Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“When did you get away?”
“I was almost fifteen.” My stomach turned as I told her, “I left right after the night he left these scars.”
“Oh, God. What happened?”
“He was pissed that I’d left my makeup on the bathroom sink. It was something I’d done a million times, but on this night, it set him off. He got so mad so fast.” My blood ran cold when I thought about the rage in his eyes. I knew something bad was coming, but I had no idea how bad. “For whatever reason, he decided to trade his leather belt for an extension cord which wouldn’t have been so bad if I wasn’t wearing my pajamas. The fabric was thin, and it went on for over an hour.”
“Oh, Jules. I can’t imagine how terrible that must’ve been.”
“It was pretty bad. My mother completely freaked out when she saw what he’d done. She hated to see me go but knew if I stayed, he’d just hurt me again. So, she helped me pack up my things, and I moved in with my grandmother.”
“Thank goodness!”
“Yeah, things were much better there.” I could still remember how good it felt to be out of my parents’ house and away from my father. For the first time in my life, I felt safe and loved—sadly, it didn’t last. I considered telling her about James, but now was not the time. She was eager to get to the party, so I told her, “Now, enough of the dad talk. We have a party to get ready for.”
“Yes, we most certainly do.”
“Would you help me with my hair and makeup?”
“Are you kidding?” Her eyes lit up as she hopped up from the bed and said, “I’d love to!”
“Great.” I grabbed my hairbrush from my dresser, then offered it to her. “Just don’t go crazy.”
“Me? Never.”
Caroline ushered me over to the mirror and started working her magic with my hair and makeup. I’d never really had a girlfriend to hang out with or talk to, so it felt nice to have this moment with her—especially when she was done with my makeover and I saw how great I looked. I was feeling pretty good when we left my place and headed over to the Satan’s Fury clubhouse.
It felt good to have my car back. When it broke down, I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to afford to get it fixed, but thankfully, Smokey and his brothers were able to fix the hose without it costing a fortune. In fact, it didn’t cost me a thing. Smokey said he had it covered and refused to let me pay him anything for it. I don’t know how I managed to get so lucky, but I would be forever grateful for his kindness.
“Holy shit!” Caroline gasped with excitement as we pulled through the gate and into the crowded parking lot. “This place is packed.”
“Yeah, I see that.”
Panic washed over me when I thought about being around so many people I didn’t know. Over the past year or so, I hadn’t had to face many large crowds, just those from work, and I had Caroline and Katie to help out whenever I became overwhelmed. This was altogether different.
This was a party.
In the dark.
With men who were drinking.
I had no idea what I was thinking when I agreed to come to this party. I was thinking of a way I could back out when Caroline started waving her hands frantically. “There’s a spot! You see it? It’s right over by the black truck.”
“Yeah, I see it.”
As soon as I’d pulled in and parked, Caroline opened her door and said, “Get ready, boys! Here we come!”
Caroline bent over and gave her hair a quick shake, then sprang up and started walking toward the front door. I was feeling apprehensive as I gave myself a quick check in the rearview window. Once again, I considered making up an excuse to leave, but inevitably decided I couldn’t let Caroline down. With a cleansing breath, I forced myself out of the car and rushed to catch up with Caroline. “Hey! Hold up!”
“Hurry up, slowpoke.” She turned to me and smiled. “We have hot guys to check out.”
“Do you think your guy will be here?”
“I certainly hope so.” She waved her hand over her V-neck sweater that showed off her cleavage and her slim-fit jeans that hugged her perfect figure as she said, “I’d hate for him to miss out on all this.”
“Yeah, that would be a travesty.”
“Wouldn’t it, though?”
We both giggled as we continued walking toward the crowd. We hadn’t gotten far when I spotted Q and several of his brothers over by the fire. He looked good in his dark jeans with a black t-shirt and his leather jacket—really good. I stared at him for a moment and felt an unusual twinge in the pit of my stomach when I saw that he and his friends were talking to a group of beautiful women.