Total pages in book: 31
Estimated words: 28319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28319 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 142(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
It had been less than a day, so I was surprised to hear from him so soon.
“Kane,” I answered once I’d stepped into the hallway.
“We got seriously fucking lucky. You need to head out now.”
“Where?”
“At their fucking house.” Kane sounded almost gleeful. Well, as much as a guy like Kane could.
“I’ll be there in twenty.”
I shoved my phone in my pocket and walked back over to where Blakely sat on a stool at the bar, chatting with a couple of old ladies.
“Baby.” I turned the stool so she was facing me, and when she smiled, my heart skipped a beat. “Gotta go for a bit.”
“I’ll come with you,” she chirped. But I grabbed her waist to keep her still before she could jump down off the stool.
“Need you to stay here where I know you’re safe. Viper is gonna be here with you.”
Blakely’s pretty mouth turned down into a frown. “Are you going to do something dangerous?”
I didn’t want her to even think about those people any more, even if it was to know their lives would be miserable from this day forward. So I put it in the “club business” category and evaded her question. “Just doing a favor for a friend.”
“That didn’t answer my question, Storm,” she snapped.
My eyes narrowed, and my grip on her tightened. I was about to correct her but stopped when a thought hit me, and I smiled instead. She huffed at my expression, but I wasn’t about to tell her my discovery. If she always called me Storm when she was irritated or pissed at me, it gave me an edge. And I knew she was gonna be a handful, so I’d take any advantage I could get.
“You’re right. It didn’t. But you grew up in this life, baby. You know there are always going to be some things I can’t tell you.”
Her muscles relaxed a little, and she nodded. “Yeah. I do know that. I just…I just want you to be safe.”
I cupped her face and spoke in a solemn tone. “There is no way in hell that I will let anything take me away from you, Blakely.”
She stared into my eyes for a few moments, then sighed. “Okay. But I reserve the right to kick your butt if you get hurt.”
I tossed my head back and let out a deep laugh. “Fuck, you’re adorable.” She huffed, and I gave her a quick kiss. “You can try.”
I kissed her again, then jogged up to our room to grab my keys and wallet. She and Viper were both standing by the door when I came down. He jerked his head toward the exit, then walked out, leaving me relatively alone with Blakely. I yanked her into my arms and kissed the fuck out of her. “Hopefully, I’ll only be gone for a couple of hours.”
“Okay,” she whispered, still looking a little dazed. I turned her around and patted her ass to get her going, then walked out into the parking lot.
“Kane called?” he asked.
“Apparently, shit is happening now. I need you to stay with Blakely in case things go sideways.”
“And because you don’t like her being here alone with the men.”
I shrugged unrepentantly. “That too.”
He grinned and shook his head. “Going soft, just like Prez.”
I scoffed as I climbed onto my bike. “First of all, say that again in front of him. But make sure I’m there to watch him kick your ass. Or put a bullet in your head. Second, love doesn’t make you soft. It makes you whole, which means you’re stronger.”
Viper snorted and turned around to walk back to the door. “I’ll take your word for it. I’d rather not test that theory on myself.”
Smiling, I started my bike and pulled out of the parking lot. The day Viper met his woman would be real fucking interesting. I looked forward to saying, “I told you so.”
Kane and Tatum were waiting for me a couple of blocks down from the home of Blakely’s former foster parents. When I pulled up beside them and cut the engine, Kane didn’t waste time filling me in.
“We planted the drugs this morning, and I had a guy on the little shit to make sure he didn’t surprise us.”
“He surprised us alright,” Tatum drawled, his mouth curved into a smirk.
“What?” I was confused.
Kane tossed Tatum a dark look that told him to shut the hell up before he continued. “After what happened with Blakely, I had a feeling that wasn’t the first time he’d gone after a younger woman, but it wasn’t something we could prove without more time and surveillance.”
“I had the same thought,” I agreed. Which was why we’d decided to go with planting drugs and had paid a local dealer to finger Bryan as his supplier.
“Torin contacted me right before I called you. Seems Bryan couldn’t keep it in his pants any longer.”