Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 527(@200wpm)___ 422(@250wpm)___ 351(@300wpm)
Read Online Books/Novels: | Highway Don't Care (Freebirds #2) |
|---|---|
Author/Writer of Book/Novel: | Lani Lynn Vale |
| Language: | English |
Her Snark. Jokes. Attitude. These were all things I used to disguise the hole in my heart. I'm not a happy person. I don't live life. I just exist. That is until that beautiful man rides in on his Harley Fat Boy and burns rubber on the way into my heart. Him My life's been no hayride either. Everyone I've ever loved in life has died or betrayed me. So I stay back and watch. Unless you're one of my brothers, you get nothing from me. I don't participate. I ride. I eat. I sleep. I work. And I repeat. That is until Ember stomps into my life with her bad attitude. She's all piss and vinegar, and makes me want to share my bike seat for the first time. Together They fight like cats and dogs. Don't see eye to eye on a single thing. They rant, rave, and yell. They bring out the best in each other. They heal each other's hearts and souls. They find what they were missing, even the things they never even knew they had. Everything is perfect. If you didn't count a gang, one of the biggest in the South, gunning for Ember. That, or the pure evilness that is Gabe's ex-girlfriend. Gabe will have to put his life on the line to save the one woman he loves, but will it be enough? | |
| Books in Series: | Freebirds Series by Lani Lynn Vale |
| Books by Author: | Lani Lynn Vale Books |
Chapter 1
Sometimes you will never know the value of a moment until it becomes a memory.
-Dr. Seuss
Ember
Today had been a long day. It was the first day of two-a-day practices for the football team. I treated over fifteen kids for minor injuries they sustained during practice, and one major who suffered a concussion. The player was suffering from confusion and was transported to the local ER. My ass is officially dragging.
I loved being an athletic trainer. Since tearing three ligaments in my knee and being unable to go on my full ride volleyball scholarship to A&M, I’ve put every waking hour into keeping the athletes healthy, or getting back in fighting form.
My phone buzzed in my pocket and my heart soared, but then quickly deflated after I glanced at the screen.
Damn. It was Maximilian. My brother. Not that I didn't love and cherish him, but he just wasn't the one I wanted to hear from right now.
I wanted to hear from Gabriel. My heart longed to hear his voice, his husky laugh, his annoying tapping that he did incessantly, and hell, even the sound of him breathing.
Me being me, I’d thrown a bitch fit of all bitch fits and we haven’t spoken to each other in nearly a week. Every time the phone rings, I get my hopes up, only to have them come crashing down again when he isn't the one on the phone.
I hit ignore on the screen and shoved the phone back into the front of my shirt. My usual spot for my phone is in between the strap of my sports bra and the skin of my chest; I find that it holds in place great, even when I’m running. Since I’m in some sort of athletic type apparel nearly ninety percent of the time, I had to improvise on where to put things. Like putting my phone in my bra. I drew the line at storing money there. I’m sure the cashier taking my money wouldn’t think too highly of me if I started pulling out bills from my cleavage.
Cheyenne thought this was hilarious. She said I looked stupid because the phone was bigger than my boobs, but I took it in stride. I knew I had no boobs to speak of, but my ass more than made up for the lack of boobs. If I could transplant some ass fat into my boobs, I would be batting a thousand.
Cheyenne was my best friend in the whole wide world. She was my lesbian lover when an ugly guy hit on me during our nights out. She was the cheese to my macaroni. The ketchup to my scrambled eggs. She is the best friend that picked me up at the airport after a weeklong trip to England with a sign that said, “Welcome home, loser.” She was the perfect best friend; I wouldn’t trade her for the world. Except maybe for a night in Thor’s bed.
After rounding the corner, I noticed the flood light that normally blinded me when turning the corner was out. A wave of fear ran through me, but I pushed it back. Grow a pair Tremaine. However, I did pull my phone out, clicked the green phone app on the screen, and went to the keypad just in case.
I continued to walk and could see my car when it happened. A scuff of rocks on the sole of a shoe was the only warning I had before someone tackled me to the ground. Hard. My face smashed into the gravel, and I tasted dirt on my tongue.
The breath left my body in a whoosh. My head smacked against the asphalt with a sickening thud, and gravel bit into my arms and hands. Feeling seemed to come back all at once and pain burst through me. Everything hurt. My head, neck, arms, hands, pelvis, and knees.
The body that tackled me straddled my back pushing my face further into the gravel as he leaned down and put his mouth near my ear. His breath smelled like garlic and made me want to throw up. Bile came up my throat, and I clenched my eyes tightly shut.
"You shouldn't walk alone at night. Someone could really hurt you.” The man said.
The breath stalled in my lungs and all I could get out was a small whimper.
The man’s legs and one arm held me tight as he snuck his hand down between us. "Nothing to say bitch? No matter. I don't want you to talk anyway.”
I heard his belt buckle clink as he released it, and then the rasp of a zipper as it he pulled it down.
Fear blasted through me and I clenched my hands, clenching my eyes shut in denial. As I tightened my hand, it reminded me that I still had my phone. A shot of adrenaline coursed through my veins; I was amazed I was able to hang on to it through the struggle.
Doing some quick thinking, I held the button on the side of the phone and said, “Gabriel.”
Fetid breath invaded my nostrils, and my stomach revolted once again. "Isn't that an angel? I'm no angel bitch.”
"P-please don't h-hurt me. P-please.” I said to him. “I can go back in to the gym and get you some money. Or we can get in my car and I can take you to the ATM and get cash out for you. That's my car right there, in the corner where it says ‘AT parking only.’ I tried to give Gabriel as much information as I could about my whereabouts without being too obvious about it.
I hoped that he was on the line and was able to hear me even though the phone was under my legs.
"Shut up, bitch. Or this will be worse in the long run.” My attacker said.
With that statement, my bravado fled and I started sobbing.
My attacker must not have liked criers, because he hit me in the temple with his meaty fist and everything went black.
Gabe
I had the impact wrench in my hand unfastening some bolts on the exhaust manifold of a ’78 Roadster when my phone rang. I grabbed the red rag out of my back pocket and wiped my hands before I rescued it from my pocket.