Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61868 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“Is this the dude Skye is married to? West couldn’t shake the name once she had said it, and when we saw this, we realized.”
I give Finn a grim nod. “Yep. That scum bag is rotten to his core.”
“Are we at risk, Jack?” Finn’s expression is concerned, but West looks like he’s preparing for battle, veins bulging in his neck and the tattoos on his bare arms depicting signs of a soul ready to torture for what he wants.
“Put it this way, some of his men make us look like saints. But I reckon that if pushed, they’d regret ever laying eyes on us!”
“So, what are we gonna do about it? What are you saying?” Finn’s eyes are questioning.
Finding Carter Reynolds and helping Skye reunite with her daughter, Hallie, is something we need to consider.
West rubs the back of his neck. “So we’re gonna get this motherfucker then, Jack?” He says it like it is.
Carter Reynolds poses a threat to us all. To Skye for having the courage to break away and possibly take what he thinks is his, and us, for standing by her side.
He’s a direct threat to someone who belongs to us now.
And he’s holding in his possession someone else that we want: Hallie.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, West. And this is how it’s going to happen…”
We spend the next hour reviewing our ideas, each of us pointing out pitfalls and risks. Between us, we bring all that is needed: strategy, tactical solutions, brute strength, a willingness to succeed, and a drive to protect what is ours.
And by the time Skye has surfaced from whatever kind of rest she found, we’ve shaped the beginnings of a plan.
Carter, son-of-a-bitch Reynolds, will regret the day he was born.
I’m going to make sure of that, personally.
15
WEST
UNDER THE COVER OF DARKNESS
The bar that Carter Reynolds operates his bottom-feeding criminal empire from is a dive. In our truck, Finn observes the door through a pair of binoculars. I keep a watch on people coming and going, taking the occasional photo. My right arm is stiff from work. Mondays are usually the worst, like my muscles adapt to rest over the weekend and object when they’re asked to labor again.
Jack’s idea was to stake out the place for a night to gauge the kind of threat we might be dealing with. I take pictures and send them to Jack to see if he can identify anyone. We’re yet to see Carter himself, but the night is young.
Jack stayed at the lodge with Skye because there’s a chance he’ll get recognized from his days as a cop. Criminals have long memories, and none of us want Carter spooked before we can deal with him and get Hallie back.
“This place is a cesspit,” Finn says. “Look at this goon.”
A colossal man lumbers from the door, his belly so broad, he can barely fit through the doorway. His head seems so tiny compared to his body, like a grape resting on a melon. He shuffles, pulling his phone from his pocket and bringing it to his ear. Not for the first time, I consider law enforcement to be an interesting career, at least some of the time. I couldn’t do it, though. I’ve become addicted to the forest and working with my hands. If my body isn’t sore by the end of the day, I feel like I haven’t done enough. The donuts could be cool, though.
“I can’t imagine Skye in this world.”
Finn nods in agreement, leaning closer to the window as a woman exits behind the goon. “She’s too gentle,” he says. “Too sweet for this life.”
The woman is wearing a leather skirt, high-heeled ankle boots, and a tube top that barely holds anything in place. She struts like she’s walking the hooker catwalk. “That woman belongs here.” I tut as she drapes herself over a man who just got out of a huge black SUV. He shoves his hand up her skirt and palms her tit in full view of everyone.
“Maybe,” Finn says, lowering the binoculars and facing me. “Or maybe she’s been forced into this life and is playing along so she doesn’t get hurt. Isn’t that what Skye must have done before she left.”
The idea of Skye acting for self-preservation is like a knife to the gut, especially if she had to sell her body.
You bought her body, I remind myself.
But it’s different. We never wanted to hurt Skye. It was always a simple money-for-service exchange. And we always intended to provide her with somewhere safe to live and maybe more if she wanted it. Somewhere she wouldn’t mind being, even if she did have to work.
We’re not the kind of men to ever use a woman without giving her pleasure too. That has to count for something.
“There’s no way we’re going to see the baby here,” Finn says, refocusing on the door.