Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 293(@300wpm)
“If you wanted us to have a second chance why did it take Lily getting run over to bring her back? Why didn’t she ask for Chloe to come back? Did you run her over?”
“What? Hell, no, I didn’t fucking run her over.” Eagle ran a hand down his face. “Fine, look, Lily and I, we wanted to make it work with no one knowing we were actually together. It was a secret.”
“What about Chloe?”
“Fine. Fine. We had thought about Chloe coming back home, and bringing the two of you together, but Lily had special demands first.”
“Such as?”
“She wanted her daughter to finish out her culinary school thing. Chloe was excelling, and all of her drive and focus was on that. Not on men. We figured it would give us time to see if you two were really serious about each other.”
“You waited?”
“Yes. Chloe was hurt by what happened. Lily told me until she left, she spent every single night crying herself to sleep, and she was torn apart.”
Alfie felt a pain strike him hard. “I never wanted to hurt her.”
“I know, son. We had to make this happen for all of us.”
“If you didn’t run her over to bring Chloe here, who did?”
“I’m still looking into that one.”
Alfie sighed. “Do you think it could be Kurt?”
“Why would he run Lily over?”
“I don’t know. She’s his ex-wife, and if he caught you two together, you don’t think he’s got the vindictive bone that would make him do some stupid shit?” Alfie asked.
“Nah, there’s no way Kurt would run Lily over. It’s not like him to do that.”
“It’s also not like him to take off the way he did. I’ve seen him around town a couple of times, but I never really thought about it. I think we should check him out. There’s no one else in town who would want to hurt her. Not even any of your ex-club whores as they’re still all in the club,” Alfie said. “He’s the only one I can think of who would be stupid enough to do it and cowardly enough to drive away as well.”
****
Two days later
Chloe stepped out of the car. She glanced across at Lily and Eagle as he helped her out of the back of the car and into the waiting wheelchair. She’d still not asked her mom, but Alfie had told her about his conversation with his dad.
She wanted her mother to be the one to tell her, but each day that passed, she figured her mother was waiting for the right moment, only, she didn’t know which time it would be.
“You’ve brought us to the clubhouse,” Chloe said.
At breakfast this morning—with Ian and Riley as they were permanent breakfast guests—Alfie had taken the application form for the diner and torn it up. She had no desire to work there, nor to open up a restaurant in an attempt to compete for business. The diner was part of Satan’s Croft, almost an institution in itself.
“This is for a real special occasion,” Alfie said.
He’d been so happy the past couple of days. She couldn’t exactly put her finger on the why of it, but she followed him as he flung his arm across her shoulders. There were several club whores hanging outside, smoking.
Chloe noticed the looks they threw Alfie’s way, but not once did he look in their direction.
“Those women want you,” she said, whispering against his ear.
Alfie laughed. “Babe, they want every single man. Their mission is to have the title of banging every single clubman they can. Some of them want to get the whole set.”
“Ew.”
“They’re going to be sadly upset. I’m not banging anyone.”
“That’s good to know.”
“Have you got your period yet?” Alfie asked.
She had warned him she was a couple days late. With the stress of her mother and coming home, she figured it was late because of that.
“No.”
“We need to get you a test.”
“Tests can lie.”
“We’ll take one test and then get it confirmed by the doctor.”
“You really think I’m pregnant?” she asked.
“I’m hoping for it.” He smiled. His lips brushing across her neck. “Aren’t you?”
“I don’t know.”
She allowed herself to possibly daydream of a small baby.
Alfie let her go, and she went to stand beside her mother. She gripped the wheelchair as Alfie and Eagle both opened a lock on the old warehouse. She’d never been here as a kid as it was always locked up. They pulled the stiff doors open, and she couldn’t help but admire the sheer bulge of Alfie’s muscles. The man worked out constantly. He had weights in the apartment, and she spent so much time simply drooling as he pumped them.
“What do you think?” Eagle asked, dusting his hands off.
He moved her out of the way, pushing her mother toward the door.
“What do I think of what?”
“The space?” Eagle entered the warehouse and flicked on a light.