Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 64751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64751 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
He glances at me as he stands in front of me, shrugging off his jacket as the afternoon grows warm. “I didn’t come from a rosy little family, golden eyes.”
“I didn’t think you did. What other reason would you have to join a motorcycle club if it weren’t for a bad life?”
He pauses, his eyes flashing as he looks over to me. “For a teacher who has studied and no doubt seen parts of the world, you’re very fuckin’ set in your black and white ways.”
“I am not,” I scoff, offended.
“You assume that to join a club, we must have had a bad fuckin’ life. Ever think we join because we want to?”
“Why?” I blurt, before thinking. “I mean, everyone I’ve met has been really great, but I still don’t understand why you would become a criminal ... for fun.”
“It’s more than fun,” he grinds out. “It’s family, loyalty, a brotherhood you couldn’t begin to understand. Those men would die for me, a million times over, without so much as a second thought. You got anyone in your life that would do that for you?”
My cheeks grow hot with a mixture of shame and sadness. I don’t have anyone in my life that would do that for me.
That’s a sobering thought.
It only pushes that emptiness in my soul out a little further, until it consumes just a touch more of me.
One day, there will be nowhere else for it to go, and I have to wonder what that day will bring for me.
“Didn’t fuckin’ think so. You need to get off your high horse. The man you married is a far bigger fuckin’ monster than anyone in my club, and he ain’t a criminal. Don’t fool yourself, Alexis, into thinking a title makes a person.”
I’ve made him angry, and if I’m being brutally honest, I’ve made myself angry too. When did I become so judgmental? At what point did I become better than anyone else? He’s right, I’m living with a man who has a good job, a stable home, and yet behind closed doors he’s the worst of them. Who am I to judge a club that I know nothing about?
“You’re right,” I say, softly. “I know nothing about your club, and I have no right to assume anything. I’m sorry.”
His angry glare softens a touch. “One day, I’ll show you what it’s really like to be part of my family. Until then, let’s keep goin’.”
I nod, fighting back the shame and frustration with myself.
Fury and I go over scenario after scenario, with him lunging at me from different angles, and, each time, I get a little better at grounding myself before swinging the gun in his direction. By the end of it, I’ve got the hang of it and have a whole lot more confidence that I might actually be able to do this if I need to. I hope that situation never comes up, but it makes me feel a little better knowing that if it does, I could handle it.
“Thank you for this,” I tell Fury, as he puts his gun away in his truck before shuffling around and coming out with another one.
He hands it to me.
I stare down at it, eyes wide.
“You didn’t think I was goin’ to teach you how to shoot a gun when you don’t have a gun to shoot?”
I mean, no, but ...
“Is this legal?” I breathe.
“Does it matter?”
I guess not.
I take the gun from his hands, running my fingers over the light silver barrel. It’s lighter than the one he taught me on, but something about holding it in my hand makes me feel like the strongest person in the world. I look up at him, and I hope he can see the appreciation in my eyes, because what he has done for me today ... There are no words.
“Thank you,” I say, my voice genuine and soft. “I know I probably don’t deserve what you’ve done for me today, but I do appreciate it.”
“I know,” he murmurs, handing me a little box to put the gun in. “Load it the same way I taught you. Keep it hidden. Do not, and I mean do-fuckin’-not put this anywhere he can find it. Not ever.”
I nod, bringing the box close to my chest.
The wind flicks my hair over my face, and before I can reach for it, Fury stretches an arm out and tucks it behind my ear, lingering there for a long, breathtaking moment. Hanging onto the air in my lungs, our eyes lock, and there is so much I want to do, but I know that I’d be foolish to ever consider doing it.
“Tell me what he has on you that keeps you so loyal.”
I bite my lower lip, heart jerking into a galloping beat. “What makes you think he has something on me?”