Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 357(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
I slugged back the drink and slammed the glass back down on the bar. “Won’t help,” I ground out. “Nothing but having her back will help.”
“We going to let him live once we get her back?” Gage asked. He was always so damn bloodthirsty.
“She’d never forgive me if we killed him. He’s safe. The whole fucking club is safe,” I said angrily. “Unless they touch her.”
My phone rang, and I jerked it up, seeing Levi’s name on the screen.
“Gina vanished,” he said. “Angel is at Garrett’s, but Gina isn’t.”
I was torn between vengeance and relief. I didn’t think I could forgive her enough to let her live, but, damn, she had been like a sister once. If she was gone, I didn’t have to make a choice.
“Then, she’s gone. No one looks for her,” I told him.
“You sure?” Levi asked.
“When Garrett finds out that she handed Madeline over, she’s dead. Unless she’s leaves and can become invisible,” I told him.
“Okay,” he replied. “I’ll be there in a few hours. Heading out to the plane now.”
I ended the call and put the phone down on the table.
“She ran,” Gage said simply.
I nodded.
“Cameras didn’t get anything?” he asked.
I hadn’t asked for details, but then I wasn’t positive that Levi hadn’t helped her. I’d never ask him. That ended here. It was done.
I shrugged. “Does it matter?”
I lifted my gaze to meet his. He understood my meaning.
Madeline thought Gina had had a reason to hand her over like she had, but no reason would be good enough.
Gina hadn’t been certain Madeline would be safe with Liam. I hadn’t even been fucking sure, and I’d been stalking the bastard for weeks. I’d had a plan. When I was positive that Liam meant her no harm, I would have been with her and had my men there, too, when she met the man who had played a hand in her existence. What Gina had chosen was unforgivable. She had known it, and she’d left before she paid for it.
Huck walked into the room with Chinese takeout he’d gone to get. “How much longer do we wait for Maddy to call before we move?”
“She didn’t give me a time. Just today,” I replied.
Huck walked over and put a box in front of me. “Kung pao. You need to eat,” he said, then went to the table with the rest.
“I need to fucking eat,” Gage informed him. “Did you get my General Tso’s?”
Huck shoved a box across the table. “I got your damn spring rolls, too, but I ate one on the way back and the other in the elevator.”
Gage scowled. “So, you ate them both?”
Huck nodded and sat down. “Sure did. Go get your own damn food.”
I looked down at the box and knew I had to eat. Especially if I wasn’t going to be able to sleep. When it was time to go get her, I didn’t need to be weak.
Twenty-Nine
Madeline
During breakfast, Brick had come in, followed by Tex. Then, Liam excused himself to go deal with some issue on set. From what Tex had told him, their most popular actress was angry with the guy she was supposed to have sex with. Although he was trying to filter his words, I was aware that my father’s club also produced porn, thanks to Amethyst. I hadn’t mentioned it though.
When Liam returned to the library, I had started to doze off on the sofa. Quickly, I sat up, ready to get some questions answered. He sighed and sank down onto the sofa across from mine. I wondered how much of this he enjoyed.
“Sorry about that,” he said with a half-smile.
“I imagine dealing with actresses of the nude variety can have a lot of drama,” I replied.
He let out a chuckle and rubbed his bearded chin. “That one didn’t get by you,” he said.
“Your club deals in sex. It’s better than drugs,” I replied honestly.
He nodded. “Yeah, I think so. There isn’t as much of the violence that comes with the other.”
“How did you meet my mother?” I asked him before another interruption could come in the door.
“Those damn horse races she loved so much. Not sure what all you’ve been told, but part of it, I imagine, was true.
“Her father, Eli, had pissed off someone in our organization and killed one of our men. I won’t get into details because truth is, neither side was right. My job was to find Etta, seduce her, and then take her. So, I went looking for her.”
He smiled then and shook his head. “Damn if she wasn’t the one to seduce me. I had been warned about her beauty. That was one reason I was chosen because, believe it or not, I was considered attractive. I didn’t struggle with the ladies. And my dad was the boss.”
I laughed then. He was still a handsome man, and I had no doubt he had been a head-turner when he was younger.