Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77415 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
I rewound to two hours before, then fast-forwarded until I could see what time Ellen left.
Then froze when I saw that Ellen had left, but Naomi was with her.
“Mother. Fucker,” I growled.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
“Fender,” I stepped out of the room. “Naomi’s gone.”
His head snapped up.
“You’re joking.”
I shook my head.
“Negative,” I said as I pulled out my phone and dialed Ellen.
Ellen didn’t bother with pleasantries when she answered.
“Yeah?”
It sounded like she was crying, and my panic level shot through the roof.
“Ellen, where is Naomi?”
There was a large pause on the other end, and then a whispered, “I dropped her off at home. I’m at my shop. Why?”
I immediately hung up and ran out of the house, heading for my bike, and drove straight for Naomi’s place as my anger boiled beneath the surface.
But the moment I pulled up outside, I saw the blood.
And I knew that something was terribly, terribly wrong.
***
Four tense hours later, I felt like a shaken up bottle of Coke as I tried to sit in my seat and not go off on the man who’d done his level best to kill anything left inside of Ellen.
Sean had yelled at her for being a part of something she—nor I—had any clue was happening, and I was fuming inside.
“She’s probably dead in there, and you helped her get that way.”
I knew the man was devastated. Hell, I was devastated for letting it happen. He’d told me to keep her there. I’d thought I had. So if it was anybody’s fault, it was mine.
But as I listened to the nearly silent crying coming from Ellen, I’d almost broken down and pulled her into my arms.
But I didn’t.
Only because Sean came out of the room right when I was about to crack, demanding answers of me.
Answers as to why his woman had nearly died. Answers to why I’d let her drive away with Ellen when she should’ve been at the clubhouse under lockdown with the rest of the women.
Not that they were technically on lockdown. At least not that I’d understood. Sure, there’d been some bad things happening to Sean and Naomi lately, but not enough to where I thought I needed to guard the clubhouse with my rifle while sitting on the roof waiting for intruders.
But you didn’t have me watching them! I wanted to growl. You just had me take them all to the clubhouse.
Instead, I took the high road and started to explain. Giving every single piece of information that I had and anything I thought might be relevant.
Then came the hard part, explaining how I’d found Naomi on the floor in her house, bleeding and broken.
Chapter 10
Hating your alarm when it goes off and you have to go to work because you didn’t die in your sleep.
-Things people contemplate when they wake up and hate their life
Ellen
I couldn’t say I was proud of myself.
After nearly getting a woman I liked killed, I wasn’t so sure that staying near my brother was the best thing any longer.
Every time I was within seeing distance of either Sean or Naomi, my stomach would plummet and I’d turn around, rushing to get somewhere, anywhere, that they weren’t.
I deserved everything that was thrown at me.
The day I’d dropped her off at her car, her house hadn’t been empty like we’d both assumed. No, it’d had some psycho killer hell-bent on hurting Naomi in it, and the only thing that saved her was her dog.
I’d left her that to handle on her own.
She’d even miscarried their baby. Seriously, I was the biggest asshole on the planet.
I looked down at my hands, wondering how long I would have to stay at this club party that was supposed to be a celebration—one that celebrated Naomi’s life and health.
Tommy Tom tried to tell me that Sean wasn’t upset with me any longer, but honestly, there was no misunderstanding the anger in his eyes each time they were aimed in my direction.
Though, I had to admit that wasn’t very often, seeing as I tried to look anywhere but at him or his fiancée.
“Hey, are you okay?”
I looked up to find Jessie staring at me.
I looked away.
“Fine,” I said, standing up. “If you’ll excuse me.”
Without waiting for him to apologize or tell me ‘it’d all be okay’ again, I walked away and didn’t look back.
“Do you want to dance?”
I stopped when a man I didn’t know stepped in front of me.
He wasn’t anybody I knew, but since I could feel Jessie’s glare burning into the back of my neck, I said yes.
“Sure,” I said. “Let’s do it.”
I happened to take a glance over my shoulder, and my belly tightened at the pure masculine anger that was written clearly all over Jessie’s face.
He wasn’t happy that I’d been ignoring him. In fact, I knew that not by the anger on his face at seeing me say yes to a dance with another man, but by the numerous angry texts and voicemails I’d received from him over the last two weeks since that night Naomi almost died.