Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39046 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
It was because of me he was here. After he’d damn near killed one of our soldiers who was inside those prison walls to gather intel for us, I’d kept a close eye on him. There wasn’t a damn thing about Malik Carter I didn’t know. I pulled strings to keep him from getting a longer sentence, and whether he realized it or not, it was because of me he didn’t end up with a severed artery at the hands of one of our men.
I made him untouchable.
When he got out, I knew I wanted him to be close to me, but I knew I couldn’t bring him into the Bratva. Anatoly, the Pakhan and my best friend, would never allow what I wanted. The man trusted me, but it was everyone else he didn’t trust, which I understood, especially after it’d come to our attention that one of our own men had been involved in the sex trafficking ring we’d worked to take down five years ago.
So, to keep Malik as close as possible, I’d had Anatoly talk to Shaw and Hyram about bringing Malik into the club. The day he’d been released, Chet and William had been sent to fetch him. Of course, he hadn’t come immediately. He took his fucking time.
But that was fine because he still ended up exactly where I wanted him. Right under my damn nose where I could keep an eye on him.
Normally, I kept my distance from him. Malik, from what I knew, was straight. He’d never given any hint that he wasn’t, and I wouldn’t make a move on a straight man. But fuck, the way he’d so angrily bowed down to me in that garage had my blood pumping hotly in my veins and my cock thickening in my slacks.
He’d been furious. But he’d stayed on his knees, and he hadn’t fought me.
I could bring him to heel. I’d never doubted that. And now, it was time for me to do so, and this whole situation worked right into my favor.
We had a conflict brewing, and Malik, if left to his own devices, could damn well tip us over into a war. And I couldn’t have that. Shaw and Hyram wouldn’t either. I’d gotten a phone call late last night from Anatoly telling me I would be in Oregon for the foreseeable future, and he was sending four of our soldiers with me.
And my orders were to keep Malik under tight control.
I couldn’t fucking wait to watch him break under my control so I could rebuild him into the perfect machine.
My perfect machine.
“Rurik,” Malik barked from behind me. I paused and slid my hands into the pockets of my slacks, but I didn’t turn to face him. I knew it’d just piss him off more, and God, I loved it when he got angry with me. “Turn around and fucking face me.”
I looked up at the sky, taking my sweet time in giving him what he wanted. The sun was beaming down, wispy white clouds lining the blue expanse. The weather was almost taunting his foul mood into worsening.
I heard him approach and braced myself for his closeness. When his massive fingers curled around my shoulder, my lips twitched with an aborted smirk. I allowed him to spin me to face him, and I tilted my head up a little to look into his handsome face.
“Your beard needs a trim,” I noted, reaching up to run my fingers over the dark scruff. I was mostly trying to annoy him, but it wasn’t a lie. His beard did need a trim. He usually kept it well-maintained.
Malik blinked, a frown pulling at his lips. Dropping my hand, I slid it back into my pocket again, my fingertips tingling from our contact. I so desperately wanted to feel more of his skin beneath my fingertips.
“You wanted something?” I prompted. “We need to get inside. I’m sure Hyram isn’t in the business of waiting on others.”
And there was that pretty scowl again. “I’m not in the business of someone putting their fucking hands on me,” he retorted.
I arched a brow at him. “Touch me, and you’ll fail, Shadow,” I warned him, using his club name again as a warning. He knew I didn’t go anywhere without guards. And while my men were under strict orders to never touch him, Malik didn’t know that.
This man had more protection on him than probably the fucking United States president. He was practically untouchable.
He had no idea I’d start a war over him. I’d turn my back on my family, the Bratva, for him. He owned me just as much as I owned him, which was wholly.
“I fucking hate you,” Malik snarled at me.
I smirked, then turned on my heel, continuing my walk to the clubhouse. “Chapel, Malik.”
A deep growl sounded from his chest that had my entire body tingling with the need to put him on his knees again, but I continued walking.