Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
He stared across at Nikki, and he felt this hatred just at the sight of him,. He didn’t know why Brute continued to put up with him. It was good to have a man on the inside, but with Nikki, it always came with a risk.
Road knew it was only a matter of time before Nikki stabbed them in the back, and when that time came, he was going to be ready for them.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” Road asked.
“My daughter is giving birth. Brute made me aware of the special occasion, and I found time to come and see.”
“You shouldn’t be here.”
“I’m aware of where I should and shouldn’t be, Road. I don’t need you to enlighten me of my whereabouts.”
He wanted to kick his ass. His hatred for this man was bone-deep.
Nikki had been fucking nothing while Road had been there, and completely intact. He knew Nikki had despised him. There had been a time when his father had trusted him over his own son. He knew in some way Nikki was responsible for the scars on his face. For his father turning his back on Road.
His hatred for him knew no bounds, but he kept his calm. In that moment, he knew he shouldn’t have brought Dinah, but he wasn’t going to back down, nor was he going to show this man anything other than contempt.
Road stood his ground, and waited for Nikki to step on through and take a seat. He wasn’t disillusioned by the bastard. Nikki was an evil fucker. He didn’t know how Faith seemed to inspire all the men who were close to her.
He watched and waited, and when Dinah arrived, she kept a smile on her face. Road wanted to grab her and take her back to her home where he knew she would be safe.
She carried a tray laden with disposable plastic coffee mugs.
“Want one?” she asked.
He took one, not because of the taste, but so Nikki didn’t get a chance to take one.
She walked around all the guys in leather jackets, until there was only one coffee remaining.
“I’ll take that one,” Nikki said, getting to his feet.
Dinah frowned, glancing up and down at Nikki.
Road took a step closer to her, offering her his strength and protection against Nikki.
“That’s hers,” Road said.
“It’s fine. I will go and grab myself another cup. Enjoy it.”
“I’m Nikki, by the way,” he said, holding out his hand.
“Dinah.” She didn’t give her last name but Road stopped her from taking hold of Nikki’s hand.
“Let’s go and get you that coffee.”
Dinah nodded, and then they walked out of the waiting area and headed back down to the cafeteria.
“Do you know him?” Dinah asked.
“Yes.”
“He’s Golubev, isn’t he?”
“He’s Sergey’s son.”
Dinah wrapped her arms around her body.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“I think I’ve seen him before, but … I can’t remember. I don’t know if he came in for a haircut a few years ago. He asked about my mom, I think. I don’t know. I recognize him, that’s all I can tell you.” She leaned over and put her head on his arm even as they continued to walk.
Once inside the cafeteria, Dinah went up to the counter, and he took a sip of the coffee in his hand. It was crap, no doubt about it. He knew he could have offered Dinah his drink, but he also wanted to get her as far away from Golubev as possible.
Nikki didn’t deserve to breathe the same air as her. He fucking hated him, and the sooner he could kill that son of a bitch, the better he would feel.
Dinah got her coffee, and together they walked down the long corridor, heading toward the maternity ward again.
“He hurt you, didn’t he?” she asked.
Road took a deep breath.
“The scars on your face, are they his handiwork?”
“Yes.”
She nodded. “Right.”
“Some of them are his handiwork,” he said.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’m fine. I don’t like him coming around.”
“Why is he?” Dinah asked.
Road rubbed at his temple. “He’s Faith’s biological dad. Trust me, I don’t get why he keeps coming around seeing as he spent most of Faith’s life ignoring her, but now that she’s got Brute’s kid, he seems to be turning up more often.”
“You don’t trust him?”
“No, I don’t. I also don’t like him.”
She giggled. “Fair enough.”
They arrived back at the waiting area, and Road didn’t want her to go inside.
“You no longer want me here, do you?” she asked.
“It’s not about you, I promise.”
Dinah sighed. “It’s fine, but I have no way of getting home. I can go and wait in the cafeteria for you. See, this is why you should have totally listened to me and allowed me to take my car. I’m not calling a cab.”
Road cupped her face and pressed his head to hers.
“You’re not going anywhere,” he said, and with that, they walked back into the waiting area.