Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“But my car... I have work and...”
“It’ll be taken care of.”
“But why?” she pushed. “Why would you do that? Why would you help me? Do you want something from me? Are you going to do something to us?”
“I’ve been in a tight spot before.” I looked over at the kid in her arms, remembering how scared I was when my mother and I had to live on the streets. It was rough, and there were times I didn’t think we were going to make it. “Someone helped me and my mother out, and I’m just doing the same for you.”
“But I can’t pay you or anything like that.”
Her vulnerable tone got to me in a way I didn’t expect, and I had to collect myself before answering. I inhaled a deep breath, then said, “Didn’t ask you to. Just go get settled, and let Skid know if you need anything.”
Without saying anything more, I turned and walked back to the SUV. As soon as I was behind the wheel, I threw it into reverse and whipped out of the driveway. When we got back to the clubhouse, everyone was gathered in the conference room. Shep was on his laptop, searching for any news on the Assassins, while Prez and Memphis hovered over his shoulder.
There was no missing the concern in Prez’s voice when he asked, “Are we good?”
“It’s looking that way.” Shep continued to type away at his keyboard. “I just want to check a few more things.”
“Let me know if you find anything.” Prez stood, and the second he spotted me and Ghost, he walked over and asked, “Are you just now gettin’ back?”
“Yeah, we just rolled in.” I could tell by his expression that he was going to ask what held us up, so I added, “We ran into a complication over at Clayborn’s place.”
“What kind of complication?”
“There was a woman and kid there.”
“You get rid of them?”
“We took ‘em over to my place.”
I clenched my jaw, bracing myself for his response, and just as I expected, he was pissed. “You did what?”
“I had my reasons, Prez.”
“So, you know this chick?”
“Never laid eyes on her.”
His brows furrowed. “So, you know nothing about this girl.”
“I know those guys had roughed her up and had her scared out of her fucking mind.” I kept my tone steady and showed no emotion as I continued, “I know her car was a piece of shit and wouldn’t start, and I know she had no place to go and was planning to take her kid to one of the shelters in town. She’s got no money and nobody to turn to. A chick like her isn’t gonna have the means to cause trouble.”
“She’s a woman,” Prez scoffed. “She has plenty means.”
“I can handle her.”
“I certainly hope so. She’s at your place now?”
“Yeah, Skid is with her. He’ll watch over things until I can get back.”
“You sure he can handle that?”
“He’s come too far not to.”
“I know this hasn’t been easy on either of you. I know that firsthand, but it will be worth it in the end.”
I was just about to respond when my burner started ringing. I quickly reached into my pocket, and when I glanced down at the screen, I was surprised to see that the number had a Washington area code. Curious, I looked up at Prez and said, “I need to take this.”
“Go ahead. I’ll catch up with you later.”
I nodded, then stepped away and answered, “You got Grim.”
“Hey, man. It’s Rooster.”
“Hey, brother.”
His words were laced with apprehension as he asked, “I know you guys have a lot going on, but I was wondering if you’d seen or talked to Beckett today. I’ve been trying to call him but couldn’t get him to answer.”
“Yeah, well, there’s been a bit of a situation, and it’s left us all scrambling.”
“What kind of situation?”
“Beckett went after the guys who hurt Amy.”
“He did what?”
“Yeah, he just went barreling in there and got himself killed.”
“Damn, brother. That’s all kinds of fucked up. I knew he wanted his revenge, but I never dreamed he’d do something like that. You got any idea what Preacher’s gonna do?”
“We’re taking care of it.”
“Just say the word, and we’re there. We’ll help get these guys...”
“I appreciate it, brother, but we got it covered.”
Rooster was silent for a moment, then said, “I sure wish I’d gotten his message sooner.”
“What message?”
“It was a text he left on my personal, but with everything we’ve had going on I didn’t see it.” Rooster sounded broken up as he explained, “Looks like he sent it the night you guys got back... Told me he was done walking, but I doubt that’s gonna make much sense to you.”
“No, afraid not.”
“He was having a tough time, so I told him you gotta go through hell to get to the good stuff, and even though it’s hard, you gotta keep walking. I’d reminded him of that the day he left, and I hoped he would. Guess he just didn’t have it in him.”