Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 69875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 349(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Her confession is enough to have my blood boilin’ in my veins.
She can’t want me.
She can’t feel anythin’ for me.
I spent my life hiding from emotions I know will end up killin’ me, and the path to love, to allowin’ my heart to feel, is one of those. I haven’t said those words to anyone since I said goodbye to Ma.
I push her against the wall, pinning her between the cold concrete and my body. I’m drenched in another man’s blood, but I don’t care. I reach up and swipe her cheek with my thumb. Her porcelain flesh is now smeared with crimson.
“You’re a liar,” I tell her as I lower my mouth to hers. But I don’t kiss her, I merely tease my tongue over her lips, much like I did before. “You may taste like heaven, but you’re the ultimate sin,” I whisper. My words hurt her because she flinches at my insult. “You’re the living incarnation of him. Your blood is his blood. What makes you different? What makes you someone I should save?”
Miren blinks as she stares at me. The tears trickle down her cheeks, and I know I’ve hit her hard. Not with my hands, but with my words. She knows her father is the devil in-fecking-carnate. But you can’t change blood. It runs through yer veins until there’s nothing left but the knowing you’re forever connected to them.
“I’m… I’m…”
“Sorry?” I arch a brow at her. I don’t want her apology. I need her father to feckin’ pay for what he’s done. Now that we know he’s alive, we will find the bastard. The problem is, she knows her ma is the ringleader. Her mother oversees the feckin’ Irish mob. A woman who has no qualms about killin’ innocent people. She’s done it once, and I know she’ll do it again. There’s no way she’s getting her princess back. I wanted to get revenge, and the best way to do that is to keep the pretty wee fox to myself. The monster will devour the precious girl until there’s nothing left.
“I don’t believe anyone should pay for the sins of another,” Miren tells me. “Yes, his blood runs through my veins, but my soul is nothing like his.”
She lowers her teary gaze, and I want to lift her chin just to see those strange-coloured eyes again. I’ve never seen anything like them. The soft shade of blue reminds me of the sky on a cool winter’s day. Almost white. I never met anyone who looks as ethereal. Long, dark hair hangs down her back, and I can’t stop my gaze from drinkin’ in her soft curves. Wide hips with a gentle slope that offers the view of her arse I’m dyin’ to spank.
Anger turns to lust.
The feckin’ roller coaster this girl has me on is drainin’. “You need to tell us everythin’, and I mean it, Miren. Yer da is still alive, and I ain’t stoppin’ until I’ve got his blood on my hands.”
“Is that going to bring your mother back?” Her voice is tender, gentle. She’s not tryin’ to hurt me. She’s genuinely askin’.
“No, but it can stop him from hurtin’ others, from taking loved ones from families.” When I first started my crusade, I was focused on revenge. I wanted to make sure I watched the man die, but now, I want nothing more than to keep others safe from his brutal violence.
“The whole idea of an eye for an eye is wrong,” Miren tells me.
I know this, but I don’t acknowledge it. I don’t allow her to see what I’m feelin’. Showing emotions only gets you hurt. I learned the lesson from watchin’ others.
I push away from the wall and head out of the room. The warehouse has grounds that rival even the clubhouse gardens. Da made sure he lived in luxury and tortured in privacy. There’s feck all around here. Nobody can hear the screams.
But our home, the clubhouse, was special to him. He believed that even though we were a motorcycle club we didn’t have to live in a dive. He wanted to ensure the house, the grounds, the place where the brothers felt at home was beautiful. He wanted us to all feel safe.
Miren follows me outside. Her presence is like a shadow, as if she’s attached to me somehow, and I doubt I’ll ever rip her from me. We stand in silence beside each other. When I’m around others, I’m tense. The brothers know this, and they give me space when I need it, but Miren has no clue. However, her standing next to me doesn’t twist my gut into knots. Her soft fragrance of cherries calms my thudding pulse.
She doesn’t say anything for a long while, and I’m thankful for the quiet. Even though the noise from the bar filters out to us, it’s the silence between us that feels as if it’s holding me in a gentle grip.