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)
I waited until Ricardo and Gabriel were inside the cabin before making my way to the gate. Johnston, Scorpion, Halo, Elias, Mark, Trigger, and Geek were straddling their bikes, watching me. Alejandro emerged out of the tree line wearing boots, jeans, and a camouflage jacket. I blinked in surprise, my muscles tensing.
I didn’t like being surprised. Especially not when I was trying to protect my boy.
“What the fuck?” Johnston snapped at me.
I sighed, unlocking the gate with the spare key Ricardo had given me. “Long, long fucking story,” I told him. “Leave the bikes out here. Ain’t room inside the gate for them.”
Johnston looked at the others. “Scorpion, with me. The rest of you chill here.”
They nodded. Alejandro strode forward. “The cabin is burned to nothing. The truck I loaned you is nothing but a fucking crisp shell. What happened?”
“Let’s go to the cabin first,” I told him, not budging on that. I needed to see to my boy, and I also didn’t want to talk about this out here by the gate after all the fucking ruckus they’d made. “I need to check on Gabriel.”
“Good to see you’re safe, brother,” Halo said, drawing my eyes to him. I nodded once at him before striding to the cabin. Ricardo stepped outside, closing the door behind him as he nodded toward the table. “Gabriel is a little bit of a mess. I’ll entertain them for a minute.”
I handed the assault rifle back to him before heading inside, going straight for my boy, who was sitting in front of the fire, his muscles trembling. I settled behind him, my thighs on either side of him. Then, I wrapped my arms around him, squeezing him to me. He sank into my embrace, trusting me to take care of him.
“You’re safe,” I promised him.
“Do we have to go home?” he croaked. “I don’t think I’m ready.”
Fuck, I wanted nothing more than to keep him here since it was what made him happy, but I couldn’t do that. Ricardo deserved to have his place back to himself, and we still had things to handle back home.
I pressed a kiss to the top of his head. “We probably will.” He deflated, and my chest ached. Reaching up, I gripped his chin, turning his head to face me. His eyes were glassy with unshed tears, anxiety lurking within their depths. All the happiness he’d found in the past few weeks was wiped away—as if he’d never been feeling it in the first place.
It fucking gutted me.
“What if I told you I’ve got plans to give you something similar?” I gently asked him.
His eyes brightened, and he blinked, some of the tears leaving his eyes. I swiped them off his freckles, not wanting them hidden from my view. “Really?” he croaked. “Something like this?”
I nodded. “I’ll sell my trailer and the land it’s on. We can sit down with a contractor and have a floor plan drawn up for your very own cabin. We’ll find a big plot of land in the middle of nowhere. Live sort of like Ricardo does.”
“You’re not giving up the club, are you?”
I hummed noncommittally, and he frowned, his brows furrowing. “Do you want me to?” Because I would. For him. I’d do anything for him.
He shook his head, his fingers coming up to curl around my wrist. “No. You love the club. It gives you what you need—family and structure. Don’t give that up, Tango. Ever. Please.”
I softly kissed him. “I’d do anything in the fucking world for you, do you know that?”
He nodded, his hand coming up to cup my cheek. “That’s why I’m asking you to not give it up.”
I nodded. “Okay, baby.” I brushed my nose with his, making him smile a little. “Okay.”
Johnston nursed the beer Ricardo had given him, his eyes on Gabriel, who was resting sideways on my lap, his head on my shoulder. “His father is dead. I took him out myself.” Gabriel turned his head away from the flickering flames in the fireplace to blink up at Johnston. Johnston nodded once at him. “You’re free, kid. I made sure of it. They’re no longer searching for you—not now that the president is no longer calling the shots.”
“But that means the Russians have now officially gained control of that territory,” I noted, which was definitely a bad thing. And dangerous. Extremely fucking dangerous.
Scorpion sighed, nodding his head. “It does. Which means they’ve gained allies.” I gritted my teeth. Just what we fucking needed. More fucking trouble. “But not everyone sided with the Russians. Some of them decided to just cut ties.”
“I am working on getting them to join forces, I guess you would say, with all of us,” Alejandro informed me. “The Russians have not figured out I am involved yet, but it is only a matter of time. I want you all to have as many allies as possible before they do. Because when they figure it out, chaos will ensue.”