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)
“This is true, but we’re still fucking here and...”
Before I could finish my thought, the sound of trucks pulling up drew our attention outside. We both sat there silently praying that it was our brothers, and relief washed over me when the door flew open and Wrath, Two Bit, and Savage came busting inside with their guns drawn. Wrath did a quick scan of the room, then asked, “Where the fuck did they go?”
“Left out about five minutes ago. Can’t be far.”
Two Bit nodded, then went back to the door and called out, “Hey, it’s clear! They just left out. Should be close.”
“We’ll see if we can track ‘em down.”
Seconds later, I heard truck doors close and engines start. I wanted to believe that my brothers would be able to hunt these guys down, but I knew better. These guys were prepared. They’d managed not only to find Rooster and me but also run us off the road, kidnap us, and torture us for hours on end. It was enough to make me doubt that we’d ever find them.
But I was more than relieved that they’d finally tracked us down. Now, I could finally see about Jules. Wrath was still standing at the door when I called out to him, “Hey, come untie me.”
“Yeah, sure thing.”
He came over and cut the zip-ties, freeing my hands, then rushed over to Rooster and did the same for him. As soon as his hands were free, Rooster reached down and pulled the knife from his thigh, and tossed it on the floor. “What the hell took you guys so long?”
“Did the best we could.”
“Three hours?” Rooster huffed. “That’s the best you could do.”
“Power went out,” Stitch announced as he and Maverick entered the warehouse. “Transformer blew, and it took the city almost an hour to get it back up and running.”
Maverick took one look at us and let out a stream of curses before asking, “You got any idea who did this?”
“Wish I did, but they never took off their damn masks.” I stood and held onto the back of the chair as I told him, “You almost had ‘em. If you’d gotten here five minutes earlier.”
“So, what made them head out?”
“They got a call from their boss, and he warned them that you were coming. They knew better than to stick around.”
“How the fuck did he know that?”
“Got no clue.”
Stitch studied me for a moment, then grimaced as he said, “Damn. You look like hell, brother. They really worked you two over, huh?”
“Nothing we couldn’t handle. Rooster wouldn’t have had it as bad as he did if he hadn’t kept provoking them.”
He’d never admit it, but I got the feeling Rooster had provoked them on purpose. He knew goading the guy would keep the heat off me. I’d tried to prevent that from happening, but I hadn’t been as effective as my brother. It pained me to say, “We’re gonna need to get Rooster over to see Doc. He’s gonna need some stitches.”
Maverick raised his brow as he said, “Looks like you could use some stitches of your own.”
“I’m good. I don’t need any damn stitches.” I started making my way over to the door. “I gotta get to Jules and make sure she’s okay.”
“About that...” I turned back to Maverick, and the second I saw his face, I knew I wasn’t going to like what he had to say. “Um, there’s been a bit of a situation.”
“What the fuck does that mean?”
“Well first, Jules’s okay. A little black-and-blue, but she’s okay.”
I was struggling to keep it together as I asked, “Why the fuck is she black and blue, Mav?”
“She had a run-in with her ex, and it wasn’t good.” Stitch shook his head as he added, “That motherfucker did a real number on her.”
“Damn it!” I roared. “Where the fuck is she?”
“She’s at the clubhouse. Doc checked her over, and she’s resting.”
“And the ex? Where the hell is he?”
“Smokey and Cotton took him to one of Stitch’s holding rooms. He’s waiting for you there.”
“Good.”
When I turned and started back towards the door, Maverick shouted, “Hold up, brother. I know you’re eager, but we gotta check things out here before we go. Gotta see if we can find anything that might help us figure out who these guys are.”
“Fuck that. I’m going to see Jules, and I’m going to see her now!”
“I’ll take them over.” Wrath helped Rooster to his feet as he told Maverick, “That way, you guys can take your time doing whatever you gotta do.”
“Appreciate it, brother.”
“No problem.”
Because of his large stature, it took some maneuvering to get Rooster out to the truck. He was worse off than any of us had realized and was bleeding like a sieve. Once he was settled in the backseat, Wrath gave him a towel and asked, “You good, brother?”