Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
“I understand why you’re afraid to trust us. No one can convince you we’re not like Beaner.” Glitter spoke softly, and I noticed tears glistening in her eyes. “What he did was horrible. No one should treat anyone like that.”
“He’ll pay for it,” Spring said. “But that can’t make up for the broken trust.”
“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to trust again. And that hurts more than anything.” I started sobbing again. All the women gathered closer around me except for Venus, who looked angry as hell. She took out her phone, sending a rapid text before putting it back in her pocket. In that moment, I realized what a horrible mistake I’d made. “I’ve judged everyone here because of the actions of one person,” I said softly, my voice still trembling. “I’m so, so sorry.”
“Emmanuell, no one blames you,” Spring said emphatically. “What happened to you is enough to break anyone’s trust. Especially when you’re in the arms of people Beaner lived with. Served with. It’s understandable -- expected even -- that you’d eventually have some issues. We can’t change your mind overnight or convince you to trust us. Or Ripper. All we can do is prove to you all we want is to get to know you better and to welcome you and your children into our family.”
“And make no mistake,” Venus interrupted. “We will all protect your children and you with our lives. Same as we would for any of the ol’ ladies and their children. Whether you choose to be part of us or not, you will always have our protection.” Venus meant every word she said. It was written all over her face. When I looked at the other women, I saw that same sincerity in their faces as well.
“Just take a few days to settle in,” Lucy said. “Any one of us will help you if you need something. I’ll make sure you have all our numbers. Just text if you need us.”
“I don’t have a phone,” I said softly. It was embarrassing that I didn’t have even the most basic of things.
“Not a problem. I’ll have one for you tomorrow.”
“I can’t let you do that, Lucy. I can’t pay for it, and it’s not right.”
“We already told you. You’re part of this family, Emmanuell. That means we take care of you. And the babies. You can’t be without a phone, and the club can provide one. I’ll have it to you with all our numbers programmed into it tomorrow.” Lucy smiled. “I won’t hear another word about it. Now. Do you want to go back to your room, or do you want to stay here with me tonight?”
“I’ll be fine on my own,” I said softly. “And I need to apologize to Ripper. I was completely unfair to him when he’s been nothing but good to me since I got here.”
Lucy smiled. “Don’t worry about Ripper. He’s all in. Probably beating himself up for upsetting you, but he’s not going anywhere.”
I let Lucy and Kitty take me back to my room. Ripper wasn’t anywhere close. Even though I knew I’d driven him away, I still hated that he wasn’t right there just waiting for me to jump back into his arms, but I got it. I’d been pretty hard on him when he hadn’t deserved it.
When I closed the door, I looked around. Everything I had in this room had come from the club. They’d given me a room of my own, clothes, basic essentials. They’d even started bringing in stuff for the babies. And I’d only been here one full day. They weren’t after money. I knew I was young and naive, but these people were a world away from Devan.
I glanced at the clock. It was after eleven, but I could hear the party downstairs. It wasn’t overly loud, but kind of beckoned me to check it out. I’d been to a few parties in my life, but I had the feeling this would be nothing like I’d ever experienced. I wanted to go, but, at the same time, was afraid. What if I saw Ripper? What if he was with another woman? I’d rejected him. There was no reason to think he wouldn’t kick my ass to the curb without another thought. Wouldn’t most men do that? It wasn’t like the babies were his or that we actually had a relationship. One day. That’s all we’d had.
Deciding to check everything out, I left my room. I wasn’t necessarily going to the party, but I wanted to explore. Get to know my surroundings. No one had said I couldn’t, so I just wandered around the place, preferring to stay away from the party. For a while at least. I wasn’t sure if I was brave enough to tackle that.
“You lost, honey?” A tall, busty woman with long, white-blonde locks stepped in front of me.