Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 126840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
I wasn’t breathing.
Because, like I knew she was going to do while I listened to her taking aim, she pulled the trigger.
“And Hardcore,” she finished.
And the bullet tore through me.
She lifted a hand with finger pointed my way and wagged it at me.
“That’s your man. That’s your man’s club.” She settled back, getting into her story. “I mean, Resurrection, girl? Woo, they…are…busy. Mercenary shit, goddamn. Bad…fucking…ass. Who knows what bitches with big mouths, or any bitch who’s earned a smackdown, has gotten from those boys? It’s impressive. I mean, the One Percenters are some scary dudes, but even some of those clubs are terrified of the Angels of Death. All that justice, clan, honor shit?” She shook her head. “The words they don’t ink into their skin are ‘no mercy’.”
Another finger wag.
And then she continued to flay me.
“You doubt me, you ask Rosalie. She’s with a Chaos brother now. Those clubs mingle, because those MC boys don’t put much stock into what their women think, but I bet she doesn’t show at those hog roasts when Resurrection is around.”
Oh my God.
Rosalie was Rosie. I didn’t know her last name. She was married to Snapper, one of Jagger’s Chaos brothers.
While I grappled with this revelation, and visions of that pretty, sweet woman beat bloody, Eleanor sat forward, and her expression turned pure evil.
“No, ask your sis. Archie. She’s Chaos now. I bet she knows all the lore. She’ll tell you. None of those Chaos bitches are down with the alliance between Chaos and Resurrection. They know. Their men just don’t give a shit.”
“Are you done?” I asked, my voice tight.
“Does your daddy know you’re fucking a biker?”
“Dad and I don’t talk anymore.”
She nodded like she got me. “I shoulda done that. Woulda saved a lotta headache. Didn’t. But whatever. Still, beware. You ever change your mind, knowing you’re biker snatch now, nothing will ever change his.”
“Okay, I don’t care if you’re done. I am. Can you please leave?”
“No, baby,” she cooed. “One more thing. You ask around. You sit with your sis Archie. You ask her to tell you the story of poor old Benito Valenzuela. You ask her to share how Resurrection hounded that man until he lost everything. Until he was selling his own ass just to feed himself. Played with him so much for so long, he stopped being able to deal. Took his own life. But Resurrection, they don’t always play with their mice that way. Sometimes they just need to get done so they”—she faked shooting a gun—“take care of business.”
She then shot me a look that chilled me to the bone.
“But your girl got into some trouble, so you know that already, don’t you, sweetie? You know what Resurrection is about. You know who you’re fucking.”
I said nothing.
She waited.
I remained silent.
She waited more.
“I guess we’re done now,” she decided.
“’Bye,” I said shortly.
She smiled a smile spiked with malice, rose from my chair and looked down at me.
Her parting shot?
“Never knew how fun it was, visiting with family.”
I didn’t take my eyes from her as she strutted out.
I made sure she disappeared then I waited to make sure she didn’t come back.
Only then did I snatch up my phone.
I didn’t call Archie.
I called Jagger.
“Hey, what’s up? Everything okay?” he sounded friendly but uncertain, and with reason.
I’d texted him in the past, but I’d never phoned.
“Did the Resurrection Motorcycle Club beat up Rosie?” I asked.
Utter, complete silence.
Oh my God.
Until then, I didn’t believe Eleanor.
Or, I didn’t want to believe.
It didn’t make sense. It didn’t fit who Core was. Or Beck. Web. Spartan.
Maybe Eight, he was edgy, still, he was mostly cool so it would be a push.
But it definitely, definitely didn’t fit Core.
Now, I knew she spoke truth.
And it was then I remembered Core’s words from months ago, when we first met, before we were us, when he first told me about the Angels of Death business, when he spoke about the dark path his club was on.
And then later, at his house, when he’d shared more.
Brother business is brother business, sweetheart.
They never open their mouths, not ever to anyone, even other brothers, about the club business they know.
Oh my God.
So this was how it felt to bleed internally.
“Listen,” Jagger said urgently. “I’m going to call Dutch. And Rush. Where are you? They need to talk to you.”
Archie owned her own store. Archie owned the whole building. It had apartments, so she was also a landlord. Archie was relatively newly married and setting up a life with her husband. And Archie was like Li, she worked to live. She traveled a lot. She took long weekends. She’d go up into the mountains on a whim. And now, Jagger went with her.
I’d never been tight with Archie, but I liked her. We’d been getting closer of late. That said, it honestly wasn’t an unusual thing that months went by when I didn’t see her, the same with us being in contact, because obviously, I was busy and had a life too.