Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 92519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92519 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 463(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“Are you okay?” Warden asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Do you think we should change the party?” Colt asked. “That panic attack was fucking scary, man.”
“If we do that, then the honeymoon is all for nothing. This will be one of our only chances to get into that clubhouse and find out what secrets he’s hiding.”
“I don’t know if Rosalie can handle it.”
“She’s strong, son.”
“She passed out from exhaustion after the giant panic attack. I don’t think that makes her strong.”
“Only when she didn’t think she could protect Petal. Until then, she was handling herself like a dream,” Dirty said. “Her concern was Petal.”
Colt gritted his teeth. “We’ve got to go through with this. Whether you like it or not.” He blew out a breath.
Warden stepped toward him. “We’ve got this, son. We’ll protect all of them.”
His father left the kitchen, leaving him with Ox, Myth, and Dirty.
“You okay?” Ox asked.
“Yeah, I’m fucking peachy.”
“You don’t look it,” Dirty said. “You look pissed off.”
Colt ran a hand down his face. “You saw what happened.”
Dirty nodded. “But I’m in agreement with Warden. You didn’t see his face, Colt. He didn’t like that Rosalie was going to be out of town, nor did he like Gabrielle being out of town. Once I took Petal out of the equation, all power he had faded, and that pissed him off.” Dirty approached him and slapped him on the shoulder. “We’ve got this.”
Myth left the kitchen next, leaving him with Ox.
“You like her,” Ox said.
“What?”
“You’re worried about her, and that means you like her.”
“I’m worried about her fucking up the club.”
“No, you’re not,” Ox said. “I saw it, Colt. You were worried about her and that’s not a bad thing.” Ox slapped him on the back. “But maybe you need to think about what that means.”
Colt knew he didn’t need to think about shit. Alone in his kitchen, he picked up the mugs and placed them in the sink, filling it with hot, soapy water. He didn’t clean them, but went to check on Petal, Gabrielle, his mother, and father. They were all fine and within ten minutes, they had all left his home. He just stood in his hallway and looked straight at the door, playing the moment over and over again in his mind as he saw Rosalie on the ground, her knees digging into the stones.
The doctor had told him she’d need some rest and care. Some soup might work. He made his way back to the kitchen and checked through the cupboards for some cans of soup. He found some chicken that was still in date. There was a tomato one he couldn’t remember getting and had a feeling it might have come with the house years ago, as that was out of date. He tossed that into the trash and found another two cans of chicken. Opening them, the scent was not appealing. He wondered if he should call his mother, but decided against it. Colt had a feeling Rosalie wouldn’t want any visitors tonight.
Tipping the contents of each can into the saucepan, he placed the pan on the stove, switched on the gas, and then cleaned out the cans, putting them into the recycle bin underneath the sink.
Going to the stove, he grabbed a wooden spoon and gently stirred the soup. When it came to a rapid bubble, he turned everything off and then portioned it into two bowls. He had a tray, grabbed some bread, not bothering with the butter, and remembering spoons when he was at the door. “Fuck,” he said, walking back to the drawers, grabbing two spoons, and making his way upstairs.
Colt entered Rosalie’s room and paused as he saw she’d sat up on the edge of the bed.
“You’re awake.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said, rubbing her temple.
“You had a panic attack.”
“I’ve not had one of those in a long time.”
“Petal told us.”
“Petal was here?”
“And your mom, and my folks, a couple of the guys.”
Rosalie frowned. “I don’t know what happened or what caused it.”
“Petal did.”
“Don’t be silly. She wouldn’t—”
“You panicked. Your dad is an evil bastard and you didn’t think about Petal. You froze and it happened. I made soup. I warmed up soup,” he said.
“I need to shower.”
“You can do all of that once you eat something.”
He put the tray on the bed between them. Lifting a bowl, he handed it to her, along with a spoon.
“Have as much bread as you like.”
Rosalie thanked him.
He picked up his bowl and started to eat. He took several mouthfuls and scrunched up his nose. “This tastes like vomit, doesn’t it?”
She giggled. “A little bit.”
“I don’t mind if you don’t want to eat this shit.”
Rosalie snorted. “It’s fine. I’d rather eat this than starve.”
He looked at her and was happy to see some color returning to her cheeks.
“Is Petal really going on that cruise?” she asked.