Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
“No, I just…” I glance at Chelsea who is still waiting for her introduction. “Guys, this is Chelsea. We work together.” She nods eagerly, looking at them like they're strippers who showed up for her bachelorette party. I fight the urge to growl at her for being so obvious when I know she’s only having fun. “This is Havoc. The big one’s Sledge, and the guy with the abs is Phoenix.”
“Nice to meet you all,” she says happily.
Havoc raises his eyebrow at me.
I shrug. “She wants a picture with you guys. Is that okay?” This whole thing has been worth it to see the shocked looks on their faces. I doubt they are used to getting requests. I cover my mouth so they don’t see me grinning.
Phoenix recovers first. “Abs guy, huh?” I haven’t quite figured him out. Sometimes he seems like the most serious of the three of them, but he hides it well. “Come on, Chelsea, let’s make this good.” He takes her hand, his dark eyes locked on mine, and pulls her to them in front of their bikes. He throws an arm over her shoulder.
I frown, not thrilled at seeing him cuddle up to my married co-worker.
Chelsea thrusts her phone out at me. “Take a bunch!”
Havoc and Sledge stand on either side, their arms crossed in front of their chests. They don’t say a word, but if there’s an expression that means “You owe us”, they are both wearing it. Chelsea smiles, thrusts out a hip and tilts her head. She raises one hand in a peace sign and strikes a few silly poses that the guys stoically go along with.
It feels like forever, but it really only takes a minute. She smiles at all of them and pats Havoc on the arm. “Thank you for being such good sports, boys.” Then she turns to me. “See you on Sunday? For the Jensen house?”
“Yeah, I’ll meet you there.” I watch her go, at least until someone clears his throat behind me. I turn around to see three grumpy bikers staring at me.
“You ghosted me. What's going on?” Sledge still has his arms crossed in front of him. His knuckles are healing but they’re red and cracked. I hate that he probably lied to me about how he got hurt. It wasn’t even a big lie, but we connected when he came by the house, and now it feels a little cheap. Like I don’t know what was real or not.
“Easy,” Havoc says in a low, commanding tone. “She doesn’t owe you shit. Shel, relax. We aren’t fucking stalking you or anything. Sledge said you talked about picking you up to go for a ride, and then you went radio silent. I tried calling last night and you didn’t answer, so we tracked down your schedule to make sure nothing happened.”
They were worried about me? I’m not used to anyone paying attention. “I’m fine. I promise.”
“Then what’s the deal?”
“I… I heard about what happened at that bar,” I blurt out.
Phoenix’s easygoing mask crumbles away, leaving a stony expression behind. Havoc nods, and Sledge rubs his hands. None of them ask what I’m talking about or deny anything. It might as well be an admission. They don’t look guilty, though. Annoyed that I found out maybe, but not guilty.
“You guys really were there, weren’t you?” I ask quietly. “Did you go in and beat a bunch of people up?”
“If you think you know, what’s the point in asking?” Phoenix answers. “It was club business.”
Even Havoc, who knows my history, doesn’t jump in to clarify or defend himself.
“Are you mad? Do you want things to go back to how they were?” Sledge asks. I don’t get the feeling that the others know what happened between us, so they might not completely understand what he’s asking.
“I—” My phone rings. It’s Mia’s sitter. “Sorry, I have to take this.” I take a step away and answer. “Hello? Is everything okay, Anna?”
“It’s fine, Shelby. I just wanted to let you know that Mia’s backpack is still here. It has Mr. Bear in it so I didn’t want you to worry. You can tell her I’m keeping him safe until you can pick him up.”
“What?” I whisper, the blood draining from my face. “What do you mean?”
She keeps talking like she didn’t just slice me in half. “It’s not a big deal. I’ll be home all night so you can come by whenever.”
“Anna, I don’t have Mia. I just got off work. I haven’t picked her up yet.”
There’s a long pause on the other end. “I—I’m sure everything’s fine. Let me check the log. I had a migraine earlier and Camila was handling things. She probably just marked the wrong pickup. Let me double check everything and I’ll call you back.”
“I’m on my way.” I hang up without waiting.