Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 118333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 118333 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 592(@200wpm)___ 473(@250wpm)___ 394(@300wpm)
I knocked back my coffee and was about to get up and get the fuck home, when Tank crashed through the door. “He’s fucking gone!” he shouted. Tank waved a piece of paper in his hands. He slammed it down on the table. I saw scribble on the paper, but Tank made it so I didn’t need to read it to know who it was from. “He’s fucking gone after her.”
Tank kicked the spare desk chair across the room, the wood splintering against the wall. “He fucking tried to explain it to us all. He fucking stood before us all, and then Wrox and his dickheads came at us, and made it so he couldn’t. Tanner must have slipped out while we were all dealing with the fallout.” Tank’s hands smashed down on the table top. “He’s gone to Mexico. On his own. With the Klan and cartel after his blood.” He grabbed the paper. “This? It’s a fucking suicide note. The brother knows he ain’t coming back. He knows they both want him.” Tank shook his head. “He’s gone so they won’t come after the club. Just like Adelita did. They’ve both gone back, and they’ll both be killed. And what did we do? We fucking ignored him and focused on Ash killing Hick.” Tank pointed at both me and Ky. “When it was your old ladies, we fucking armored up and brought hell to that cult. We didn’t hesitate. But Tanner . . . brother went in alone because we didn’t have his fucking back when it counted.” He stood upright and folded his arms across his chest. “So, what the fuck we gonna do about it? Because we better be fucking doing something. He ain’t the reason we went to war. Despite what he thinks, it goes beyond his involvement.”
Tank glared at Ky. “You wanted war because of Sia. AK wanted war because of what happened to Phebe and Saffie. Ash killed Hick because of what the cartel did to him, Zane, and Slash. Smiler wants blood spilled for Slash.” Tank dropped down to a seat next to me and Ky. “So, we’re all going in. I don’t give a shit if it’s just our chapter. But that guy is the best fucking friend I ever had, and he’s a true Hangman. I ain’t taking no for a fucking answer.”
Tank met my eyes, and I could see the challenge in his gaze for me to argue back. It just pissed me the fuck off. I was getting real fucking done with brothers in my club thinking they could talk to me however the fuck they wanted.
I lifted my hands to give him a fucking reality check, when a knock came at the door. I tipped my head back and signed, “This day is never-fucking-ending!”
Mae stepped through. Her face was white. I shot to my feet in a second. Ky and Tank did too. “What?” I signed.
Mae’s wolf eyes were huge. She walked forward, and my fucking heart started slamming in my chest. “What’s wrong? Where’s Charon?”
“He is safe. He is with Bella,” she said, and my stomach picked the fuck back up.
“Then what?” Had there been an attack? Was someone missing?
“You need to read this.” Mae held up my mother’s journal.
I shook my head. “Mae, not the fuck now—” I signed, but she cut me off.
“Styx! You must read this. Now.”
I saw Ky frowning, wondering what the hell was going on, curious as to why Mae was suddenly shouting when she never fucking raised her voice. I hadn’t told anyone I’d been reading it. Not even Mae . . . though apparently she knew. Bitch always read me better than anyone else.
“Adelita . . .” Mae whispered and shook her head, clutching the journal to her chest. Her eyes filled with tears. “It is Adelita, Styx.” I didn’t know why, but at Mae’s tone, my pulse started firing like a damn cannon. My eyes dropped to the journal in Mae’s hands. “It’s her . . .” Mae said, as a tear fell down her cheek. And then I knew. I knew what she was fucking saying.
I didn’t know what the fuck came over me. Some kind of deep-level rage that I’d never felt before. Some damn inherited promise to my mother came barreling into my fucking gut. But I looked at Ky and lifted my hands. “Get everyone the fuck here. NOW! I’m calling church.”
“What the fuck’s going on?” Ky asked. Tank looked just as confused.
“Call fucking church!”
Ky and Tank left the office, and I took hold of Mae’s arm, slamming her to my chest. I wrapped my arms around her and kissed her head. “You have to save her, Styx. You need to bring her back home.”
“T-Tanner’s gone too. G-Gone after her.”
Mae pulled back and placed her hand on my cheek. “No . . .” she whispered. Her face changed from sad to fucking determined.