Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
“I never really thought about it that way. I couldn’t get past having to be on my own. And Lemon… well…”
“What about her? You know she’s solidly in your corner. Right?”
“That’s just it, Falcon. I do know. She didn’t make excuses for anyone. She didn’t doubt anything I told her. She believed everything and I was quick to tell her you guys thought I was willing when… you know… when you…” Even now she couldn’t say it, and I wanted to claw out my own heart.
“Yeah, honey. I know. We’re all ashamed of that, even if we didn’t know. We could have taken the time to talk to you more. Or at all, really.” I gave a self-deprecating snort of laughter. “More importantly, we could have made sure you knew you weren’t in danger from any of us. All you had to do was tell someone you wanted away from Hammer and we’d have removed you from the situation and asked questions later. We didn’t make it clear so that’s on us.”
“I guess,” she said softly. “Seems like both of us were victims of Hammer’s deception.”
“I’d say that’s a fair statement.”
I heard sounds on her end as she moved from her bedroom. I heard a door open, then close. Moments later, the light in her living room came on.
“You said you saw a light. That you thought it was mine.” She sounded better now. More herself. Though I hated that she’d donned the air of indifference she hid behind, I was glad that, at least subconsciously, she’d trusted me enough to tell me what she had.
“Yeah. I did.”
“Are you close by, then?”
“Yeah. Just outside.” Not a lie.
“Um, would you, uh…” She cleared her throat. “Would you like some coffee?”
“You good with me being in your space without one of the women nearby?”
“I think so.” Her voice said she was trying to convince herself she could do this and wasn’t doing a very good job. “You’d leave if I got overwhelmed. Right?”
“Absolutely. In fact, why don’t we sit outside on the porch? That way you can keep the door between us if you want to.”
There was a pause, then a sniffle before she spoke again. “You’d do that? Just to make sure I was comfortable?”
“Gina, honey. Of course. I like bein’ around you. I like talkin’ to you and just wavin’ at you as I drive by. I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you always want to spend that kind of time with me.” God, could I sound any more pathetic? Did I fucking care?
“Come over, Falcon. I’ve unlocked the door and am making coffee. Let yourself in. We can sit and chat for a while.”
“You don’t have to tell me twice, honey.”
I chuckled as I took my time walking up her driveway. I knocked loudly before opening the door. Even though she was expecting me, I wanted to make sure she was well aware of where I was in her home.
“Hey.” Her smile was small, but so beautiful it made my heart ache. How anyone could have hurt this woman was beyond me. She carried a tray with two mugs, a pot of black coffee, cream and sugar. That was something else about Gina. She was always prepared with a way to entertain guests. I got the feeling at least some of that came from the need to have something to concentrate on besides being scared all the time. The other was a desire to make people comfortable and welcome. The way she dealt with all the children the club had recently acquired seemed to fulfill that side of her as well. Which gave her an added distraction from her fear. “I have some caramel sauce in the fridge if you’d rather.”
“Black’s fine for me. Thank you, Gina.”
She fixed hers with a liberal amount of cream and sugar before blowing gently over the liquid and taking a careful sip. I watched her as I took a sip of my own coffee, letting the silence stretch. I’d follow her lead.
“Um, I should thank you. I actually had dozed off and was having a nightmare when you called.” One hand cupped her mug while she ran her other hand up and down her arm.
It surprised me she admitted that so easily. I thought it was probably good though. Like she was really trying to give me the benefit of the doubt and take me at my word that I wanted to look out for her.
“In that case, I’m glad I didn’t hang up the second I realized it was Rocket and Lemon’s house I was seeing with a light on.”
Again, she gave me a small smile. This time I thought she looked more relaxed. She was still on guard, but she was at least somewhat comfortable.
“Can I ask you a question?” A light blush dusted her cheeks, and she couldn’t meet my gaze. Her breathing became more rapid and she fiddled with the coffee mug in her hand.