Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
A few seconds later, several men who hadn’t been outside rushed from the clubhouse, all of them checking sidearms and rifles before climbing on their bikes and heading toward the back of the property, Ringo in the lead.
Dom hurried straight to me. “We’ll be back soon, sweetheart. You stay with Apple.”
“What is it?”
“Nothin’ for you to worry about, honey. Just go with Apple and the old ladies. Stay with them until me and Ringo come for you.”
He would have gone back to the other men, but I put a hand on his arm, halting him. “Tell me. Is it Borris?”
Dom sighed. “Yeah, baby. They’ve not found us, but they’re too close for comfort. We’ll take care of this. Don’t worry.” He leaned in and kissed the top of my head before shrugging off my hold and going back to the other men.
“I don’t like this,” Olivia muttered. “Something’s not right.”
I watched as Lemon and Rocket had a heated discussion. I didn’t miss that it was only after the other men were gone. Until that point, they’d stood shoulder to shoulder, backing each other up on whatever was going on.
“Yeah,” I said. “Same.”
Apple stood then, seeming to know her role in all this. She’d waited until Lemon nodded in her direction and went with Rocket before she took charge. “Let’s go,” she said. “Safe house and into the panic room.”
I probably should have been scared that they needed a panic room, but one thing I’d learned since I’d been here was that these guys meant business. They were off the grid for a reason, but they never took safety lightly.
We followed Apple. As we headed to the safe house -- which was in the very center of what they called the family area -- several more women and some older children met us, following without complaint. I didn’t know everyone yet, but I did know that there was more than one club girl in our midst, so I figured this represented all the women in the compound. Well, except for Venus. She and Lemon had gone with the men to what I could only assume was to take care of the problem. I wasn’t even going to pretend to myself that people weren’t about to die. If they were Borris’s people, I wasn’t all that broken up about it. I did feel like a coward for not going with Ringo. Not that I’d had much choice in the matter.
“Come on.” Apple looped her arm through mine. I hadn’t realized I’d been slowing until she did. “We’re all supposed to go here and stay until Rocket and Lemon come for us.”
“I want to go with them.”
“Me too,” she said with a grin. “Unfortunately, the only women Rocket allows at stuff like this are Lemon and Venus. Venus because that woman can be fuckin’ scary sometimes. Lemon because Rocket would like to keep his balls. When Lemon wants something, she gets it. One way or another.” Apple smiled at me, but there was strain on her face. She wasn’t happy about not being included either.
We moved with a hasty but controlled pace toward the safe house. The air around us felt thick, charged with the tension and unspoken fears of what lay ahead. The kids and the other old ladies were filing inside the house along with the remaining women -- I had trouble calling them club whores or even club girls. I got there was a whole other culture I hadn’t gotten used to yet, but I couldn’t wrap my mind around it yet. Apple and Cecilia tried to hurry me inside, but something felt just that little bit… off.
“Come on, Calista.” Apple took my hand, tugging me after her. “In you go.”
I nodded and was about to let them force the issue when someone moved from the side of the house in our direction. Apple must have sensed something too because she turned her head in the same direction, frowning.
“Redwood? Aren’t you helping the rest of the guys?”
“Yep.” He pulled a gun from behind his back and let it hang at his side. “Helpin’ bring this wayward child home to her daddy.”
I gasped. Apple pursed her lips. I could see her tongue curling behind her lips, and she let out a very loud, very shrill whistle.
Two things happened at once. Redwood raised his gun, pulling the trigger. And Apple dove, shoving me aside…
And jerked as the bullet struck her before she collapsed to the ground.
Chapter Eleven
Ringo
The second I shut off my bike, I heard the sharp whistle, faint with distance. Had I been three seconds later, I’d have missed it. My head snapped in the direction of the noise. Then there was a gunshot. A scream. Then nothing.
“Rocket!”
“Go, Ringo!” Dom sounded as panicked as I felt. “Get to my daughter!”
I knew Dom would order others to go with me, but I wasn’t waiting. If Calista hadn’t gotten to the safe room, if some bastard had shot her…