Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74655 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 373(@200wpm)___ 299(@250wpm)___ 249(@300wpm)
I rub my finger over the Vice President patch.
Koda is a big deal in the club.
No doubt.
Then I pull the jacket over my shoulders and pull it on. It swims on me, but it’s warm and smells amazing. I glance at Koda, whose big arms are now on full display, bulging out from his tight, black tee. God, he’s so fucking beautiful it hurts to stare at him. It makes everything inside me want to pounce, to just taste him once.
Normal feminine reactions, I’m sure.
“Thanks,” I murmur.
He nods, staring out at the water for a bit, then, finally, he says, “Goin’ to need you to talk eventually, Charlie. Can’t stay up here forever. We have to find who is after you and end them, or you’ll spend your life runnin’.”
I flinch and look away, my jaw tightening.
He has no idea the depth of what he’s getting into. The dark world he’s about to walk into with his club by his side. My father, who only located me because of Treyton, is a dangerous and very deadly man.
And he runs a big operation.
As much as I hope, I don’t know that the club will be able to end it.
“I’m not so sure that’ll matter, honestly, I’m not sure you can do anything for me.”
“Why?”
It’s a demand—a gruff demand.
“Because he’s dangerous, and his operation is big, and I’m just not sure anything can be done about it.”
“It ain’t about manpower, Charlie. It’s about how fuckin’ much you want it. It’s about the fire that burns in your belly. It’s about bein’ smart.”
“And you want it, why?” I ask him, staring over finally.
“Because I don’t like to see people killed for things they don’t deserve.”
I swallow. “And how do you know I don’t deserve it?”
“Do you?” he asks directly. “Do you deserve to be killed?”
I think on that for a moment. I mean, I’ve done things wrong because of my father, so many things, but it was only because I didn’t have a choice. When I did have a choice, I took him down. And because of that, he’s going to make me pay. He’s going to try and ruin my life in the most painful way he can.
“No,” I finally answer. “I’ve done some bad things, but no, I don’t deserve to die for them. My hit is vengeance, and vengeance alone.”
“Then tell me who is after you.”
I stare at him. I’m not sure I want to do that. I trust the club, I do, but when I open this door and let all my demons out, they might change their mind. God knows I would. When they realize what they’re truly about to walk into, they’ll hit the ground running.
Of that I’m sure.
Nobody wants to die, after all.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea. Right now, I’m not sure who I trust.”
He glares at me. Pure scorn thrown right in my direction. I don’t glance away; I hold his glare. I won’t back down, not from him, not from anyone. My life, well, it’s mine for right now. I know eventually, I’ll need to come up with something, or help them, but right now I don’t think that’s a good idea at all.
I’m still not sure the club has what it takes.
No matter how bad that sounds.
“How the fuck do you think we can protect you if we don’t even know where to start lookin’?”
I take a deep breath. “Do you honestly think I’d just throw your club into a fire, without first checking that you were fully protected? If I tell you everything, I know exactly what you’ll do. You’ll all get yourselves killed.”
“No fuckin’ faith,” he growls.
“It has nothing to do with faith,” I snap back. “It has to do with logic. I know the darkness out there, okay? I fucking know it better than anyone. If I honestly thought it wasn’t a risk, I’d send you all running in there. But it is a risk. To your club. To those women the men call family. To kids. To everyone. If you think I’m going to just throw you all into that, then you don’t know me at all.”
“Eventually,” he grates out, “it’s goin’ to catch up with us. Eventually, we won’t be able to hide anymore. Fuckin’ eventually, we’ll have to find a way to end this so you’re protected. We swore our loyalty to you after what you did for us, but we can’t hide you forever.”
“And I wasn’t asking you to. I’ll figure something out. I just ... Give me a little bit of time, okay?”
“You have a million-dollar fuckin’ hit on your head, Charlie. Someone is goin’ to find you, and someone is goin’ to put a bullet in your skull. If you don’t tell us who wants that, we’re fucked, and so are you.”