Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 132332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 441(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132332 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 441(@300wpm)
He nods slowly. “Thank you.”
“For what it’s worth, I don’t want you alone with him either.”
He kicks his toe against a tuft of grass. “Doubt that’ll ever be an issue.”
He’s right. For his own personal fucked-up reasons, Merlin was always cruel to Carter. “That’s probably a good thing.”
The corners of Carter’s mouth twitch. “True that.” He holds out his fist and I tap my knuckles against his.
I lift my chin at the full sleeve of tattoos crawling up his left arm. “You’re gonna run out of room soon.”
“Nah.” He studies the artwork as if he’s amazed to find it branded into his skin. “I always wanted to do something like this, but I didn’t want Uncle Chuck to think I was trying to be like him or something. Now, I just don’t give a fuck.”
“It’s a beautiful feeling when that last fuck finally flies away.” I wave my hand through the air like it’s a bird flapping its wings.
His expression loses some of the sadness that had crept over him. “What are we celebrating tonight?”
“Starting a new business venture in Slater County.”
“So Wolf Knights are out of Slater. Totally?”
I take a few beats to answer. “Where’d you hear that?”
“Duh.” He rolls his eyes. “I may try to blend into the wallpaper, but I still have ears.”
“We don’t have wallpaper.”
He chuckles. “Seriously, so is that Lost King territory now?”
“Looks that way.”
“Good.”
I raise an eyebrow.
“Like I said, you’re more of a family to me than my own was.”
“We have a funny way of doing that to people.”
“What?” He wiggles his eyebrows and rubs his palms together. “Luring innocents into your freaky bikers-in-the-woods cult?”
A burst of laughter escapes me, even though I know better than to encourage Carter. “Yeah, that.”
“Hey,” Charlotte calls as she steps out of the side door. “Are we going or not?” She jerks her thumb over her shoulder. “Wrath and Ravage just pulled up out front.”
“Why?”
She shrugs and walks over the grass to meet us.
“Hey.” I tug on her sweatshirt. “Come here.”
Charlotte’s too good to me. Never holds a grudge, even when I deserve it. She curls her arms around me and rests her cheek against my chest. I lean down and whisper in her ear, “I’m sorry.”
She shakes her head and squeezes me tighter.
“Little dude!” Ravage’s voice carries over the grass. His heavy footsteps thunder against the ground. I pull away in time to see Rav tackle Carter from behind, lifting him in the air. “What’s good, buddy?”
“Would you stop doing that! Put me down,” Carter yelps.
Rav takes one look at my thoroughly unamused expression and sets Carter on his feet. “Hey, I gotta ask you something.”
Carter turns his wary eyes on Rav. “What?”
“How are you with the sea creatures?”
Carter’s face scrunches into a thoughtful squint. “Be more specific.”
Rav spreads his hands out wide. “I want you to paint a giant sea witch on the fuel tank of my bike, so it looks like I’m riding Ursula.” He throws in a few hip thrusts in case we can’t grasp what he means by “ride.”
Charlotte buries her face against my chest and laughs.
“Uh, okay.” Carter slides his gaze my way as if he’s worried he’s being punked. “Are you allowed to do that?”
“Yeah. Rock said I could ask you if you had time to do it.”
“No. I mean, a sea witch isn’t very Lost King-y.” Carter wiggles his hands in the air around his head. “Aren’t you supposed to stick to crowns and skulls and stuff?”
I duck my head and laugh.
Rav clasps Carter’s shoulder. “You raise an excellent point, young lad. But you forget one thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I do whatever the fuck I want.”
“And suffer the consequences,” I add.
“Exactly.” Rav points to me. “A man takes his punishment like a man.”
“You’re a fucking expert at that.” Wrath slaps Rav on the back, sending him forward a few feet.
“Can I get a sea witch painted on my bike?” Rav asks Wrath with an absolutely straight face.
“Why? You miss your mom?”
Charlotte and I both turn away, laughing even harder.
“Not cool, bro.” Rav grins. “But now that you mention it…”
Charlotte
Laughter really is the best medicine. I could kiss my brother for making Marcel smile.
“So, Carter, when are you going to tattoo your own sister?” I tap his arm and run my finger over his colorful sleeve of inked skin. “You’ve done work for Rock, Heidi, Grinder, Lilly—I’m getting jealous.”
He narrows his gaze. “What exactly are you looking for?”
I peer up at Marcel and he winks at me.
“Nope. All the nopes that ever noped in Nopeland.” Carter backs away from us, shaking his head vigorously in case all the nopes didn’t make his answer clear enough.
“But you’ve gotten so good,” I insist.
“I’m not branding you with your boyfriend’s MC symbol, ‘property of’ or anything else. Hell to the no.” He shoots a glare at Marcel, who chuckles.