Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58604 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 293(@200wpm)___ 234(@250wpm)___ 195(@300wpm)
“I’m sorry.” He drops to his knees before me, clasping my thighs. “Don’t get upset.” I can’t. I’m never not upset.
“And if it turns out I’m right and it is one of your own, Callan, what will you do?”
He swallows, bringing his eyes to mine. “What I have to.”
Relief sweeps through me. I suck in a breath and swipe away a fallen tear. “I suppose, if it is your dad, there’s not much we can do about it anyway.”
I grab a glass of water from his bedside table and guzzle it down. Feeling his eyes on me, I self-consciously place the glass down and defend, “My mouth is dry.”
“There’s something you should know.” My stomach dips. Nervous bugs crawl beneath the surface of my skin.
“What is it?” A million things cycle through my head.
“I need to go on a run, but when I get back, I want to take you somewhere.”
“Where?”
Squeezing my thighs, he says, “I’d rather show you.”
“That’s ominous. Just tell me.” Placing my hand over one of his, I soak up the feel of him.
“I can’t. Rest. When I get back, I’ll show you.” His eyes dart to the bedside dresser. “Kitty charged your phone for you,” he grits out, a dark edge to his voice. No doubt, there will be messages from Tyler.
“How long will you be gone?”
“A few days. Get some food, sleep, and let yourself heal.” He kisses the top of my head and hands me something from his pocket. “In case you miss me.” He strides from the room, taking all my heat with him. The folded paper in my hand burns me with mortification. Groaning, I unfold the image of him, the creases down the center beginning to distort his face. Of course he found it.
Picking up my phone, I sigh. Five missed calls and a barrage of texts. I pull up the last one and squeeze the phone until my hand twinges in pain.
Tyler: Time is ticking, Princess.
CHAPTER 3
A NEW KING
“People want to know, Rogue.”
“Mom, I don’t know how I can be any clearer. I have no desire to set another date for the wedding. It’s over.” I exhale down the line.
“Don’t say that, sweetheart. You’re just grieving, but you must eventually live your life and get back on track. Harley wouldn’t want you putting your life on hold.” She may have been Harley’s mom, but she didn’t know who Harley was or what she’d want.
“Why are you even pushing this? Did Tyler put you up to this?” I picture him there standing beside her, telling her what to say to get me to come home. She wants me married. She thinks Tyler will take care of me. The club takes care of her. Maybe she’s worried that will stop. It’s not until I got away from the situation that I realize how little she must care about me to have allowed him to have a relationship with me from such a young age.
“No, of course not. But a lot of money has been spent. The vendors will only be understanding for so long. We’ve already lost so many.” How the hell would she know? She didn’t contribute to the wedding.
“I don’t care about vendors and money. I’ll pay back whoever. It’s not happening—and you can take that back to Tyler.”
“He didn’t make me call. He’s just concerned. We all are. When are you coming home?” And there it is: Tyler is the reason she’s calling. It hurts that she’s my mom and won’t listen to what I want. It’s always been the same, she will push for whatever will make life easier for her. Maturity didn’t come as she got older. A lot of the time it feels like I’m her parent and not the other way around.
“Have the cops come by?” I change the subject.
She releases a heavy sigh. “No. I call asking for updates, but they keep spewing the same garbage: ‘these things take time.’” She sniffles, and guilt chews away at me.
“I love you, Mom.” I rub a hand across the comforter, brushing off breadcrumbs from a sandwich Diamond made for me.
“Princess, you didn’t say when you plan on coming home.”
“I’ll talk to Tyler. Don’t worry, okay?” I’m going to kill that asshole.
“Okay.”
I end the call and scrub my hands through my hair. Tyler is never going to let me go.
Me: Please check in on Mom.
Bear: Good to hear from you, Rogue. Where are you?
Bear: Rogue…?
Me: Please just check in on Mom.
“Are you ever going to leave this room? It’s been days.” I smile over at Kitty. She leans against the doorframe, her arms folded, a rainbow-colored wig on her head, and her eyeshadow matching.
“You look nice.”
“Obvs.” A half smile hooks her lip. “Guess who just left?”
“Claire?” I roll my eyes. She touches a finger to her nose. “I can’t believe she lasted this long.”