Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 79959 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79959 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 400(@200wpm)___ 320(@250wpm)___ 267(@300wpm)
“Relax,” he said, gesturing toward the kitchen. “I'll let Lo know you're here.”
He left us. Alone. In the center of their weird fortress. But I had the distinct impression, though, that we weren't alone. That there were men already stationed where we had come in from. And men where our chaperon had disappeared to.
“Fuckin' weird,” Wolf said, looking around.
“Got that right,” Cash agreed. “They live like cave people.”
“Cash, we ain't got no windows either,” I reminded him with a smirk.
“Yeah, but this place is...”
“Greg says you're looking for me,” a voice called, making us all jump and turn.
“No fuckin' way,” Cash said, a disbelieving grin overtaking his face.
Because there standing just inside the doorway in front of Greg, was Lo.
And Lo was a fucking woman.
And not just a woman.
A good fucking looking woman.
Tall. At least five-nine with a strong, but slim build, wide hips, decent rack. Long ash blonde hair, a face that was all sharp edges with dark brown eyes. She had on worn jeans and a white tee. A gun was strapped to a band on her thigh, another at her hip.
“Are all the crime lords fucking women now?” Cash asked, wondering what we were all thinking.
At this, Lo smiled, a tinkling laugh escaping her lips. “Can't let you men have all the fun now can we?” she asked.
“How the fuck old are you?” Cash went on, making me roll my eyes.
She turned her eyes on Cash, a smirk toying at her lips. “Almost old enough for that question to be borderline offensive.”
“You're seriously Lo?” he asked, obviously not convinced. Because she was young. Not young like Summer. But somewhere along the line of our ages. Maybe more Wolf's than mine. Mid to late thirties.
“Yep, that's me. They call me Lo because I like to keep this,” she said, gesturing toward her tits, “on the down low.” She walked into the kitchen area, calm, casual, like it was nothing to have three hulking criminals in her personal space. Maybe it wasn't. “So,” she said, pouring cups of coffee, “what brings you here?”
“V,” I answered, taking the cup from her hands.
“That bitch?” she asked, rolling her eyes.
“You knew she was a bitch? How the fuck did everyone else know that but us?” Cash asked, shaking his head.
“Oh, honey,” she said, giving Cash a killer smile, “I know everything. Just like I know you have a cocaine kingpin up in your shed right as we speak. Like I know that same guy had half his men taken out the day before you nabbed him. Like I know you,” she said, turning to look at me, “had a woman staying at your house before taking her back to the compound. Care to fill in the missing pieces? It's been driving me nuts.”
I shared a look with Cash, then Wolf. Cash shrugged.
Wolf grunted. “Gone this far,” he said.
I guessed he was right.
“Alright, here's how it is. The guy in our shed is Richard Lyon who is married but estranged from his wife, Vanessa.”
“V,” she supplied.
“Yeah, V. The woman who was stayin' with me, she was their only kid. V wants control of Lyon's shipping containers to bring in new skin. Took the daughter to try to convince him. He wasn't giving in 'cause he thinks she needs someone to keep her in check. And that's his job. So he didn't give in no matter how much the girl got tortured. The girl got out, crashed a car. I found her. To her to my house. Then to the compound. Lyon took her from me. V took her from him. So here we are.”
“Quite the clusterfuck,” she said, sipping her coffee. “You men,” she said, smiling oddly. “Always making such a mess of situations.”
“The fuck were we supposed to do?” Cash asked, looking like he wanted to strangle her.
“For starters,” she went on, unphased. Probably because of the sheer amount of men on Hailstorm. She was likely used to testosterone driven outbursts. “You don't fall in love with the daughter of two of the biggest crime lords on the coast,” she said, turning her gaze to me.
The fuck?
No.
What.
The.
Fuck?
Fall in love with the daughter of two of the biggest crime lords on the coast?
Summer?
I wasn't in love with Summer.
“Oh, that's precious,” Lo said, laughing her tinkling laugh again. “You still haven't realized you love her yet, huh?”
Cash and Wolf's eyes turned to me.
Oh, fuck.
**
“Come on,” Summer pleaded, sticking out her bottom lip in an epic fucking pout.
“No,” I said for the third time.
“You know you want to,” she tried, throwing her leg over my waist and straddling me, wearing one of my old t-shirts, the neck pulled wide and exposing her shoulder. My hands went out, landing on the sides of her hips as I looked up at her. Her delicate face. Her soft red hair, bed messy. Her tiny body that had taken so much abuse. Her big gray eyes that had lost so much of their fear. “Reign...” she tried, her voice dipping low because she knew it drove me wild when she said my name.
I knifed up, sending her flying onto her back, my body crashing down on hers. “I said no, Summer,” I said, shaking my head.
She took a breath, looking away for a second. When she turned back, I didn't trust the look in her eyes. Then her eyes held mine as her teeth nipped into her lower lip. “For me?” she asked.
Fucking hell.
“For you?” I asked, looking down at her and she nodded.
There was a strange warm tightness in my chest as I realized that I would do it. I would probably do anything she asked.
“Fine,” I sighed, shaking my head at myself.
But then her face lit up and I forgot all about why I was supposed to be mad at myself for giving into her again.
**
“Oh, fuck,” I said, slamming down my coffee cup.
“You caught feelings,” Cash said, beaming at me.
“Good woman,” Wolf added.
Lo took a deep breath. “God, I'm a sucker for a good love story,” she said, shaking her head at herself. “So what do you need from me?”