Total pages in book: 13
Estimated words: 12073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 60(@200wpm)___ 48(@250wpm)___ 40(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 12073 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 60(@200wpm)___ 48(@250wpm)___ 40(@300wpm)
“You’re married?”
I cross my arms across my chest. “Only because he wouldn’t divorce me and I couldn’t get anyone in that small-ass town to help me.”
“And your brother hasn’t killed him? The Allen I know would never let something like this happen.”
I can’t stop the tears from welling up in my eyes. I wipe a tear trailing down my cheek. “Yeah, uh, Allen got sick and passed away last year.”
“Oh, honey, I had no idea.”
His hands go to each of my shoulders and the warmth of them has me feeling safe for the first time in a long time. “Cameron, that’s my husband, well, he wouldn’t let me do a funeral or anything, so it’s not your fault for not knowing.”
I sniff and wipe both of my eyes, taking a deep breath. “Anyway, I’m sorry to show up like this. I didn’t have anywhere to go. Before he passed, he gave me your name. He told me if I ever needed help he knew you would help me. But now that I’m here, I realize that it’s crazy of me to just show up like this.”
I pull away from him and go over to the couch and sit on the edge of it with my head down in my hands.
Fuck, what the hell was I thinking? I shouldn’t have come. I shouldn’t get some stranger involved in my mess.
I try to figure out my options when I feel Jeremy sit down on the coffee table in front of me. His thick, corded legs are on each side of mine. His hands rest lightly on my thighs when his deep, smooth voice breaks the silence in the room. “Avery, you came to the right place. He was right to send you here. This is what we do. I can tell by the way you looked at me that you think I’m some sort of bad guy, but I’m not. We help women like you.”
I raise my head to look him in the eye. “But you don’t even know me.”
“That doesn’t matter… not here, not to us. You’re a woman and you need help. That’s all that matters to the club. Why don’t we go out and meet the others, get you something to eat and then get you settled? Then we’ll figure all this out.”
I nod and he stands up, holding his hand out to me. I put mine in his. He’s so much bigger than me that it disappears in his grasp.
He starts to walk toward the door and I can see an uneasy expression on his face. Insecurity starts to take hold, but I don’t have time to think about it before he’s tugging me with him.
With my hand in his, he pulls me into a large room with people everywhere. A few men fist bump him. But I barely pay attention. My eyes are on the several women in the room. Some of them are giving me the evil eye, but some of them don’t even notice me. One is topless, dancing with a man and rubbing her hands up and down her partner’s chest.
Another woman is straddling a man in the corner of the room, and I swear they are having sex, but I don’t have time to figure it out for sure, because Jeremy pulls me further into the room, puts his hands on my hips and picks me up and sets me on a bar stool.
Sniper
Before we walked out here, I wondered what we would see. The club is pretty calm during the day, like when she got here earlier. Well, at night, you never know who’s going to show up or what kind of party is going to be happening.
When she stopped in the middle of the room watching one of the sweet butts with the prospect, I had to tug her to move before she saw something she didn’t want to. Most likely, they would be fucking any minute now.
“Hey, Keeper! Can you get me a beer? And get her a burger, fries and Coke.”
All eyes in the room are on us. I’m sure word has gotten around by now of how she showed up. And if Brick has done his job, which I’m sure he has, I’m sure everyone knows about Blade leaving. I stand behind her on the stool. My chest is pressed against her back and when I see the interest on the face of my brothers, my heart starts racing. I wipe the sweat from my brow. When Keeper sets her burger down in front of her and she smiles at him with a thanks, his face softens toward her. That right there has me doing things I’ve never done before.
I raise my hands in the air and holler to my brothers, “Hey, attention, listen, everyone. This is Avery. She is with me… she’s mine. No one touches her. She is under the protection of the club.”