Total pages in book: 165
Estimated words: 166103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 831(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 166103 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 831(@200wpm)___ 664(@250wpm)___ 554(@300wpm)
“Owen,” she whispered.
“The gang liked me because I was young and small but unafraid to get my hands dirty. I was being trained as a killer. I was surprisingly good at it.”
“Owen, no.”
He glanced down at her, almost as though he’d forgotten she was there. “Shit. I’m oversharing, aren’t I? Uh, my childhood was bad, then worse, then it got better. That’s what I should have said.”
“No. No, I want the truth from you, always.” Turning to him, she hugged him tight. “I’m so sorry.”
He hugged her back. “It’s all right. I might be dark and dangerous. But never to you. And my skills mean that I can protect you.”
“But you never got a childhood.”
“Did you?” he asked. “Judd was raised in the same neighborhood. He didn’t get pulled into one of the gangs, but only because he was a stubborn fuck. That’s how he managed to save me. He came back for me, dragged me out. We’d been friends since we were little, we even lived nextdoor to each other. Until my mom got kicked out of that apartment for not paying rent.”
“Oh, Owen.”
“We’ve all had bad stuff in our lives, baby girl.”
“I guess we do.” She took in a deep breath, then leaned back to look up at him. “Two days before my eighteenth birthday my mom was found dead in a park. The police think she was robbed and beaten. And less than a day later, I learned that she’d sold me to an MC gang in order to pay her gambling debt.”
“What the fuck? No. Baby girl, no.” This time his face was filled with horror.
“Jonathan saved me. That’s why I felt like I owed him so much. He was both my savior and my nightmare. On the one hand, he saved me. And on the other hand, he belittled and controlled me to the point where I barely knew how to think or act on my own.” She took in a shuddering breath.
“How exactly did Jonathan save you?”
She let out a small scream. Because the question hadn’t come from Owen, but from behind them.
Turning, she saw them.
Judd. Hux. Beck.
They were here.
50
They all looked wrecked. Hux’s eyes were glassy with tears. Beck was pale and ill-looking.
And Judd was frowning. But not angrily. He looked almost . . . confused.
“You guys . . . you’re here.”
Remember that you’re angry at them.
Her feelings were so confused, though. A mix of anger and guilt.
“About fucking time,” Owen snapped. “What took you so long?”
“Some of us couldn’t steal the Princes’ helicopter and fly out of the country illegally,” Judd snarled. “Some of us follow the rules.”
“And look where it gets you. Late to the party.”
“Not much of a party, though,” Hux whispered. “Little darlin’, I’m so sorry. I’m sorry for everything. I should have been pounding on the police station door to get to you as soon as I found out you’d been arrested. Are you all right? What can I do? Is there any way you can ever forgive me?”
Okay, so he was diving right in, huh?
“We’re so sorry, Freckles,” Beck said. “Especially me. I was in that room. You should have been my focus. Instead, I left you on the floor to help take Jonathan down.”
“It was your job. I understood.”
“I treated you harshly. I shouldn’t have. I regretted it as soon as everything was all over but I didn’t know what to believe. I should have, though. Ma would whack me with her rolling pin, and she’d be right to. Please, Freckles, forgive us?”
To her shock, Beck went down on his knees. Hux nodded and followed him.
“What are you doing?” she asked frantically. “Get up. The ground is filthy.”
“I’m going to stay on my knees until you forgive me,” Hux said stubbornly.
“Really?” she asked. “How will you get around?”
“Like this.” He shuffled on his knees, holding his arms out.
“Oh my God,” Judd muttered. “Have some dignity.”
All three men turned to glare at Judd. It seemed he wasn’t on board with the begging-for-forgiveness thing.
“Please, get up,” she whispered. “I forgive you.”
“No,” Beck said.
Her eyes widened as she turned to him.
“You shouldn’t forgive us so easily. Especially me and Judd. We don’t accept your forgiveness.”
Judd looked away, a muscle pulsing in his jaw. Did he not want to be here?
Sadness filled her. Because she didn’t want to pull them apart.
“Beck is right,” Hux added. “It doesn’t feel like we’ve earned your forgiveness, even if I do tear up the skin on my knees. We have to earn it. To prove to you that we mean it.”
“Please, get up,” she begged.
They didn’t move, so she dropped onto her knees. All of them reached for her, including Judd. But Hux reached her first.
“What are you doing?” Hux asked. “You don’t get on your knees for us.”
“I’ve been on my knees plenty,” she muttered.