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)
She ignored his gaze. As he went inside, I saw her cheeks had flushed, and I started chuckling.
“Shut up.”
I laughed.
“Shut up!” she hissed, smacking my arm.
I laughed harder.
“You’re such a bitch.”
“Karma,” I said quietly. “Kar-ma. It’s a thing. Trust and believe, sister. Trust and believe.”
“I hate you.” She slumped down in her chair.
We heard male voices, and Machete returned with another guy. He was younger. I recognized him as being with Shane earlier. He gave us a nod before he took the empty seat on my other side.
“Up, woman.” Machete stopped before Claudia.
She stood.
He sat down, hooking an arm around her waist and pulling her to sit on his lap.
I was glued to this scene. The main house could’ve exploded, and I wouldn’t have stopped watching.
My sister was enamored with him.
They shared a look, holding a moment, before she ducked her head. Her mouth curved up in a faint smile, and her cheeks pinked again. She moved in, settling against his chest, and I swear, she looked so comfortable she could’ve fallen asleep.
“I’m Stripes,” came a voice behind me.
I had to force myself to look away. The guy on my other side was holding up his beer. We’d met before, but it didn’t hurt for another introduction.
I gave him a small smile, clinking his beer with mine. “Kali.”
He nodded and sat back.
Stripes seemed content to drink and watch the party. Machete was the same. Claudia was quiet, seemingly content to rest in Machete’s lap.
I was speechless.
There was nothing else to say.
25
SHANE
We rode in late, but the guys were all still up and raging. We could see the bonfire from five miles out, and when we drove in, they all made room. I saw Stripes heading our way, but Crow came first. His sergeant at arms was with him, and another guy.
“How’d it go?” Crow asked.
I skimmed over the group, seeing Machete coming up behind Stripes.
Boise stepped up next to me, and I felt the rest of the guys who’d gone with us gather behind me.
I nodded to them, indicating they could take off. They dispersed, but Boise stayed.
Crow gave him a hard look, but Boise didn’t react. He never did.
“We kept pace with them. Followed them past Lancaster,” I reported.
Crow nodded. “You think they’re crossing tonight?”
I shook my head. “Don’t know, but they took off after the roast.”
“Who’s with them?”
“Couple of mine.”
Crow’s eyes sharpened. “They good? They’ll be safe?”
I nodded. “They’re good. Special forces. They won’t get caught.”
Crow’s shoulders relaxed a bit. “Good. Uh, I’d like to have a conversation with you later, at some point.”
That meant: alone, no one else around, and come find me for it.
“Sounds good.”
He was nodding again, and seemed a lot looser. The tension had left him. He waved a hand around. “Everyone’s partying. We can talk tomorrow at some point. You and your guys should let loose. Looks like we dodged the cartel for now.”
That meant the plan was the same. We’d pull out, but in the coordinated way we’d decided.
Boise was on his phone. “Heckler’s calling you,” he said as he put it away.
My phone lit up, and I gave Crow a nod. “I need to take this.”
“Relax for the night, guys. See you in the morning.”
I answered, but didn’t move away. Something about Crow’s easy acceptance didn’t sit right with me. I spoke into the phone, “I’m here. One second.”
“Got it.”
I nodded toward Crow before facing Stripes. “You’re good at blending. Watch him all night.”
Stripes didn’t blink or react. He nodded once and moved in the direction Crow had just gone.
I glanced back once, seeing Crow on the house’s front porch. There was a girl in his arms, so he wasn’t talking business yet. Stripes stooped, grabbed a drink, and pulled out a packet of smokes.
“You’re giving him a lot of assignments,” Boise noted.
Heckler was still on the phone, but I turned to him. “He’s been following everyone. He was resourceful in prison, I heard.”
“In and out of prison.”
Yeah.
“He’s still considered a nomad, isn’t he?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Max sent him with me on this trip for a reason.”
“He seems to be working out.”
“We’ll see. He might want to go to Florida.”
“You want me to feel him out?”
That meant Boise would hang out with him, get to know him, ask him the personal questions a national VP might not get the real answers to.
I nodded, giving Boise the go-ahead.
He took off, but headed toward the barn, glancing at Stripes a few times before merging with the crowd around the bonfire.
Machete was up next. “Sisters are together, outside the barn.”
He took off, going right back in the same direction as Boise.
So Claudia had found Kali. I finally spoke into the phone, “How’s Max?”
“He’s going to pull through, and we found who did it.”
I frowned. That got my attention real quick. He hadn’t led with that when I answered. “Who?”