Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145729 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Reaper was happy Czar wasn’t taking any chances. Absinthe could influence with his voice. He was smooth and charming, and the moment he put the suggestion in the minds of the Demons, they’d hand over their weapons without hesitation. If there was going to be a firefight, it wasn’t going to happen on Torpedo Ink’s chosen home turf.
“Stay to the left of the room at all times,” Reaper said, all business. “Savage and I will have them in a crossfire. None of you want to get caught in that. We’ll mark the ones between us we’ll take. The rest of you look comfortable and friendly.” He was good at planning death. He’d done it hundreds of times. Czar was equally as skilled, probably his teacher, since Czar was older. He’d been the one to get them all out of that hellhole alive.
Czar nodded his head and Ice was gone, leaving the door open. Reaper leaned against the wall, relaxed. This was his world, one he knew intimately, and a woman like Anya Rafferty, with her long dark hair and her bleeding heart, didn’t belong anywhere near it. He sighed, realizing she’d crept right back into his thoughts.
He should have followed her all the way into the campgrounds. They were a good distance from the entry, if he remembered correctly. His club had had a shootout there. A massacre. It was a place where outlaws could hide, and that meant Anya wasn’t as safe as he’d like her to be. He shut down that line of thinking. He wouldn’t want any woman camping alone out there.
He straightened suddenly. What if she wasn’t camping alone? There could be a man out there. She could be supporting some shiftless loser who didn’t want to work or take care of his woman. He should have gone all the way in. Damn it. Now his head wanted to explode and wasn’t in the game where it should be, just as he knew would happen. The woman was wreaking havoc, and it was a damn good thing Czar had sent her on her way. Still, he had to check on her, just to be certain she was safe – just the way he would with any woman.
His bullshit meter was screaming at him but he ignored it as the first man stepped through the door. This would be their top enforcer. Sergeant at arms. The badass of the five. He studied the man’s face as Absinthe took his weapons. Yeah, he was the real deal. What was he doing in a small-time club? There had to be more to the Demons than they had ferreted out. The enforcer passed over his weapons without a murmur, his eyes sweeping the room, taking in the setup, realizing he couldn’t see either Reaper or Savage clearly.
Both men had a way of blurring their image. It was useful when hunting others. They’d developed the skill over the years, starting when they were toddlers and Czar had them practicing. Most of it was learning to choose the right place to stand. The shadows covering them. The stillness one needed so the human eye wasn’t drawn in that direction.
The Demons came in one by one, just as Czar directed. Ice tailed them, closing the door behind them. Reaper made certain to watch each of them as they came through, noting which one would be the likeliest to start trouble – that would be Tether, the youngest, the one eager to prove himself. The first one, the one they called Razor, was the one Reaper determined was the most lethal. He marked him as the one to take down first.
“I’m Hammer,” one said. “President of the Demons.” His patch confirmed that.
“Czar.” Their president extended his hand and shook. He indicated the chairs surrounding the oval table.
Only Razor hesitated. He realized sitting put them in a vulnerable position, especially without weapons. Absinthe had conducted a search of each man even after they’d obeyed his soft, whispered command to hand over their guns and knives. He was thorough about his search, knowing Czar was in the room. They all protected their president. Czar didn’t always like it, but it didn’t matter. He was their number-one priority at all times. In this instance, if things went to hell, it would be Code’s job to take Czar down and protect him with his own body, while Reaper, Savage, Ice and Absinthe killed every one of the Demons.
Soft feminine laughter drifted down the hall and Reaper almost stiffened. Almost. He cursed under his breath but managed somehow to stay disciplined enough not to move. That sounded a lot like the bartender. He had to keep his head in the game, not worry about some woman that was probably sent to kill Czar. Well, okay, he didn’t believe that for a moment. He’d think about her later, and the fact that those three hardasses were looking for women. Right now, the only thing in his world was replaying step-by-step in his mind how he would kill the Demons and protect his president.