hand on his shoulder.

“Dallas,” Luke said calmly, trying to claim my attention, which was now on Big Al’s face. He looked at me with pity, and I wondered if Luke’s brothers were aware of my nightmares.

“This is happening too much. Does she talk about it?” My eyes swung to Maddie, who stood chewing her lip next to Regg. Luke shook his head, and I realized that they must think I was still asleep.

“I can hear you,” I said, my voice so low that I could barely hear it myself.

“What did she say?” A confused Shark asked Marty, who answered with a shake of his head and a shrug of his shoulders. Luke started to answer, but I beat him to it.

“I said,” my voice a little louder and clearer this time, “I can hear you.” No one said anything, just stood there still staring at me. Was there something wrong with me? Why were they acting as if they hadn’t heard me? Or did they just not have anything to say? I looked at Luke, finding his blue eyes wide and full of agony. Maybe a change of subject was in order. “Did y’all find the guys?” Luke gave me a small smile, rubbing my hair, and placing his palm on my cheek.

“Everything is fine, babe. You don’t need to worry about that right now. Let’s take a walk, okay?” Luke pulled me to my feet, wrapping his arm around my waist. Everyone stood around nervously, as if I might collapse to the floor at any moment. That’s when I noticed I was not in the same place I had been when I fell asleep.

Luke

“How did I get here?” Dallas asked me, her pale face was twisted in confusion, as I led her away from the bar and outside to get some fresh air. Talk about a fucked-up morning.

“I carried you here from the bathroom. You started fighting me, so I sat you down. Your screams had everyone running to see what was wrong. Sorry about the audience, but they were worried.” Marty and Regg knew Dallas suffered from night terrors, but it was something new for Shark, Big Al, and Bryce. It was a scary thing to witness that was for damned sure.

“Oh,” Dallas replied simply, looking up at the sky, which was beginning to lighten. It was Monday morning and a hell of a start to the new week. My first thought was that Metal and Madness had taken a bold step and tried to break into the clubhouse. So, I was more than surprised to find Charlie’s goons as the culprits. They had been sent to make sure Dallas was still here, and since Ronnie had taken Dallas’ car to ensure a very drunk Brooklyn got home safe, they thought she might have left. He could have just fucking called, but Charlie had a way of doing things, like breaking into the clubhouse and blowing up fucking transformers, just to show me that he could. I walked with Dallas down the alley behind the clubhouse until we reached the gate, then turned and walked back toward the entrance to the main room. She looked calmer, but whatever dream she had had was still very clear in her mind. Her brows were furrowed, as she tried hard to shake the mental image, which I knew she couldn’t clear from her head.

“Dallas, I need you to tell me about these dreams,” I said, stopping her and pulling her face up, so I could look into her troubled eyes. Fuck, she was beautiful, even at her worst. She didn’t want to tell me, but I needed to know. I needed to know that she could deal with this and get past it, because I had something I needed her to do. A mission that would require her to be mentally stable enough to perform. “Tell me, baby. Please.” I asked her softly, reassuring her with a kiss. That worked.