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)
“How long—” My body shakes as that same coldness sticks to my bones. I quiver as ice slides through my veins. My head itches for relief. Anything to stop my fucking eyes from burning in the back of my head.
“Four hours.” His voice is low but gentle.
“Four hours?” I repeat, my teeth chattering. “I thought it was weeks.”
“Psh”—Wicked snickers—“like fuck I wouldn’t find you sooner. I’m just sorry it took me four hours.” He rubs circles over my arm as whoever it is driving continues.
“You lied to me,” I whisper, my throat parched and eyes closed. I just want to sleep. “He told me you work with him, not for him.”
“Fuck.”
Sleep takes hold.
I know, going forward, that she’s going to self-destruct. That everything I’m about to leave on her lap to decipher isn’t fair. It’s why I haven’t told her for so long. I still don’t think I will, because if there’s any risk at all of losing her, this would guarantee it. Not just from me, but other people too.
“She won’t be ready to wake yet, Wicked,” Jade says, sliding over a glass of whiskey. “You need to let her heal and recover.” I flick my finger against the glass just as Royce pulls out a chair beside me.
“You know, you’re fucking lucky I’m here, huh?”
I shake my head, shooting back the liquid. “Because you won’t get off my tit.”
“Well, shit.” Royce glares at me. “It’s a fucking good thing I haven’t because you need me sucking on them.”
“I’ll always need you, brother.” I clear my throat, and he pats me on the shoulder. “She’s going to fucking lose it when she finds everything out, Roy.” Shaking my head, I run my fingers through my hair. “She’s not like Jade. She doesn’t forgive me for every stupid thing I do. That bitch holds a grudge tighter than her pussy does my dick.” Jade disappears through the back with an eye roll, passing Khaos as he enters, rolling a cigarette between his fingers. I watch him carefully, needing an answer.
He shakes his head. “He got away.” Swiping up a bottle, he takes the other chair beside mine.
My jaw clenches so tight I can hear my teeth fucking crunch. “Fuck.”
“You know he was smart too. He didn’t fucking leave anything behind. He only used five people, all of which we killed, bar one, and everything that was set up there, was to dump and leave. He used a burner building, per se.” Khaos leans back in his chair. “Should we check out the asylum anyway?”
I knew he wouldn’t still be there. They cleared that shit out years ago when I went back to find him. Not one thing was dropped there. “Yeah. Maybe.”
“So are you going to tell her?” Royce asks from beside me, and I don’t turn to face him. The club here has been lenient with all the bullshit happening around us. All of which is tied to me. I’ve kept them all out for the most part. This is a war about me, not the club, and as much as a brother’s problem is a club problem, I made the choice not to bring them into it all. They’ve got families. Families that the Cosa Nostra will happily take out.
“No. Not yet. I’ll wait.”
“For what?” Royce leans forward, resting his elbows on the bar. “What could you possibly wait for?”
I clench my jaw. “The wedding.”
“And why the fuck would you do that? You know the girls are all wanting to be there.”
I turn in my seat to face him. “They’ll be safe. And why?” I shake my head, staring off into the distance. “Because she won’t believe me unless she sees it with her own eyes. It’s my only choice.”
“There’s something I need from you going forward, Wicked. And you may not like it because it is outside of this community.” I watched as he picked up a box of matches and slowly lit every candle on the mantel. “The girl I have in there, I need you to do something for me one day, and you may like it or not. I’m yet to figure that out…” I widened my arms over the edge of the bench. Any time Skully said that he needed me to do something, I knew it was going to be bad. But with him stalling, I was sure I wasn’t going to like his next words.
“I will be putting you and Poppy into a home. One night, when you receive a text message from me, you’re going to kill your foster father. Now this is going to spark an avalanche of events.” He turned to face me, crossing his arms in front of him. “You will be collected by a family. Her family.” I adjusted myself on the wood. His jobs were usually a little less committal than this, and I was still only thirteen. When was he hoping I’d do this? “The rest will be told to you on a need-to-know basis. I don’t want to overload you too much right now.” He waved forward. “Go to your room.”