Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 74577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74577 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 298(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
It was six days after the attack.
We’d been home together nonstop, thanks to her boss and coworkers who insisted she stay home and rest. And since the job kind of required the ability to use both of her hands in a pinch, she’d agreed to taking some time off.
As much as you need, her boss had been quick to demand. A few weeks, even a month or two. Just focus on you.
It was a good time for time off, too.
We were knee-deep in decorating and creating new little Christmas traditions. Movies we swore were worth watching every single year. Painting ornaments with the date on the back, then hanging them on the tree. Having a gingerbread house decorating competition. Going to the local live manger, then looking at Christmas lights on the way home.
I usually made it back to Navesink Bank for Christmas, knowing it would crush my family not to see me. But I didn’t realize how much of the holiday spirit I’d really been missing out on when I wasn’t observing traditions.
“We’re not going to corrupt her,” Fiona Mallick said, coming out of the kitchen with two mugs of ‘Boozy Hot Chocolate’ and handing one to AJ. “Much,” she added with a wink.
Oh, if there were any women in the world who were capable of corruption, it was these ones.
My sister.
Fiona, the former phone sex operator and current owner of a phone sex operator business.
Lea, Shane Mallick’s wife, a former biker old lady.
Autumn Mallick, the proprietor of a sex toy store.
And Autumn’s sister, Peyton. Who was married to an outlaw biker. Drove a hearse. And, so I heard, had a collection of alien and monster dildos that she would bring out and show to her friends.
I couldn’t help but wonder if she had one in her giant bag.
And how the hell AJ would react to that batshit crazy shit.
The girls hadn’t come over to ‘meet my girlfriend’ and ‘have a girls night’ like I’d claimed when I’d told AJ about them calling.
The fact of the matter was, I was going out.
And I might not be back until the morning.
I wanted someone with AJ. But bringing in my brothers or the Mallicks would immediately make her suspicious.
But the girls? With booze that meant they’d have to sleep over because they couldn’t drive? That could work.
To AJ, I was going out with my brothers. And maybe we’d drink too much to drive too.
I hated lying to her.
But I didn’t want her to know the truth.
“What did you find out?” I asked Kingston as I stepped into his office, finding not only my other brothers gathered, but the Mallicks as well.
Charlie Mallick, the patriarch of the family, the OG, included.
“What’s this?” I asked, head cocked to the side.
“An option,” Kingston said, nodding toward the Mallicks.
“Look,” Charlie said, nodding at me. “I know your past. I know violence isn’t in your nature. But me and mine?” he said, nodding toward his sons. “Violence is our job.”
“Are you offering to kill Joss for me?” I asked, straightening.
“It wouldn’t be my first kill,” Shane said, shrugging. “Had to do something like this for my woman once. Dunno if you will be able to do it and sleep well at night. I wouldn’t have a problem with it.”
“This is my fight,” I said, shaking my head.
“Atlas…” Kingston said, shaking his head.
“Would you kill for Savvy?” I asked, knowing the answer before he spoke it.
“Yes.”
“So you get it.”
“Killing in the moment, and tracking someone down to take them out in cold blood are different things,” Charlie reasoned.
“Like he tracks her down? Like he beats the shit out of her? He almost killed her once. Beat her so bad she blacked out. Then kept fucking doing it over and over again after that.”
“I don’t think anyone here thinks the fucker deserves to live,” Shane said. “We just don’t know if you should be the one to do this. That’s not the life you live.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I didn’t hurt people.
I never had an urge to do so.
But it didn’t feel right to put this off on someone else either.
“I got this,” I said, shaking my head.
There was a gun in a bag in my trunk.
I was prepared to do what it took to get AJ safe.
The men shared a look, none of them liking my answer, but also understanding that it wasn’t their place to stop me.
“Alright,” Kingston said, sighing hard. “Last place I tracked his card to is a shitty short-term rental a couple of towns over. As far as I can tell, he hasn’t gone back to his place yet,” he said, rattling off an address, then giving me a printout of directions. Old fucking school.
“Where’s your phone?” Kingston asked.
I handed it over.
“We’ll create an alibi,” he said, handing the phone to Rush, who nodded toward Ryan Mallick. “Here’s your temporary one. Our numbers are all on the back of the directions, if you need backup.”