Total pages in book: 266
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 250787 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1254(@200wpm)___ 1003(@250wpm)___ 836(@300wpm)
“Her name is Muffin,” I speak.
Ashtyn looks up and gives me a warm smile. “Hi.” She begins to walk toward me. Her eyes quickly scan my busted face, but her smile doesn’t falter. “I’m Ashtyn. I’ve seen you before but haven’t had the chance to introduce myself.” She reaches out her right hand to me. “I’m Saint’s wife.”
“Charlotte,” I say, placing my right hand in hers while removing my left one from the front pocket of my husband’s hoodie. “Haidyn’s wife.” That’s something she’ll never be to him.
Her smile falls, and her blue eyes widen as they drop to my left hand. Her hand falls from mine, and I reach out, taking my cat she has tucked into her left arm. “Oh, uh…” She stumbles over her words. “I didn’t know Haidyn was seeing anyone.”
“Several months now.” Not a total lie.
She nods her head as if she’s supposed to know this. “Congratulations.” Her eyes meet mine, and she gives me a forced smile.
“Thank you,” I say. “It was nice to meet you.” With that, I put in the code to Haidyn’s door. Entering the room, I place Muffin on the floor. She immediately runs and jumps on his bed, and I quickly remove her stuff from Haidyn’s duffel bag, setting up her things in the corner. Then I undress and crawl into his bed as well, sighing as his cool sheets envelop me.
I probably shouldn’t have said anything to her because I doubt Haidyn has told his brothers that we’re married. But I wanted her to know that he has me. I’ve already protected him more than she ever did. And I’ll do whatever he needs in order to protect my Lord. I’m not going to turn my back on him. Instead, I’m going to prove myself to her or anyone else who challenges our marriage.
HAIDYN
I enter the office to see Kash and Saint sitting at their desks. Their conversation dies the moment their eyes meet mine, and I know they were discussing my wife being here with me.
“So Charlotte—” Saint starts.
“This isn’t about her.” I stop him from finishing that sentence. I have a feeling it is, but they don’t need to know that. I’m just here because I’m buying time for Adam to do some digging. I’ll send Saint and Kash on a wild goose chase in the meantime.
“Did you get a look at him?” Kash questions.
“He was wearing a mask,” I answer.
“A Lords mask?” Saint asks.
I shake my head. “A black ski mask.”
“Hmm.” Kash speaks. “Like the guy who attacked Charlotte in the bathroom?”
I lean back in my chair and cross my arms over my chest. “Yes,” I answer, getting a sickening feeling in my stomach as they exchange a look. It’s not uncommon for a criminal to cover their face, especially nowadays. Cameras are everywhere. The fact that there was no car in the driveway makes me wonder how far he walked to get there. Or was he dropped off from down the street? I hate having to rely on Adam to figure it out. But if anyone can, it’s him.
“Anything new from Benny?” I inquire, trying to get their minds off my wife.
Saint shakes his head, and Kash just snorts.
“What if I have something that could work?” I offer. While Charlotte dressed and packed a bag for Muffin, I packed a few things of my own.
Saint sits up. “Whatever it is, let’s try it.”
We make our way down to the basement and I follow them both past the cells and to the last one on the right. Saint unlocks the door, and we step inside. Benny lies in the center of the concrete box; he’s missing an entire arm from his elbow down and one eye is swollen completely shut. His right leg looks to be broken. Saint has spent some time fucking the man up.
I pull the syringe out of my pocket and bite off the cap. Once I inject it into his neck, I stand and step back, giving him a few seconds for it to kick in.
His head falls from side to side before his chest heaves through a cough. “Why are you here?” I question, testing the waters.
“Because…of Ashtyn.”
I look at Saint, and he frowns at me. “What the fuck did you give him?”
“Truth serum,” I answer.
We’re not ones to use that shit here. Carnage is about torture, but it’s obvious Saint’s beat him quite a bit, and the bastard still refuses to talk. So we’re going to consider this desperate times call for desperate measures.
Saint walks over to him and taps his steel-toed boot into his side. “How did you gain access to Carnage to kidnap my wife?”
His one eye looks around aimlessly, and he licks his busted lips. “She…she let us in.”
“Who the fuck is she?” Saint snaps.
“Costello,” he mumbles, and I stiffen.