Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“I bet he’ll shit himself next,” I say.
“I’ll tell you. Wait! I’ll tell you everything.” Barely into this, and he’s ready to give it all up. Shit, I wish we had this information. I’d have prevented Birdie from being hurt, then I’d have packed her stuff and brought her home.
“Start talking.” Paul is on the ground, curled into a ball, and for each name he gives, my foot finds a place on his body to kick. I’m going to leave him as black and blue as he left Birdie and, with any luck, a fuck of a lot more broken. The rest we’ll have to leave up to Fletch. It sucks, but doing this the right way is the only way to do it. That way, he can’t hurt another person ever again, and if he does, well, I’ll be back to finish the job.
22
BIRDIE
“Thank God.” I sit up in bed. Rocky jumps off the bed when he hears Lane opening the front door. His little happy yip echoes through the quiet house, and I hear Lane talk to him as he walks down what I’m assuming is the hall, judging by the cadence in his voice. Last night, sleep did not come. I tossed and turned, fluffed the pillows, and moved the covers back and forth. Nothing helped. Not counting sheep, not turning on the television, and scrolling on my phone didn’t help either. Instead, I got out of bed, went to the couch, and read until I dozed off, only to be woken up by the sun rising. There was no text or call from Lane, which only made my stomach tighten worse with worry. It wasn’t until earlier this evening that he sent me a message saying they were on their way home and my surprise was with him.
“Birdie, you awake?” Lane asks as he walks through the door, the light in the living room glowing behind him. He’s stepping out of his boots and pulling his shirt off at the same time. I flip the light on, wanting to see him completely, to make sure he’s home in one piece.
“I am now.” I tuck my legs beneath me, cross the bed on my knees, and meet Lane at the edge of the bed. In true fashion, I’m only wearing one of his shirts, sans anything beneath. My eyes take him in, starting from the hair on his head down to his face to his now bare chest. His arms are unmarked, and since Lane is unbuttoning his jeans, I’ll soon have him completely naked to my gaze. “You’re okay?” I ask, taking the fullest and deepest breath since figuring out what he and Lawson had set out to do. The car ride home from my mom’s to Lane’s, excuse me, our house was quiet for a moment after Russell Johnson delivered the news to me and his wife. It was succinct, direct, and no nonsense. What I didn’t expect to happen happened. Catherine Johnson is not a woman to be messed around with when it comes to her babies. It didn’t matter that Lawson was her oldest and Lane was her youngest, varying from thirty-seven to twenty-seven. She grabbed her purse from her lap and repeatedly smacked Russell with it. She was fighting mad, telling him how stupid it was to let them go off after someone like Paul. She was beyond unhappy, and the feeling was and still is entirely mutual. It also sucks to know that everyone knows what happened to me. I get that I’m part of the family, plus Catherine is friends with my mom. Still, it sucked. This is new to me, having a big family. No longer is it only Mom and me. There’s Tully, Lane, and with them come all these amazing people who band together, hold you at your weakest, and have no problem fighting your darkest battles.
“I’m okay, Birdie. I’d be a lot better if you lost the tee.”
“Is that right? And are we just going to ignore the elephant in the room?” The tips of my fingers find the hem of my shirt and slowly start pulling it up my body.
“Later, much later.” Lane replaces my hands as he steps out of his jeans. He’s impatient tonight. My shirt is ripped off my body in one fell swoop, and Lane’s lips are on mine in a hurry. We’re a mess of hands and limbs, both of us needing one another. I’m on my back in a minute, but that’s not what I want. I wiggle until I’m on my stomach, getting on my knees and showing Lane how I want him to take me.
“Fuck yeah, you want your ass played with tonight, don’t you, Birdie?” His hand squeezes the cheek of my ass, and I widen my stance, arching my back a little bit more.