Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37654 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 188(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
What could I say? He wasn’t wrong. I would’ve argued it sounded worse than it really was, but the whole point was that Sting had approved something, and I’d taken it upon myself to reverse his decision. Without discussing my concerns with him.
I nodded, wincing. “That’s about the size of it.” My muttered response was met with growls and grunts from all around the room.
“You know,” Roman added quietly. “We’ve got two members still being expelled in the barn. I was going to ask permission to finish it, but if you want to add this one to the fun, I can arrange for them to get a break while we start breaking Walker down.” It was no less than I expected, and I wasn’t about to argue with them.
Sting looked at me for a very long time. The silence stretched on while he gave the matter the thoughtful attention he was known for. “No. Not now, at least. And no to ending those fuckers in the barn. Maniac and Lynch are going to beg for death for a long time before I give it to them. They brought death to our door, so it’s not going to be over for a long fucking while. As to Walker, I need to think about this. Under normal circumstances, he’d be history. Just like Snake. Both for going behind my back and for how he treated Blossom. That shit is not OK.” He glared at me. “She latched on to you, picked you to be hers. Likely wanting you to be her protector. Why is anyone’s guess. Given this whole situation is fucked to shit and back, I want to think about it and discuss it with Roman and Brick before we go any further. Until then, you’re not to leave the compound.”
“I want to watch over Blossom.” I winced as it came out as a demand rather than a respectful request. But honestly, I had no social niceties. Especially not with my brothers. They knew it, but this situation definitely needed to be handled delicately.
Sting snorted. “You’ve really lost your Goddamn mind. You honestly think that girl wants anything to do with your sorry ass?”
“She did before.”
“Yeah. Before.” Sting stabbed a finger in my direction. “Before you even tried to find out why such a sweet, beautiful, well-off girl wanted the likes of you. If anyone isn’t welcome here now, it’s you, Walker. You’re on thin ice. I’m not sure I can convince myself you deserve a second chance with the club. The only reason I’m taking my time with this is because you’ve been a loyal member, even through my transition into being president. Which is why I can’t understand this whole fucked-up situation with you.” Sting scrubbed a hand over his face several times, obviously agitated to the extreme. “As president of this club, Blossom is now under my protection. Me and Iris will take care of her, and I’ll use the full weight of my position to protect her.” Everyone in church nodded their agreement.
“Wylde. You said there was more to Blossom than you’d originally found. Tell me about that.”
Wylde lifted his chin. “Well, she’s the daughter of a billionaire oilman. Maxim Hollister. I’m still piecing it all together. What I know is that her father gave her the last name Evergreen to protect her privacy.” He glanced over at me. “I confirmed that after we found it earlier. No one could readily link her by name to him and therefore wouldn’t be looking to harm her to make a quick buck. When he died, Hollister’s money all went into several trust funds. One for her mother, one for her, and three for any future children Blossom had. But the guy was seriously one of the richest people in the fuckin’ world, so no one in this venture is hurtin’ for money in any way.” Wylde slouched in his chair, crossing one ankle over the opposite knee. “He died shortly after Blossom was born. The cause of death is buried so fuckin’ deep even I can’t find it. From what I did dig up, it was all his paranoia and insistence on privacy that kept any rumors of his death out of the media. Apparently, it’s in a contract with his lawyers or something. At least, that’s my guess.” He shrugged. “I guess he didn’t want his dirty laundry aired in public, so to speak.
“When Blossom was two, her mother married our esteemed mayor. In fact, it was probably her money that got him into office. I’m still looking into the guy, but he seems to have bigger aspirations. Like the governor’s office. That’s a new development over the last few weeks from what I’ve found so far. Problem is, he doesn’t have access to any of the money. Now that his wife’s dead.”