Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71275 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 356(@200wpm)___ 285(@250wpm)___ 238(@300wpm)
My gun was drawn as I stepped around the man who had taken his date to the floor with him, blocking my path. There were seven other men in the room with a gun pointed. None of them the shooter though. They were all assessing, like I was. Gage Presley’s eyes met mine across the room, and the trademark smirk on his face was gone. The deadly gleam I’d seen more than once was there now. He nodded his head to the left, and I turned to see Levi Shephard covering Scotlin with his gun also drawn. The shattered glass was directly behind where I had left her.
Fuck. Had that been for her?
Huck Kingston stood in front of Blaise, and both men had their guns drawn. Ransom Carver, one of the members of the Mississippi branch, glared angrily as he scanned the room with both his Glocks drawn.
Wilder filled the door, shoving past the people who were rushing from the room. His eyes scanned the area, then locked on me. He held it a moment, and there was a grim look that unsettled me.
What was that look for? Not because Scotlin was shot at. She was alive. They had either been a poor shot or a warning. What was it Wilder knew?
I moved toward him, stepping over people as security began to pour into the room. Lot of good they were.
Wilder shook his head as I approached him. As if I was going in the wrong direction.
“Scotlin,” was all he said when I reached him.
“She’s fine,” I replied.
“The glass cut her. She’s bleeding, and Blaise is watching you. Get over there,” he said under his breath.
“What do you know?” I asked him, annoyed.
The stricken look in his eyes made my stomach sink and my chest tighten.
“Get to her before you get your ass shot for disobedience.”
“Tell me,” I urged.
“I can’t. I’m being watched. Just get over there,” he hissed angrily.
Annoyed, I walked over to Scotlin, who was hysterically clinging to Levi, who looked uncomfortable and like he’d rather be anywhere else.
Join the fucking club.
When she saw me, she let go of him and threw herself at me. Small cuts were on her arms from the glass, and several trickles of blood ran down them.
“OH MY GOD!” she wailed, clinging to me. “Someone shot at me.”
“They missed,” I said, pointing out the obvious.
Levi raised his eyebrows at me, and he looked like he wanted to laugh, but his lips didn’t even twitch.
“Get me out of here,” she begged, holding on to me as if her legs had been injured.
The people around us were all being led out by the security team, and the noise of voices, crying, and general hysterics got louder by the second. I’d happily like to get her out of here, then get on a plane south.
“This way,” Levi said to me, then began moving toward the far-right exit, where Huck now stood.
Blaise was no longer in sight, and neither was Gage. We were all leaving out a specific door for a reason. There would be more of us there too. This was an attack on someone we were protecting. They’d gotten that close to her in a room full of us, which meant they weren’t a poor shot. It was a warning. One for us. All of us.
Huck grabbed my arm as I started to pass him. I looked at him, narrowing my eyes. He wasn’t the boss. He had about five fucking seconds to let go of me.
“Go on in,” he told Scotlin with a nod of his head, leaving no room for argument.
She looked at me, not letting go. I decided I didn’t mind him grabbing me any longer.
“You’re safe. Go,” I told her, pulling my arm free of her hold.
Thankfully, Huck’s presence made her nervous enough to listen and obey. When she was gone, I jerked my arm free of his hold.
“What is it?” I asked him, preparing myself for more shit from Blaise that was going to piss me off.
“Your orders are to protect Scotlin,” he said.
Tensing, I clenched my teeth. “I was getting her a goddamn drink. This room was full of family.”
Huck cocked an eyebrow. “We know. That’s not what this reminder is for.”
Confused, I stood there, waiting for an explanation. “Then, what is it for, Huck? I’m here.” Not in Georgia, where I wanted to be.
“It’s a reminder to stay by her side.”
“Did I say I was gonna leave?” I shot back.
He glanced over my shoulder, toward the door where Wilder was. I turned to see Wilder there, still looking like he wanted nothing to do with this. His expression was pained. I’d grown up with him. I knew him better than I knew anyone.
“What is it?” I demanded angrily. I was doing all I had been told to do even though I hated every goddamn moment.