Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Um. I started nodding. I had.
“Whoa. I’m sure hoping you’re Ghosts’ woman and not the one who’s shot, because, honey, you better start brainstorming your cover story because there’s no way you’re getting out of this one.”
A guy with dark hair, a face that could be on billboards, and wearing a Red Demons cut stood just around the corner. More guys came filtering in behind him, seeing us, and some whistled under their breaths.
Another guy stepped around, cursed, and pulled his phone out. “We need Doc. Now. Gunshot wound.” He scanned me. “Uh. I don’t know. There might be two.”
I shot her.
I couldn’t believe I shot her.
She was–Katie. This was for Katie.
OH–I shot Shelly and now they’d kill Katie.
The first guy strolled forward, cursing with a little more insistence. “Oh yeah. She’s about to lose it.”
I heard from the phone guy, “You might need a tranq. One looks ready to lose her shit.”
Yes. I started nodding, crying, and laughing all at once. I was so losing my shit, because I might’ve just killed two people.
I crumbled, falling to my knees and bent over. The blood was on the ground too.
It was caked to my hands. My arms.
The blood was on me. It was all on me.
“Yep. Totally losing her shit. Someone call Ghost.”
46
SHANE
She was the first person I saw.
I was trying to tell myself I could breathe easier, but there was no light breathing after this. But still. She was here. She was curled up in a ball, in a corner, with a blanket pulled around her. Her chin was propped up on her other arm and she was watching them as they were trying not to watch her back, to make her feel less uneasy.
The second I cleared the door, she saw me too and she took off running for me.
She launched herself in the air and I caught her. Her legs went around my hips. Her arms were hugging me fiercely, and her mouth was on mine. She was hungry, but I grunted, because holy–I was just as hungry right back. My dick was rock hard, sticking up into her ass.
I heard laughing from behind me, but flipped them off as I lifted my head a second. “Room?”
Roanoke had been approaching, but he was fighting back a grin and gestured to the hallway. “Down there. Third door on the left. It’s all yours for the night if you need it.”
I carried her right into it, but as soon as we cleared the door, Kali was off me. She jumped down, and shoved me back. Hard.
Once wasn’t enough, she did it again.
And again.
I barely moved, but I saw the tears and she just kept shoving at me until her hands weren’t leaving my chest and her head was down and her shoulders were shaking.
“Babe,” I whispered, my insides searing from the emotion pouring out of her now.
“You left me!” Her head tipped back, big fat tears streaming down her face, leaving trails but she backed up. Shaking her head. “You left me, and they took my friends. My sister. They could’ve taken you. They could’ve–you left me.”
“Kali.” Jesus, she was broken inside.
I did that. Me. Not her asshole ex.
I broke her.
Never again, I vowed.
Moving in, gently, cautiously, I reached for her and when she didn’t hit at me, or shove away, I pulled her into my arms. I needed to do this the right way. Everything had to be the right way from now on. “Kali, I am so sorry.”
She started to shake her head.
“I am.” My own voice broke. Damn. Damn! I had so much shit to make up for. “I thought you were safe, and I wanted to get your family back as soon as possible. I wanted to keep my guys alive. I wanted to–there’s so much shit I wanted to do and I messed it up, and it gave them an opening to get you. And they did. They got you.” On my watch. My watch.
Never.
Fucking.
Again.
“I’m sorry.”
“They didn’t get me. They almost got me.”
I suppressed a shudder.
I got the call. Roanoke told me how they found her, but she had to pull that trigger. She was in a situation where she needed to reach for a gun to pull the trigger.
I let my head fall to her shoulder.
She tensed at first, but relaxed. A hand came up, catching the back of my head and she held me back.
“They almost got you.”
She moved in closer, hugging me.
God. I needed her. I needed this touch. I needed everything about her.
“I love you.”
She was it for me. It was her or no one.
She had tensed, but I didn’t care. I said it again, “I love you.”
She leaned back, and I lifted my head up.
“No masks, Shane. Your rule.” She was searching me. “Are you sure?”
I nodded. “I love you more than my club.”