Read Online Vengeance Borne by Amanda Bonilla - Free Book Online

situation, the usual anxiety that plagued him was absent. The various prescription bottles sat untouched in the bedside drawer. Instead of fending off his inexorable dreams, he welcomed them. Lying in bed, his eyes closed, silently hoping for the visions he’d run from. Maybe he’d see her face again. Maybe if he dreamed of her, she’d dream of him, too. But the reality of her existence concerned him. She’d been in danger, though how a teenage assailant could be so threatening he didn’t know. Especially one who looked like she was late for a night out at a trashy nightclub. After meeting her in person, he knew that this Jax wasn’t merely the terrified woman he’d dreamt of. Somehow, he didn’t doubt she could take care of herself. There was more to her than his dreams had let on. As the possibilities flooded his mind, Micah relaxed into oblivion with cautious optimism for the first time in his life.

    Blood pulsed through the veins in Micah’s temples and pounded a steady cadence in his ears. He sat bolt upright in bed, massaging his sternum as he tried to take a few deep, steady breaths. His heart hammered against his ribcage and it was a wonder the damned thing hadn’t broken free by now. Adrenaline surged through his body, his stomach cramping from the anxiety that hit him with the force of a sledgehammer. The desire to jump right out of his skin and run like hell was so intense his legs shook. Too bad there was no running from what held him in the grip of fear. With an unsteady hand, Micah reached for the drawer and retrieved the bottle of pills; nothing was worth what he’d just endured.
    He popped two Ativan under his tongue and lay back, relaxing as the benzo took effect. By slow degrees, his heart rate slowed and his hands no longer shook. The pounding in his head subsided, albeit very little, but at least it didn’t feel like someone was using his noggin for batting practice anymore. One deep breath, and another filled his lungs and his shoulders relaxed, his arms no longer poised and ready to fight an invisible foe. The vision he’d hoped for hadn’t come to him in his sleep. Not even a glimpse of the woman he wanted to see. Instead he’d been gifted with a dream constructed of pure evil.
    The details were muddled, hazy in his memory…or maybe the Ativan just made it seem that way. He shook his head as if to clear the fog. Nothing distinct had stuck with him as far as images went. But the raw emotion sat in his gut like a heated lump of heavy metal. A ripple of anxiety threatened, swept away by the drug slowly sapping him of troubled feelings.
    For some reason, Micah couldn’t stop thinking of the number three. Like floating beacons of balloon animation, the number flashed over and over in his consciousness. Wonderful . Obsessing over a number was new, as far as the dreams went, as well as the intensity of the emotions. Usually, his dreams flashed by like commercials. Bits and pieces of images and feelings edited together like movie trailers to maximize his interest and viewing enjoyment. Never had he felt anything so powerful. Until now.
    With the Ativan in his system, he could examine the emotions flooding his system with a certain level of detachment, as though written on scraps of paper that he could spread out before him. Rage. Jealousy. Desire. Need. Hate. Flashes of bright color—red. He felt neglected, abused, underappreciated. The world had kicked him and kicked him hard and he wasn’t going to just sit there and take it anymore. Finally the people that had more than him were going to pay. He wanted something, wanted it bad. And the fact that he couldn’t have it, for whatever reason, caused the feelings even the Ativan had a hard time squashing.
    His stomach churned and he popped a third pill under his tongue. He couldn’t stand feeling this way for another second. Fuck, the anxiety was choking him. Taking a deep, easy breath, peace descended by slow degrees to sweep him up in gentle