Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
My world had tilted, and everything I’d thought I knew was gone. The security I had worked to build was snatched from me once again, and I was clueless as to what I was going to do next.
Would the police question me? Would there be a trial? How would I go to Kendrix’s funeral and face people, his kids, knowing the reason he’d died? Having been there when he was shot?
My stomach was a mountain of knots, and I tried my best to get back to figuring out what Lick smelled like.
Look at the mess I’ve gotten into.
My internal dialogue with Eamon often calmed me, so I gave it a shot.
You’re living on the wild side these days.
It seems that way, although not of my own making.
Relax. It’ll all work out in the end. How many times do I have to remind you of that?
I leaned with Lick as we turned along with everyone else and wondered when I’d be going back to my apartment.
Pepper had said that, for my safety, I had to go with them, just like she was doing. Although she’d not seemed real happy about getting on the back of the bike of some guy she’d called Country. She told him she’d ride with someone else because he already had a woman on his bike. One who looked a lot like the girl on the back of Rome’s. But Country told the other woman to go ride with someone named Fox and ignored her pouting, which was blatantly obvious. Pepper didn’t seem impressed and rolled her eyes, but she went and climbed on the back of Country’s bike. He was grinning when they pulled out beside us.
I’d been envious of that.
Pepper had the sex appeal to equal the half-naked female with a perfect body. I did not. I lacked that trait while Pepper had it in spades. It was effortless for her. Part of who she was. There was definitely some chemistry going on with her and Country. He was attractive. Tall, blond, almost too clean-cut to be a biker, but more of an edge than the average male. I wondered why she hadn’t wanted to ride with him—or had she? Maybe it had been because he’d had the other woman on his bike.
Ahead of us, Rome’s bike veered to the left lane, along with two other bikes. We all went to the right lane to turn again. I watched them as they waited at the red light with their left blinkers flashing. They all had women on the back. The one on Rome’s leaned in, and it looked like she kissed his neck or ear—I wasn’t sure which.
I snapped my head back around to watch where we were going. It was easier. Anxiety began to creep up at the knowledge that Rome wasn’t going to be at this compound place that Pepper had told me we would be safe at. I’d thought he would be. Why that had given me comfort I didn’t know. It wasn’t like he’d even asked about me. He wasn’t the one who had saved me, and he was there. I just hadn’t seen him among all that happened until we were leaving.
This man who had told me to get on his bike—who I would admit was a touch frightening—had cared about my situation. He’d killed a man to get me free, and then he’d carried me out of there when I struggled to walk. The stranger seemed to be more reliable than the man I’d once loved.
Sighing, I tried not to get deep in my emotions. But I missed Eamon. I missed our calm, predictable life. The one where I had known what each day would bring. I knew he’d be home every evening. And I knew I was loved and cherished. I knew I had a family and a home in him. He had been my safe place.
Navigating life without that was hard. Much harder than I could have imagined. Especially considering my circumstances now. Oh, to be sitting in our living room, eating takeout from our favorite Chinese place and watching one of our binge shows on Netflix. Something I had taken for granted. Something I’d thought would always be. Until it wasn’t.
The bikes slowed and then came to a stop in front of tall metal fencing that reminded me of a prison. I’d never been to a prison, not even when my father had been put in one, but I had seen enough of them on television. The gate began to slide open, and the bikes rumbled, then pulled inside and down a narrow road lined with palm trees until we reached a massive two-story building. It was long and rectangular. Part brick, the other concrete.
Lick parked the bike in a line with the others, then cut the engine.