Total pages in book: 108
Estimated words: 105803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105803 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
I blow out a huff of breath and remind myself it’s not true. The clubhouse isn’t home. And the Knights are not my family.
Which becomes even more evident when I arrive back at the clubhouse.
When I’m walking along the hallway toward Beast’s room and I hear him arguing with a woman.
At first, my stomach tightens because he didn’t come back to our room last night, and there is a part of me that still feels strange about that.
But then curiosity takes over, and I stop before I reach the open door to listen.
“Does she know?” the female voice asks angrily.
It’s Annika. And she sounds pissed.
“No, and she’s not going to, not yet,” Beast growls.
“This arrangement is dangerous, Beast. Hangman was prepared to forsake the club. How do you know the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree? What if she learns how much this club owes her and decides to cash in?”
For a moment, I think they’re talking about me. About our arrangement to pay off the debt. But they can’t be. Because I don’t know a Hangman.
“This will blow up in your face,” Annika warns Beast.
Whatever they’re talking about is clearly a sensitive topic, and I shouldn’t be here eavesdropping because it has nothing to do with me. I sure as fuck don’t want to give Annika another reason to not like me.
I turn around to creep away but as I do the floorboard beneath the carpet creaks. Loudly. I pause and curse under my breath, wondering if I just found the only loose floorboard in the goddamn hallway.
When I look up, Beast and Annika are in the doorway. Annika has her arms folded and is glaring at me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt,” I say.
“And yet here we are,” Annika replies.
Beast gives her a warning glare, and she sighs, rolling her eyes and dropping her arms to her side.
“Whatever,” she says, walking off.
I watch her go. She doesn’t look back.
“She doesn’t like me very much,” I say to Beast once she disappears out of view.
“That’s why I’m sending you both to town to spend some time together.”
“Great, I can’t wait.”
Which is a big fat lie.
I’d prefer torture with a thumbscrew to spending the afternoon with Annika.
Plus, I’m still a little pissed at Beast for being a no show last night.
I cross my arms. “I thought my great acting skills at the fundraiser last night might have earned me some reprieve from all your demands.”
Beast gives me a stern look. “Annika is all I’ve got left. If this is going to work, you need to make it work with her.”
CHAPTER 27
BELLE
“I like it just as much as you do,” Annika says when I open the bedroom door after hearing her knock.
She looks as unimpressed as I feel, and I realize Beast has said the same thing to her as he did to me about making an effort.
She wouldn’t be here otherwise.
I step aside so she can enter. “I didn’t think you’d show.”
When he told me I was to accompany Annika to town today, I spent the morning bracing for her reaction.
She casts a look around the room. “I didn’t want to let Beast down. He’s got this wild idea that we should be friends.”
I close the bedroom door. “I mean, it’s not a crazy idea.”
“But certainly not his best.” Standing at the window, she brings her icy blue gaze back to me. “It will only be disappointing when I have to break your face when you break his heart.”
I lift my brows and say mildly, “You’re coming in red hot just like your cousin. I’m wondering if it’s a family trait.”
She walks toward me. Arms folded. Fierce expression in place. “That’s something you’ll learn about me, I don’t fuck around.”
“Duly noted. But your suspicion is misplaced. I’m not here to hurt anyone or to break anyone’s heart.”
She stops right in front of me, her crystal blue eyes searching my face for something. “Beast is family. I’d kill for my family.”
I refuse to pale beneath her blazing glare. “Wouldn’t we all.”
She scoffs. “We’ll see.”
Annika drives her Dodge Challenger like she’s competing at Daytona, oozing confidence as she navigates the corners with ease.
“So considering this might be my last few minutes on Earth, want to tell me why you’re so sure I’ll break Beast’s heart?” I ask as the landscape rushes past us.
“Because being an old lady to the club president is hard work, and I’m not convinced you’ve got it in you.”
“Beast obviously thinks I do.”
“Sure he does. But he’s thinking with his dick. Not his heart.”
“Or perhaps he has faith in me.”
She lifts her brow. “What happens when you have to put his needs before yours. That usually requires sacrifice. Especially in club life. Can you do that?”
“That’s usually how relationships work.”
“You won’t be able to let your emotions cloud his judgement.”