Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 412(@200wpm)___ 330(@250wpm)___ 275(@300wpm)
“It’s so different from growing up in the city, I imagine,” I say when I catch on to what the conversation is about.
Lindell is a different world. If it weren’t for Cerberus’ involvement with them, then maybe they wouldn’t be down three citizens who were doing nothing that day but celebrating the marriage of their friends.
“I’ve got to help the guys get ready for the run,” I say a while later when the conversation lulls.
Beth’s eyes widen when I stand, but she doesn’t get up and shuffle away, despite the desperate look in her eyes.
It says a million things. What should she say? What if she says something and later I say something different?
Instead of leaving her hanging and wondering, I bend down and press my lips to hers, letting our connection linger for a long moment before pulling back.
“I’ll see you soon, sweetheart,” I whisper, realizing that I kissed her for show, to convince everyone else in the room what we have is real. As much as it should feel like a lie, when I pull back, giving her one last glance before leaving the kitchen, it feels real. It feels as if our lips were always meant to meet.
It’s a terrifying way to look at things because it isn’t real. We didn’t marry for love. Hell, we should probably schedule a time to go to the courthouse and end this farce as quickly as possible, but I’m not making that call. She’s going to have to be the one to make the request.
I feel like an asshole, leaving her in the kitchen, but she has to work on getting her own bearings here. We work a lot, and there will be weeks at a time that she’ll be without me to hold her hand and provide distractions. Letting her flounder a little while I’m here, so I can step in if things get too intense, seems more humane.
What I thought was a logistics meeting for the toy run today ends up turning into something a little different when all the guys start filtering into the garage. The building is massive, the walls lined with tools on the wall on one side and high-tech machinery on the other. I imagine this place would be a mechanic’s dream, but tearing down and rebuilding bikes or cars has never been my thing. I was raised by a single mother. I know how to sew and make a hell of a tuna casserole. It has never been a problem for me. It just means I had a lot of growing and maturing to do when I was dared into joining the Marine Corps.
I pull in a deep breath when Kincaid, Shadow, Kid, and Dominic enter the garage as a single unit.
Snatch and Itchy, the other founding members, were already in here, but as casual as the atmosphere was, neither of those guys mentioned this gathering.
I look around the garage, finding several of the other guys trying to figure out what’s going on as well.
“Glad everyone is here,” Kincaid says, the side conversations immediately coming to a halt. “We have some things to discuss. First and foremost this morning is the toy run. I think we have ten individual stops today. We anticipate a huge turnout for this first run of the season. Drake and Max have volunteered to drive the SUVs to collect the toys we pick up. Some of the women are going along as well, so our ride formation will be around those vehicles like we’ve done in the past.”
We all nod in agreement. This is nothing new for us. We have a logistics conversation every single time we have to coordinate more than five people. Kincaid doesn’t leave much for guessing. We all know our parts and positions as well as the Plan B, C, or D, depending on how things go.
“There’s something else I want to discuss with you guys. As most of you know from our history profile, Eddie ‘Ace’ Yarrow has been working for ICE since he left the club over twenty years ago. His focus was narcotics for the most part, but recently he went back to his roots and is now running a discreet human trafficking division,” Kincaid explains. “Cerberus’ focus has always been on the bigger circuits of trafficking outside of the United States, but over the years, the domestic threat has done nothing but flourish. He called me earlier this week with a proposition.”
“We’re going domestic?” Legacy asks.
Kincaid shakes his head. “Not exactly. We aren’t looking to shift our focus. There’s always too much work to go around as it is, so instead of pulling guys from New Mexico, we’re considering branching out, so to speak.”
“Creating a new chapter?” Hound asks. “Where?”
Kincaid doesn’t seem exactly thrilled that it’s his son-in-law asking these questions, but the man is also a member and deserves to know what’s going on. The founding members rarely keep information from us, and we’ve all been encouraged since day one to speak up if we feel as if there’s an issue in the club. I’m just as curious to hear the questions, so I’m glad Hound asked them.