Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Arden slurped to give himself a few precious seconds to consider the right tactic so he could have his cake and eat it too. “Of course I wanna leave… at some point, but I’m scared to go back to Reno. I mean... he’s still out there, and I will know that whether he approaches me or not.”
Kaley glared at Mike. “And Mike can’t help with that? It’s the least he could do if you ask me.”
Arden shook his head in panic. “No, no, Mike has all this other stuff to do. I couldn’t possibly engage him in some crazy vendetta when he’s already given me so much—”
Kaley coughed. “Dick.”
“So much support,” Arden said through clenching teeth.
Mike exhaled and opened the popcorn bag Kaley had thrown his way earlier. He offered some to Arden first but started eating when Arden shook his head. “No, let’s go. We should have gone after him long ago.”
“But you were too busy fucking Arden,” Kaley said, and Mike clicked his fingers, eyes wide.
“Oh my God! You’re the girl with the pentagram pubes!”
Kaley’s face and neck turned a deep pink. “It was a star, you idiot!”
Mike wiggled his eyebrows. “Isn’t a pentagram a star?”
The stupid argument went on while Arden stood frozen in icy sweat. Once Luke had been dealt with, he’d have no more excuses to stay. Did Mike just want him gone already? Of course he did. They were so tender to one another, but Arden’s presence served as a constant reminder of what could never be. Maybe it really was time to rip off that Band-Aid.
Mike snapped his fingers at Arden. “Baby? You okay? You look pale.”
Kaley spread her arms. “Why are you still calling him pet names?”
“I… I just… What are we actually planning here? That you’ll kill Luke?” Arden choked out.
Mike went quiet, his gaze moving to the camera, but they both knew it didn’t register sound, so he spoke once he turned away from it. “I’ll do whatever you want me to do. Or whatever’s necessary so you can feel safe. I know you said you don’t want to get me in trouble, but I’ve lived and breathed trouble my entire life, I’ve got a good handle on it.”
For once, Kaley agreed, and her eyelids lowered. “Fucker deserves to die after laying his hands on you.”
“I guess there’s no point in putting it off…” Arden muttered, relieved at the sight of Teona, another young cousin in the extended Heller family. She was taking over the store for the next shift, which meant Arden could flee to his room for a moment and think.
Mike cleared his throat and nodded at Teona before glancing Arden’s way again, his face tense with determination. “I’ll change and fuel up the car. In case I need more room.”
If he needed to move the body, he meant. Arden was going to be sick from the stress of it all. Not because he felt sorry for Luke, but because this was the beginning of the end. The true end of their misguided love story.
Once Luke was gone, he could no longer lie to himself about needing to hide at the clubhouse. Mike would slip out of his life forever.
Mike shifted his weight and leaned in as if he were about to touch Arden, but ended up crossing his arms and taking a step back instead. “So… yeah, just chill. I’ll let you know when it’s done.”
Kaley pulled Arden into a hug. “And when it’s done, we’ll celebrate you coming home.”
Arden’s whole body tingled, and he almost gagged, overwhelmed with nausea. “Y-yes. Sounds like a plan… I need to change after work. And you know, rest. Maybe you could have some fun at the bar tonight?” He gave her his best puppy eyes, signaling that this was a depressing decision for him, and that he needed space. She got the point.
“You’re gonna take a long bath, aren’t you?” She ruffled his hair just as Mike disappeared from sight, triggering anxiety that Arden might lose him if he dragged his feet too much. “Fine. I’ll find out where Rain is. Call me once you’re up for socializing.”
“I like my bath bombs, okay?” he laughed, and the sound was surprisingly honest even though it wasn’t. “You can show me your new pole moves when I’m back.”
Arden’s heart beat like crazy, and he could hear nothing but its thudding in his ears as he walked through the storage room of the shop and toward the back door leading inside the compound. What could possibly stop Mike from going after Luke now that he’d made his decision with such ease? For Mike, scaring people into submission and beating them up wasn’t as big of a deal as to the average person. And maybe Arden was crazy, but it gave him a sense of safety no one could replicate.