Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 102335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 102335 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 512(@200wpm)___ 409(@250wpm)___ 341(@300wpm)
“Val! Get the car. Now.” Rushing back through the entry, I find Jade and Poppy, with the blonde now beside Jade.
“Poppy, you might want to come—”
“—look, I don’t know who you are, but I’m his old lady, so w—”
Removing her hand off my arm with two fingers, I glare down at the blonde. “I don’t give a fuck who you are to Wicked.” I turn back to Poppy and soften my smile. “You’re going to be angry with me, but you need to come.”
Poppy’s hazy eyes settle on mine, but she shoots up after hearing the urgency in my tone. “Okay, I’m coming.” I squeeze Jade’s shoulder on passing, banging into Poppy’s back when she stops abruptly and turns back to face the blonde girl.
“And Sloane—”
“—I’ll handle it!” Jade shoos us away, and I grab Poppy’s arm, dragging her outside and past onlookers. My Mercedes is idling at the front, with Royce, Khaos, and Lion already off on their bikes down the long driveway. Guilt claws its way through my chest as Val drives us off, Tony deciding to stay with Papa. Papa who still won’t come home.
“What’s happening, Rubs?” Poppy asks softly, and I lean my head against the glass, watching as the trees pass by. Val floors it as soon as we hit the main road and I turn back to face Poppy.
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this, but in my defense, I thought you were dead.”
Her hand comes to my thigh. “Yes. Of course. Now what is it?”
I blow out a deep breath, handing her my phone. She pushes the home button and Wolf’s face fills the screen. He’s smiling brightly, two perfect dimples on each cheek, and dark, almond eyes.
“Oh…” Her tone is high, eyes wide. It’s not until her mouth curves up in a smile that I let out my breath. “I’m an aunty?” She looks back at me with bright eyes.
“You are.” My chest squeezes tight as she launches forward, wrapping her arms around the back of my neck. “This is—oh my God, he is going to kill you.” Poppy’s smile falls as she goes back to her chair. “We can handle him.”
“Eh.” I crawl back in my seat. “I don’t know if I know how anymore, and with everything else going on, I don’t think I can find my cares.”
“Well, I need to update you on what I’m doing now. So during this trip, I may as well info-dump you. The man who raised Wicked and me is bad bad. The worst. He had a brother, and that was who you met with Wicked all those years ago.”
“Your guys’ parents? The one Wicked killed?”
Poppy winces. “No. Not that right now, but this other man was called K Diamond, and he basically held Wicked and Royce and a few others in a den for months, making them do and act on really fucked-up shit. Jade was also involved in it all—but anyway!” she rushes as we pull to a stop sign. “I now help run an organization—”
“—Anonymous.” I watch as her mouth falls open. “I have heard about you all.”
Poppy nods, pulling down the little skirt she’s wearing with her tights. “Yeah, I guess you would have.”
“Well, unfortunately, my work is the opposite.” I blink past the emotion. “Far from a savior.”
She stifles a laugh, swiping her mouth with the back of her hand just as we pull up to the manor. The gates part open and bikes are lined at the front door. Mama must have let them in. “Someone has to be the bad guy, right? At least it’s you.”
I push open the door and wait for her to round my side before taking her hand in mine. “Yes. At least it’s me.”
I thought over this day so many times since giving birth to Wolf. How it would happen or how I would tell Wicked. I struggled with envisioning how the words would come out, since I know that I’ve never wanted to say them to begin with. But standing here, watching him hover over Wolf’s bed in his room, with the flickering of lights from his space projector, I never thought I would have felt this bad.
“Mama is still the same.”
“Same as in she trusts you still when she shouldn’t?” I ask, entering the room after leaving my shoes at his door. “Then yes,” I hiss. “She’s the same.”
Wicked’s jaw clenches as he stares down at Wolf. “You fucking kept him from me, Ruby?”
“Shhh!” I snap, grabbing his arm and wincing when his warmth collides with my cold palm. Dragging him out of the bedroom, I wait until I’ve closed the door until I look up at him.
That guilt comes through tenfold when I see the pain in his eyes. A man who has never so much as explored the probability of emotions, yet I’ve just stolen them from him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I just—I didn’t know where you were or what I would say to you.”