Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 224(@200wpm)___ 179(@250wpm)___ 149(@300wpm)
“All right. Gonna be a hell of a ride. You up for it?”
“I’m up for anything that lets me see the last of Williamson.”
“OK, then.” I shut the door and ran around to my side. Hopping in, I put the truck in gear and took off.
“You’re plus three minutes, Styx. Make up some fucking ground,” Ripper ordered.
“Those pussies can last three minutes without me,” I bit out.
“What?”
I glanced at Jolene. “It’s nothin’, sugar. Just try to relax. Whatever you do, don’t get out of the vehicle.”
“I won’t,” she said, then turned her face away, looking out the passenger window.
I needed to assess her injuries, but she seemed like she was content for the moment. I also needed to deal with the fact that I’d just decided she was mine and she had no idea who I was. “You tell me if you hurt too much, Jolene. I got shit I have to do, but I ain’t a complete bastard. I will do everything in my power to make you comfortable.”
“I’ll be OK,” she said softly. “I just want out of here. If I’m along when you hurt my poppy, that’ll make me comfortable.” Then she muttered. “Wish I could kill ’em all.”
“The McCoys?” I asked as I flew down the road. We’d be at the barn in a couple minutes. I had to be ready in case the boys needed my help. “I thought you McCoys were all about killin’ Hatfields.”
“I hate ’em all. Hatfields and McCoys. At least, I hate the ones I know. It was Hatfields who hurt me. I thought he loved me.”
I glanced at her. She hadn’t turned from the window, but I could almost feel her pain. Whatever they’d done to this girl, she’d lost more than something physical. She’d trusted her attacker. And he’d hurt her in whatever way.
“Just hang on for me. Let me get this done and get you safe, then we’ll talk.”
She shrugged. “Whatever.”
I knew that tone. She didn’t believe me. Not one little bit. I gripped the steering wheel. I was a bastard for continuing with this run, but she was safe and didn’t appear in immediate danger. If that changed, I’d reevaluate.
“You almost here?” That was Poison.
“You should hear my motor. Cut the lights a while back, so you won’t see me.”
There was silence on the comm, then Poison said, “Hear you. We’re opening the barn now. Should have the car out by the time you get here. All we need to do is do that thing with the VIN number and program the FOB. Once that’s done, we can load and go. Get the fuck outta here.”
“I’ll lock up behind you,” I said. “Then catch you on the highway.”
“I’ve got new directions for you,” Ripper said. “You’re gonna take One Nineteen south until you cross the line into Kentucky. I’ll guide you to Kentucky Eighty which will take you all the way into Somerset. You’re gonna head to the Bones compound. Once there, you can regroup and head south again in a few days. That will give me time to assess the damage and you some time to backtrack and make sure the McCoys ain’t invadin’ Somerset.”
Someone whistled low in the background. “Cain gonna be good with this?” That was Lock.
“Yeah. But only because of your passenger. You know he’d never turn his back on an innocent woman. It’s a little over three hours there. If she needs help before then, Lock and Poison, you’re on your own. I’ve got all the McCoy cars and phones bugged. I’ll at least know if they take off after you and which direction they’ll be coming from.”
“Roger that,” I said.
“When you get back to Palm Beach, Styx, you and I gonna have a fuckin’ talk ’bout pickin’ up strays.”
“Talk all you want. You’d have done the same fuckin’ thing.”
“Don’t mean I ain’t kickin’ your ass over it this time. Red’s gonna be pissed the car’s late. I’ll let him fuck you up over that himself.”
I glanced at my passenger. She’d laid her head against the window and closed her eyes, clutching that emergency blanket like a child might her security blanket. “Understood,” I said, still watching Jolene McCoy. She turned her head. That one blue eye looked at me with such sadness and pain it made my chest ache. No matter what inconvenience it cost Red or the team, no matter how mad Ripper or even Thorn or Cain got at me, there was no way I’d regret picking up this girl. She needed help and, by God, I was gonna give her exactly what she needed.
Chapter Two
Jolene
My body hurt like a mother. I must have cried out in my sleep, because I heard the man who’d picked me up out of the ditch try to soothe me. His words seemed distant, but his touch on my arm was calming. Warm and safe. I had no idea why. He hadn’t even told me his name. He seemed to be in communication with other people, because he constantly talked to himself. Whoever was on the other end didn’t seem to like me much, judging by the one-sided conversation. But hey. I was used to it.