Total pages in book: 178
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Oh, yeah. My wide eyes settled on the way Fernanda watched the Croatian Sensation. They were definitely a thing at one point.
“I wouldn’t provoke me, Papi.” Fern sat tall, a slight smirk pulling at the corner of her mouth. “I’m a woman.” Her eyes narrowed on Luka before she leaned back on the sofa, resting her arms over the back of it. “Been washing blood stains off my clothes since I was a teenager.”
My brows arched.
Oh, snap.
It was hard not to be affected by the woman. I kind of liked her brand of sass. I could definitely learn a thing or two from her.
The man behind the two women spoke, and I’d never heard anything like his rich, gravelly voice.
“Enough.”
It reminded me of sex.
Yes. That was it.
It was pure, unadulterated sex. I felt it all over. And it disturbed me enough to take a step back, away from him.
“No one asked you shit, Thiago,” Luka spat viciously. “If I needed you to mediate, I’d fuckin’ ask for it.” He then ran a hand down his weary face. “It’s bad enough I got the Vegas in my goddamn house. I don’t want to hear you, man. You’ve been warned.”
The man, Thiago, was tall and built like a Russian war tank. With a broad chest, thick neck, and a scowl without rival, he was all muscle. His dark hair was buzzed short and stubble lined his razor-sharp jaw. His strong chin, high cheekbones, and tanned skin reminded me of a G.I. Joe figurine. Only G.I. Joe came off like a pussy compared to this demon of a dude.
When he caught me eyeing him with a frown, he settled that unimpressed glare on me, and, nope, I did not dig it. But instead of being scared, I surprised myself by being thoroughly irritated. And when I uttered a perfectly calm, “You keep looking at me like that, you’ll lose an eye,” no one was more astounded than I was. What was even more astonishing was, I meant what I said.
I felt Twitch move into me, and complete and utter adulation flowed through me. With that small gesture, he spoke volumes.
He had my back, forever and always.
Thiago held my gaze a long moment before his lips twitched and his face softened marginally. When he spoke to Twitch, all he said was, “She yours?”
And Twitch replied, “She’s wearin’ my ring.”
Thiago’s lips thinned, and he muttered a quietly aggravated, “Wonderful.”
What was the matter with these men?
Thankfully, the conversation came to a halt when Molly came into the room holding A.J.’s hand, but as her eyes landed on the three vagabonds, she tugged my son back, holding him away from the danger the holy trinity clearly emanated. Unfortunately, the little monster had already seen his father.
His soft brown eyes widened in sheer delight, as he called out, “Daddy!”
With a force that was unnatural for a five-year-old to have, he snatched his hand out of Molly’s and started to run. The second he reached Twitch, he jumped, and papa bear caught him midair, holding him close as A.J. hugged him around the neck so hard he had to be strangling him.
“There he is.” Twitch grinned into our son’s hair, kissing his head then swinging him from side-to-side, patting his back. “How you doin’, bud?”
A.J. held him tight. “You were gone forever,” the little gremlin muttered sadly, and my heart ached.
But Twitch didn’t care that he was choking him. He wanted his son close. There was a thickness that lined his tone. “I’m back now.”
“Aw,” muttered Fernanda, turning wide eyes to Luna.
Luna put a hand to her heart and her mouth gaped before letting out a disbelieving, “Twitch.” Her eyes landed on our little boy and she blinked at him. “You’re a father.” She sounded absolutely stunned, and that kind of shock normally only came from people who you were familiar with.
As in, closely familiar with.
Who were these people?
“So there’s no chance of stealin’ ya girl then?” My head snapped to Thiago, and as I glowered at him, he winked before a slow grin appeared.
Twitch was not amused, and although he said, “You can try, Tee,” what I heard was, “I will kill you slowly and bathe in your blood.”
Feeling he was close to implosion, I moved, pressing into his free side, and he put his arm around my waist almost reflexively. His mood did not improve when Luka decided to weigh in.
“You gotta take a number like the rest of us, fucker,” he added slyly. “I was here first.”
Oh my God.
My stomach clenched.
Twitch’s cheek ticked as he slowly looked toward his friend. “You’ve been good to me, Pav, so I’mma pretend I didn’t hear that.”
Luka shrugged, appearing completely unconcerned. “I said what I said.”
Fernanda’s jaw tightened and she lowered her gaze to hide her hurt. And I felt for her then. Whatever she had done had hurt Pav. That much was clear. And now, Pav wanted to hurt her.