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)
Dad was that way.
A series of calms and storms. Whipping and thrashing. A constant back and forth like on a boat in choppy waters until I was damn near seasick from it all.
Dad’s storms weren’t ones I could ride like a wave until I hit the shore.
He tried to drown me.
It makes me wonder what sort of storm Koyn is. A powerful hurricane like my father? A tornado like Magna? Or something more cataclysmic. Something earth changing. A violent volcano, rumbling the very foundation I stand on.
His palm covers my thigh and he squeezes it in a reassuring way. The simple, brief gesture has my heart tightening in my chest. I don’t like the way he can silence my fears with a touch.
A healthy dose of fear has been what’s kept me alive this long.
I don’t need someone silencing my inner warning sirens, because who the hell knows what sort of trouble would sneak up on me then.
I’ve had enough trouble for one lifetime.
I need to always be ready for it.
Koyn
I stand inside the open truck door with my hands on the top of the frame as I lean in to talk to Dragon and Copper, my cigarette dangling from my lips. Bermuda took the girl to the restroom. He looks the most like a good ol’ boy. Dragon and I stand out as possible psychopathic kidnappers to the normal public. Definitely a good idea Bermuda took lead on this stop.
“Anything yet?” I ask my brother, nodding at his phone as he scrolls. I blow out a plume of smoke over the top of his truck and then flick my cigarette across the truck into the gravel.
“Nah. When we get back, I’ll get on the computer and run through all my channels. Putnam is off the grid.” Copper scrubs at his face with his palm.
“I’ll stay on Junior’s social media and check to see if I can pick up any clues there,” Dragon offers. “Putnam was a ghost, but we found him. We’ll find him again.”
I glance over at the McDonald’s and wonder what the fuck is taking them so long. If she tried to run off, I’m going to make good on my promise to whip her ass.
“What about Hadley? Anything on her?” I arch a brow at my brother.
“Without a last name, it’s difficult. I’ll run a search on all the missing person reports with that name, but you’d probably get further than me on this.”
I’ll find out where this little girl came from and send her back, even if I have to spank the answers out of her. I’ve done a lot worse in my lifetime. This is a cakewalk.
As though I have a sixth sense, I feel Hadley when she exits the restaurant. Bermuda is beside her, grinning. He may be wearing a leather cut, but his worn baseball cap, holey jeans, and shit kickers make him look like the Oklahoma boy next door. In an alternate reality, those two could be siblings maybe. I track her with just my gaze, watching her every moment.
The dart of her eyes to the tree line past the parking lot.
The fake smile.
The tensing of her muscles.
The slowing in her gait.
“Fuck,” I grumble. “She’s gonna run.”
I no sooner get the words out of my mouth when she takes off. The girl is tall and skinny, her long legs eating up the distance before Bermuda even realizes she bolted. Without another word, I tear off after her. I may be a lot older than her, but I’m not some fat-ass biker. I’m in shape and I can catch a little runaway like it ain’t shit.
Her brown hair billows out behind her as she seems to fly with inhuman speed. My boots kick up gravel behind me on my chase. I can hear Gibson and Bizzy laughing while Dragon catcalls me. Fucking bastards.
Hadley never makes it to the tree line.
I snag her by her hair, jerking her to a stop. She screeches, but I don’t relent. I drag her flailing body to my chest and bring my mouth to her ear. Her chest rises and falls with each ragged pant of breath.
“Stupid, child.”
“I’m not a child.”
“You are.”
“I hate you.”
I laugh, twisting my grip in her hair so my knuckles are against her scalp. “Fucking hate me. I don’t give a shit. You’re mine to look after and I told you running away wasn’t going to work for me, goddammit.”
“I’m not yours,” she says fiercely, emotion in her voice. “I’m no one’s. You made sure of that when you killed Junior.”
Here we go again.
I’m tired of hearing about that dumbass punk.
“You’re going to stop this shit right now. We’re going to hold hands like you’re my fucking girl and then we’re going to leave. You fight me on this and I’ll make your life miserable when we get back. Feel me?”