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)
Heidi glances at her phone. I peer over her shoulder and note all the missed calls and texts from her brother, Rock, Hope, and even Charlotte.
Marcel’s face as he spat out the secret he’d been hiding for so long haunts me every time I close my eyes.
Asshole.
Shit, I’m even angry with Charlotte, which jacks up my fury at Marcel even higher.
“Ugh. I can’t deal with any of their texts. I’m so mad,” Heidi whispers. “They’ve all been lying for months.”
The hurt in her voice rouses the savage beast in me again. I curl my arm over her shoulders. “I know.”
She clears the messages on her screen and pulls up Trinity’s number.
Heidi: Can you let everyone know Blake and I are fine?
Trinity: What’s wrong???
I’m proud of Heidi. The immature asshole in me wanted to let them all stew and worry about us for a few days. Thankfully, my wife is more of an adult than I am.
Heidi: Family vacation. We’ll be away for a few days.
She shuts off her phone and sets it on the nightstand. “There.”
My phone buzzes.
Wrath.
“Fucking great,” I mutter. Not in the mood for his bullshit, I decline the call and shut my phone off again. Everyone I need is right here in this room.
“Now can we talk about it?” Heidi asks.
“What’s there to say?” I have so many questions. Technically, the answers ain’t my business, but I can’t help wondering how the fuck this even happened. “I still can’t believe it.”
“Me either.”
She snuggles closer to me, careful not to disturb Alexa. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.” She strokes her hand over my chest. “Thank you for getting us out of there.”
“Let’s leave,” I whisper, running my hand over Alexa’s hair.
“Uh…” Heidi lifts her head and gestures to the spacious hotel suite around us. “We did.”
“No, I mean let’s leave New York.” The words come out slowly as a plan falls into place. “Let’s move.”
She blinks. “And go where?”
“I don’t know. Tennessee? The Deadbranch charter is always open to me.” The Virginia charter would welcome us too, but it doesn’t feel far enough away.
Her nose wrinkles. “We’re not close to anyone there.”
I’m not sure if I should mention this but I’m done keeping secrets from Heidi. “When Priest visited, I got the feeling Steer might be sent down there soon.”
“Really? Well, at least we’d know someone.” She tilts her head. “If anyone was moving to Tennessee, I assumed it would be Rooster.”
“You’re probably right. I doubt Rooster will stay in New York much longer. It’s not convenient for Shelby to be all the way up here. And apparently Priest strongly hinted he’d like Rooster either in Tennessee or heading up the Nomads.”
“Oh shit,” she breathes, eyes going wide. “If Rooster goes, then Jigsaw goes.”
“Right.”
“Z worked so hard to fix Downstate. That would suck, to lose so many of his officers.”
Pride swells in my chest. My club has no idea how lucky they are to have Heidi as an old lady. “It would. And I’m not sure who he could count on to step up.”
“You could help Z. You did it before.”
I shake my head. If I’m moving, I want to put more distance between us and New York. “It’s not far enough away.” From your brother.
Her gaze shifts toward the window. “You’d really give up being vice president?”
Anger burns at the back of my throat. All the second-guessing and ball-busting Rock’s been doing to me lately take on a new meaning. “Rock hasn’t let me be much of a VP.” The truth slaps me in the face. “He’s been lying to me since I accepted the patch.”
The hard expression on her face softens, and she cups my cheek. “That was personal, though. It had nothing to do with your ability to be his VP.”
Rock tried that excuse too, but it doesn’t fit the facts. “Doesn’t matter. Result’s the same. He doesn’t trust me. And I sure as fuck don’t trust him now. Or your brother.” His betrayal stings so much sharper than Rock’s.
“Move away from Marcel?” she whispers. “I never thought I’d do that again.”
Fuck, I forgot about her time living in Alaska with fuckhead Axel. “It wouldn’t be like when you moved to Alaska. You wouldn’t be alone and isolated,” I assure her without mentioning Axel’s name.
“You’re right. It’d be nothing like that. I actually like Tennessee. Being close to Nashville could be a lot of fun. We’d get to know our Deadbranch family.” She glances at Alexa. “I could see us living there.” Her thoughtful expression shifts to a disappointed one. “But we just built our dream home.”
“I’ll build you another one. Cost of living’s cheaper down there, for sure.” I raise an eyebrow. “We could have a swimming pool in the backyard.”
“We could do it.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes. “You, Alexa, and baby”—she pats her stomach— “are all the family I need.”