Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Even Ricardo had given me some tips and pointers on how to help us live off the land better, which I thought would be perfect for Gabriel. Sure, I still had a responsibility to the club; I would never leave Satan’s Worshippers, but we wouldn’t be needed in town much. The majority of everything we needed would be right there on our property.
I would do anything to keep Gabriel smiling like this. Relaxed like this. Fucking happy.
And with that came the realization that I would give up the club if I needed to. If Gabriel truly needed me to step away from that life, I would in a heartbeat. I would get my inked blacked out, and I would hand over my cut.
He was the most important thing to me. My fucking priority. Nothing came before him. Which, in reality, violated the fuck out of the oath I took—the oath that meant the club always came first—but when it came to my boy, that oath didn’t mean shit.
Some men, like Scorpion and Chase, continued to put the club above their old ladies. But I knew I couldn’t do that—not with Gabriel. Our bond was… stronger than that. It was so strong, some days it threatened to fucking consume me.
I could barely breathe unless he was in my eyesight.
I jerked my head up from watching Gabriel brush the tied-up horse when the sound of bikes reached my ears. Cursing, I reached for my boy, but he was already standing up, his hand reaching for mine. My fingers wrapped around his, and I tugged him to me, every muscle in my body tensing and preparing for an attack. Ricardo rushed out of the chicken coop, pointing to the woods. “Go,” he ordered. “I’ll handle this.”
While losing Ricardo would hurt like hell, I would still choose to protect Gabriel over helping him. And I knew he knew that, just as I knew my boy had managed to soften Ricardo just as he’d done everyone else. Ricardo had a soft spot for him, and I knew he would protect Gabriel just as he’d protected me that day in the desert.
Ricardo could handle his own. I had to trust that.
I nodded once and rushed for the woods, Gabriel’s hand tightly clasped in my own. His fingers were strangling mine, but I knew our connection was the only thing keeping him from panicking.
We’d been fucking found, and he was doing his best not to spiral. I was going to fuck him so good once we were back somewhere safe, he was going to lose his fucking mind. I was so goddamn proud of him for using his coping techniques while his mind was no doubt running one-hundred-eighty miles an hour—too fast for him to truly handle.
I stopped once we were deep enough into the trees and pulled Gabriel against my back just as we’d been in the mountains. His fingers curled into the top of my jeans, his breaths huffing out behind me. I tightened my hold on his hand, straining my ears to hear what was going on. The bikes were closer now, almost to the gate.
I gritted my teeth, hating that Ricardo was out there alone. But I wasn’t ashamed to admit that if it came to a choice between making sure Gabriel survived or helping Ricardo, I’d let Ricardo die every single time.
I didn’t give a single fuck if that made me a shitty human being. I’d be the goddamn devil as long as it kept my boy safe.
The bikes rumbled to a stop outside the gates, the sound of the multiple bike engines growling through the forest and echoing off the mountain surrounding us. Gabriel trembled, his hand quaking in mine.
“Easy, boy,” I murmured.
His hold on my jeans tightened, his breathing quickening.
“Someone better come the fuck out!” Johnston shouted. “Or I swear to all that is fucking holy, I will blow this fucking bullshit little farm to goddamn smithereens!”
“Fuck,” I swore. “Ricardo!” I shouted, tugging Gabriel out of the woods, trying to get out of the forest before Ricardo opened fire on my club. “It’s all good!”
“Tango!” Johnston shouted.
Jesus fuck. He was pissed. Goddammit.
Gabriel and I emerged from the woods. His grip on me had loosened the slightest bit, but he was still clinging, which I didn’t mind. Ricardo walked over to me, arching a brow, ignoring Johnston, who was glowering at him. Leaning down, I pressed a soft kiss to Gabriel’s lips. “Go inside with Ricardo,” I gently told him.
He nodded, and after a moment, he relinquished his hold on my hand, leaving me feeling cold. Ricardo took his hand in his and passed me the assault rifle he was carrying. I nodded once, strapping it to me.
If my club found us, anyone else could, too. We needed to remain on alert. Wasn’t like my club had been discreet in coming here either.