Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 72931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72931 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 365(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Hadley eyes the couch with suspicion. Like I’m going to actually touch her. I’m not some sick asshole. She looks like my daughter, for fuck’s sake.
“I can’t have you walking off,” I tell her. “I don’t know half those men in there. I’m by far the safest one to be with. We’re going to catch some sleep and in the morning I’m taking you home.”
“I told you—”
“My home.”
Her brows furl together and she crosses her arms over her chest. With no makeup and fully clothed, she looks all of fifteen.
“How old are you?” I drop down to the middle of the sofa and nod to the cushion beside me.
“Old enough.”
“Stop fucking playing with me, child.”
She hisses at me. “I’m not a child.”
“Then stop acting like one, goddammit.”
“I’m an adult now which means you can’t keep me here. I had my eighteenth birthday the other day. I can leave.”
Knowing that asshole was sticking his dick in some underage pussy boils my blood, because I sure as shit know he didn’t wait for this flower to blossom. She’s already claimed to have wanted that shit, but that’s not the point. The point is, she got drawn into a world she clearly doesn’t belong in and is spreading her legs for men who are too old for her when she should be in high school. If I were her father, I would’ve whipped her ass into shape a long time ago. She would’ve never run off to live with a bunch of bikers.
“You’re not leaving. Sit,” I order. “I’m tired as hell and don’t need you running off.”
She stomps over to me and plops down on the cushion. Despite her apparent anger, her hands tremble. The poor thing’s shaking like a leaf.
“You may as well let me go,” she sasses. “I’m on every milk carton from coast to coast. If anyone sees me, they’ll call the police. You don’t want to be involved in that.”
“I’ll take my chances.” I grab her thigh and drag her down the couch, ignoring her squeals of protest, before lying down on the couch. She struggles, but I pull her tight against my chest so she won’t get away in our sleep.
“Let me go! Did you hear that whole part about me being a teenage runaway and everyone is looking for me?” Her voice is shrill.
“And I think you missed the part about how I don’t care.”
Hadley
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart races inside my chest. I don’t think it’s stopped in the past several hours. I’m having trouble coping with reality.
Junior’s dead.
Dead.
My childhood friend and lover.
A cold, hollow ache settles in my bones. The same boy who cheated on me over and over again. The same boy who struck me and made vile insinuations about my future with Roaring River MCs. I was nothing more than a toy to be used and tossed away.
He’s dead, though.
All his promises were empty, even the horrible ones, because he’s no longer here to fulfill them. Tears leak from my eyes. The new Junior who couldn’t keep his dick out of Juicy’s twat wasn’t the guy I knew. That guy was a loser and an asshole. The one I remember from my childhood was adoring and loving and sweet. That’s the boy I’m grieving over.
Well, as much as one’s allowed to grieve in the arms of the man who killed him. My mind whirls as I wonder how I got myself stuck in this position. The massive man with the big X on his face has me in a death grip on this sofa, his soft snores lulling me into a false sense of security.
I’m not safe with him.
I’m safe with no one.
Dad could save me…
Having to ask Dad for anything makes my blood curdle. If it were up to me, I’d never speak to him again. I don’t need his help. I just need out. Away from these people. Away from this life.
Will Magna come after me?
I shudder at that thought.
“Cold?” Koyn’s gritty, sleepy voice makes me stiffen.
“No.”
“Liar.” He practically lies on top of me, forcing his body heat on me. “Now go to sleep.” His breathy words against my ear through my wet hair makes me shiver again.
Okay, so maybe I am cold.
And tired.
And exhausted.
And devastated.
Maybe he does feel like a giant blanket.
Despite my best efforts to remain awake so I can sneak away when he falls into a deep sleep, I drift off. The villains in my nightmares aren’t the ones at this clubhouse. They’re the villains I already know.
I wake, whimpering. The room is dark now and I wonder when he turned out the light. Koyn’s masculine scent invades my nostrils.
“Shh,” he murmurs, half asleep. “You’re okay.”
My heart lurches in my chest. It reminds me of a time I’d crawl into my dad’s bed and he’d keep all the monsters away. I felt safe back then. I haven’t felt safe in a long time. The fact that the same sense of security comes in the arms of Koyn has me reeling.