Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 142728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
I get it. Most bikers will tell you the club comes above everything else in a biker’s life. But it’s a lie. Or it should be. “He can’t be a good brother if his body’s on the road, but his heart is here.”
“Exactly.”
“You think you’ll have Hope and Grace drive down with Trinity or something?”
“I haven’t had a chance to talk to her about it, yet.” Rock shrugs. “Honestly, I don’t think any old ladies should go. It’ll be boring for them.”
“How do you feel about riding down to Virginia, and meeting with Ice’s crew?” I ask. “Then we can all ride to Deadbranch together. I know it’s a longer route but—”
Rock must approve, he cuts me off before I finish offering alternatives. “No, that’s a good idea. We can ride home whatever way’s quicker, but I think three charters from the East Coast riding in together is a good showing. I’ll give Ice a call later and run it by him.”
“I’ll map out a few routes just in case and when you give me the go-ahead, I’ll touch base with Boots about the ride.” I have a good relationship with Virginia’s road captain, so it should be an easy conversation. “I’ll run it by Jigsaw today.”
“Thank you, Dex. That’s a big help.” He slaps my shoulder. “Emily doing okay up here?”
Heat creeps up my neck. “So far.”
“All right. Better go get her before she’s overwhelmed by everyone.”
“Thanks, Prez.”
Outside of the war room, Jigsaw’s waiting for me. “Let’s get you ready to pop your road captain cherry,” he announces.
“I don’t know what to say to that, Jiggy.”
We walk down the hallway to the dining room together, discussing the ride and the possibility of meeting up with Ice’s crew.
Once I step into the dining room, I tune Jiggy out. My gaze roams over the crowded space, searching for Emily.
“Boy, you’re already pussy whipped, aren’t ya?” Jiggy says.
I roll my eyes at him.
“Looks like your girl’s with Shelby.” He lifts his chin toward the end of one of the dining tables. Emily’s sandwiched between Shelby and Heidi. She’s smiling but tight lines of tension frame her mouth.
“Figures you can spot Shelby from across the room,” I say, just to be an asshole.
He doesn’t care, though. Just gives me a shit-eating grin and makes his way to the breakfast buffet.
Emily’s eyes find me as I walk over to her. Relief softens her expression. She says something to Shelby, pushes her chair back, and hurries to meet me.
I curl my arm around her, hugging her against me. “What’s wrong?” I ask low enough no one will overhear.
“Nothing. You were gone for a while. Then the others came back and you weren’t with them…” Her voice trails off as if she’s worried she said too much.
“Just stayed to talk to Rock for a minute.” I kiss her temple. “No big deal.”
“Oh. Okay. Heidi said her brother is usually the one who’s detained after church.”
“Yeah, it’s a running joke around here. He runs his mouth all the time.” She must not have realized Heidi was kidding.
“Oh.” She covers her mouth with her hand.
“Relax.” I rub my hand over her back.
Someone’s hand lands on my shoulder and I turn to find Wrath’s serious face.
“Meeting with Loco’s set up for later this afternoon.” He flicks his cold eyes to Emily and back to me.
For fuck’s sake.
“Yeah, all right. I got it,” I say. Fucking knew Loco would set that meeting up at the most inconvenient time.
Emily watches him walk away, then turns to me. “I need to get home anyway.” She pulls her phone out of her pocket. “I forgot about a report I need to finish and send.”
“Do you need me to take you by your office?”
She shakes her head. “No, I have all the numbers on my computer at home.” Finally, a smile brightens her face. “I knew taking that sick day would haunt me later.”
I blow out a relieved breath. She’s not making an excuse to get out of here, she actually has shit to do.
“I could try doing it on my phone, but the signal’s been spotty up here.” She squints at the small screen. “And it’s a pain in the ass to input the numbers on this thing.”
“No, I get it.” Disappointment stirs through me but I push it away.
I have what I wanted the most out of this weekend. Emily spent time around my club. I told her how I feel about her, and she feels the same.
I really can’t ask for more.
CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE
Emily
Riding away from the clubhouse leaves me conflicted. I have to get home. Part of me wanted to stay but I’m also relieved to have an excuse to leave. Everyone is so close, I felt like an outsider. After my earlier mistake, I didn’t want to open my mouth again around the other women and risk saying something else I wasn’t supposed to say.