Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 31295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 31295 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 156(@200wpm)___ 125(@250wpm)___ 104(@300wpm)
“Got a couple of hours this morning.”
“Go get some food and some shut-eye. We’ll talk later. You’re no good to me if you’re catatonic from lack of sleep and food.”
“I’m good,” Wizard assured me.
I frowned. “That wasn’t a request.”
“I’ll fill him in on what I found,” Ace told him.
Wizard looked like he wanted to argue, but when he clocked my expression, he mumbled, “Sure thing, Prez.” Then he closed his computer and picked up his glasses, shoving them into the inside pocket of his cut before trudging out of the office.
I glanced at Blaze. “Send a prospect to let me know if he follows my order.”
Blaze pulled out his phone and shot off a text while I looked at Ace. “What—”
A menacing growl and a frightening bark stopped all conversation. “Shit,” I grunted as I bolted to my feet. Before I took a step, Cerberus came trotting into my office with Echo right behind him.
“New prospect tried to pet him,” Echo explained with a shake of his head. “What the fuck kind of morons are we letting in this place lately?”
I dropped my hand, and Cerberus moved to sit right under it so I could run my hand down his head and back. He leaned into my side, and I scratched behind his ear before turning back to Ace. “Any luck on the money trail?”
“Dirty money involved in this is fucked up, Prez,” Ace muttered. “Definitely making the rounds through different companies, but the trails to The Company are there if you know where to look. When are you supposed to hear from your contact?”
I glanced at my watch. “Gave him twenty-four hours. He’s got a few left.”
“Think he and his CIA bigwig will come through?” Echo queried.
“Yeah,” I confirmed. “They want to catch these motherfuckers as much as I do.”
Ace nodded. “Here are some reports I think you should take a look at first. I’ll have more to go over with you soon.”
“Great,” I muttered, taking the sheaf of papers he reached over to give me. I looked through the first two pages, but my mind kept wandering to Stella. I hated that this was hanging over us and that the situation would only get worse before it got better.
Dropping the report onto my desk, I rubbed my temples for a few seconds and took a deep breath. I needed a fucking breath of fresh air.
“Let me know if there are any updates or when Wizard resurfaces,” I instructed Blaze. “I’m going to check on Stella.”
I didn’t wait for a response. I just strode out of the office and started back to my house. The only thing that stopped me was hearing Stella’s voice as I was passing by the clubhouse kitchen.
Without pausing, I changed direction and pushed through the swinging doors that led to the large industrial kitchen. Along with the area where the meal prep was handled, there were two long, wooden tables—made by a member who’d been a woodcarver over thirty years ago—lined with chairs on each side and one on each end. The kitchen was set up to accommodate feeding a large crowd, which was sometimes the case if all the club rooms were occupied.
We were always wary of having outsiders in the club, but we had hired the widow of a patch from Pierce’s day to come in and cook a couple of days a week. Otherwise, the prospects, or even the patches if needed, cooked during specific meal times.
Outside of those times, the kitchen was open for anyone to grab food if they were hungry.
I’d made a quick breakfast and lunch for Stella and me earlier, but it didn’t surprise me that she was hungry again. We’d burned a fuck ton of calories today.
A smile curved my lips when I spotted her sitting crisscross up on the countertop, munching on a cookie.
Mrs. Devlin laughed at something she said before taking a sheet of freshly baked cookies out of the oven.
“Hey, baby,” I murmured as I walked up to the counter to stand right in front of her.
Stella frowned. “You’ve got some nerve, Kingsley!” she growled.
I had no idea what she was angry about, but my woman was damn cute when she got all huffy and fired up. However, I swallowed my grin, figuring it might piss her off even more. “Something on your mind?”
“Seriously?” she snapped before shoving the rest of the cookie in her mouth.
Since I had no clue what was going on, I silently waited for her to finish chewing and swallowing. “You should be shot. I’ve been here two days, and you haven’t given me any cookies!”
I laughed, understanding now. Mrs. Devlin made the best fucking cookies any of us had ever tasted. Leaning in so only she would hear what I said next, I whispered, “I was too busy eating your cookies, baby.”