Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
“Is this all there was?”
“No.” Prez picked up a piece of paper and offered it to Memphis. “It says, ‘You’re lucky it was just his hand. Cross us again, and it will be your heads.’”
“So, he’s still alive?”
“It’s hard to know for sure,” Prez answered. “But there’s a chance.”
Goose grimaced as he asked, “Anyone else feel like they need to sleep with the light on, ‘cause I certainly do.”
“Yeah, this is pretty fucked up.” I shook my head. “I’m sorry the guy lost his hand and all, but I’ve heard of these guys doing a whole lot worse for a whole lot less.”
“No doubt.”
“What the hell am I supposed to tell Antonia?”
“Nothing,” Prez answered. “We don’t know anything more than we did when you walked in here, so just leave it.”
“The not knowing is killing her.”
“I get that, but this isn’t going to be the thing that sets her mind at ease.”
“So, what happens now?”
“We pray this is the end of it. The last thing we need is a fucking war with these guys, but we need to be prepared in case there’s more to come.” Prez looked out at all the brothers as he ordered, “Stay alert. Stay vigilant. Don’t take any unnecessary risks.”
Prez slammed the gavel on the table and dismissed the meeting. We all dispersed, but the gruesome image of Carmine’s hand would stick with us for days to come.
Whitney
“Where’s Ghost tonight?”
“He has a shift at the Vault tonight.”
“Oh.” Kay pressed her lips together, then asked, “Has he taken you there before?”
“No, not yet, but I’m sure he will at some point.”
“Mmmm.”
“It’s fine,” I assured her. “I’ve been to one before. Several times, in fact.”
“Oh, really?”
“I was much younger, and I was with several of my girlfriends.” I laughed as I told her, “We did all kinds of crazy things back then.”
It was nice having her here. With everything going on lately, we hadn’t had much time to sit and talk. Kay leaned back in her chair, and a playful smile tugged at her lips. “I had a few wild nights like that myself.”
“Oh yeah? Do tell.”
“No, I think that’s a story for another day.”
“Okay.” I adored Bridget, and I thought Jenna and Antonia were great. But there was something about Kay that I just loved. She was older and had this motherly way about her, but she wasn’t pretentious. She was just herself, and I loved talking to her. “Then, how about you tell me more about you and Preacher?”
“I was wondering when you’d ask about him.”
I giggled as I told her, “I was trying to be patient.”
“Hmmm, I don’t even know where to start.” She took a sip of her sweet tea, then continued, “First, you should know that Preacher wasn’t always the hard ass everyone sees now. Back when we were together, he had a romantic side. Not that you’d ever catch him admitting it.”
“No way.”
“Yes, way.” Kay let out a soft laugh, shaking her head. “He used to do these little things that most people wouldn’t notice, but they meant everything to me.”
“Like what?”
“Well, there was this one time when we were out for a ride. It was just the two of us, and he took me to this little diner downtown. We grabbed a bite to eat, and when we were done, he handed me this little box with a ribbon wrapped around it. He didn’t say a word. He just handed it to me.”
“What was in it?”
“The key to his house.” She smiled. “He didn’t want to make a big deal of it, but that’s when I knew he really wanted something with me.”
“Aw, that’s so sweet.”
She barely had a chance to catch her breath before she jumped into another story and then another. I loved hearing them all, but the last one got to me the most. And I could tell it was Kay’s favorite, too. “He didn’t do the whole flowers and chocolate thing. He’d made sure I knew that early on, so I was surprised when I woke up on Valentine’s Day and found a note on my pillow. All it said was, ‘Meet me at the garage at nine.’”
“And did you?”
“Of course I did.” She giggled. “And when I got there, he had his bike parked out front, and he had tied a small picnic basket to the back. He took us out to this secluded spot by the lake, and we just spent the better part of the day there. It wasn’t anything fancy. Just the two of us, sitting by the water. It was simple, but it was everything.”
It was hard to imagine the man who always seemed so intense and no-nonsense being such a romantic. It clearly meant a great deal to Kay, so I had to ask, “Don’t you miss it?”
“More than I care to admit.”