Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 27058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 27058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
She was too young for him and didn’t know anything about motorcycle clubs. But that wasn’t going to stop Whiskey from claiming Ellery.
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
WHISKEY
“Zane Thomas?”
When I heard my real name, I glanced up from cleaning my tattoo gun and poked my head around the partition that separated my station from the others to give my clients privacy.
An older woman in a navy-blue pantsuit with a white button-down shirt stood next to the front desk, her eyes searching the room. Considering her boring outfit, her gray hair twisted in a thing at the back of her head, and the low, plain black heels on her feet, I doubted she’d come in for a tattoo. Then again…you never knew what people hid under their outward exterior. The prim and proper librarian in town had a garter belt tattooed on one thigh that Molly had done for her.
“I’m Zane Thomas,” I told the woman as I scooted my rolling stool back and stood. “People round here call me Whiskey.” Since I patched into the Iron Rogues MC, it was rare that anyone used my legal name except my parents.
“Hmmm,” she said in reply, so I had no idea what she was thinking.
“Can I help you with something?”
“My name is Jolene Harris. You have a sister named Lauren Donovan, is that correct?”
My eyes narrowed, and I prowled to the front of the shop. “What the hell does she want now?” I growled.
My older sister had burned all her bridges with our family a few years before. Lauren had gotten into drugs in high school, and though she would get help, she never stayed sober for long.
I was one of the highest sought-after tattoo artists in Tennessee and owned half of the club's tattoo parlor, Iron Inkworks. Plus, I got a cut from our…not so legitimate activities. So Lauren would come to me for money to get off the shit list of whomever she owed that day. Eventually, I accepted that I was just enabling her, but when I cut her off, she forged my mom’s signature and emptied my parents’ savings account.
Stealing from them was beyond my comprehension. My dad had a rare disease that had fused his spine together and caused him almost constant pain, so my mom spent her time caring for him.
I could take care of my parents financially, so I didn’t send the cops after her. However, I managed to get in touch with Lauren and warned her that if she ever came around again, I’d have her ass thrown in jail.
I couldn’t imagine what this woman had to do with my sister since she didn’t look like she belonged anywhere near Lauren’s world.
“I’m sorry to inform you that your sister passed away a few days ago,” Jolene informed me, her tone and expression sympathetic.
“Overdose?” I guessed. “Or did one of her dealers finally catch up with her?”
Jolene frowned and patted her hair, looking a little awkward. “Um…car accident. I didn’t ask for details. Anyway, I’m a case manager for family services in the town in Kentucky where your sister was living.”
Family services? I crossed my arms over my chest and stared her down, confused and fucking irritated to be dealing with this shit. Perhaps I should have felt some sadness that Lauren was gone, but I’d grieved for the sister I’d had as a child a long time ago.
“That would be my parents, not me,” I muttered.
“In normal circumstances, yes,” she agreed. “But they are unable to care for an infant.”
I blanched at her words. “A what?”
“Your sister—”
Jolene was interrupted by the cry of a baby coming from behind the front desk. Her face softened as she turned and bent down. When she straightened, she held a tiny baby in her arms.
“As I was saying. Your sister left behind a three-week-old daughter.” She closed the distance between us and held out the crying infant, clearly expecting me to take her. “No father was listed on the birth certificate, and you are her closest living relative, so you have custody of Corinne.”
I sputtered for a second, at a loss as to what to do. I didn’t know the first thing about babies. But Jolene nudged her against my chest, and my arms automatically unfolded, forming a cradle for her to set the baby in.
The little girl’s cries immediately softened to whimpers, and she stared up at me, blinking her whiskey-colored eyes. They were the exact color of mine…which was how I’d earned my road name. Corinne also had my same dark hair color and olive complexion.
Something in my chest cracked open, and I felt warmth spill out and curl around us. I remembered something I’d seen parents do and began to pace back and forth, hoping to quiet her.
“If you decide you don’t want to raise your niece, you can work with social services to have her adopted. However, I can tell you that she has been looked over by a doctor and is perfectly healthy. It appears Lauren stayed clean while pregnant.”