Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 79020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I nod. "You urged anyone with ties to someone to think really hard about asking to move here."
"I never insisted you couldn't have connections, just that anyone wanting to come took into consideration what kind of position that put your loved ones in. Ace insisted on not having ties."
"But he's--"
"The liaison between Cerberus and ICE," Kincaid clarifies. "The contract you're working through is with Cerberus, not with ICE. You're Cerberus, Pax, not ICE."
A wave of possibilities washes over me, and I do my best to not let it get too big. Is there a chance I can still be one of the good guys here in Tennessee and have her by my side?
"So you're okay with all of this?"
"I think it's a bad look for a Cerberus member to kidnap someone and hold them hostage, and I was planning on having a very serious conversation with you about it, but then I stepped in here and saw how protective she was over you, and I no longer think the direction that conversation was going to go is valid. It's clear she cares for you."
"And what about her staying with me while I continue to work?"
"There's a lot of good we do, Pax, and sometimes a little distance is necessary, but it's inhumane to ask someone not to love others. I know with your repertoire you might think you don't deserve it, but you're a good man. You wouldn't be on one of my teams if I had any doubt about that."
I always wondered how I slipped past their extensive vetting process and figured that Hound maybe had a hand in my invite to the group. Knowing Kincaid saw something in me I've always struggled to see makes me hold my burden-heavy head a little higher.
"If the two of you are together, we just have to make sure your job assignments are a little different," Kincaid says as if it's no big deal.
I fought my attraction to her, fought against it both for what it meant for the job and personally, and it was nothing but a waste of time. It was always going to work out this way because, for the first time in my life, I had no power to control what was happening.
"Ace isn't going to like this," I mutter but I feel a million pounds lighter having this conversation with him.
"Why don't you let me worry about Ace," he says as he stands. “With all of that out of the way, we have a lot to discuss.”
Chapter 36
Zara
"I think he just has to come into his own," Jericho says.
I don't feel ignored as I stand by the sink and nibble on a piece of toast, even though they aren't talking to me. They aren't speaking in code or making me feel left out. It makes me wonder just how forthcoming they'd be if I started asking questions.
Jericho looks at me like I'm some mythical creature as I cross the room, intent on inserting myself into their conversation. Instead of getting into a tighter group, a show of closing in ranks, they spread out a little, the man that introduced himself as Hound giving me an easy smile as I approach.
There are a million things I want to know, and I can't decide if I'll be disappointed if I hear it from these guys instead of...
"What's his name?"
Jericho tilts his head as if confused. "You don't know his name?"
Hound grins even wider, the smile taking over his entire face.
"It's--" Jericho begins before he's interrupted.
"My name is Pax Hart," he says as he clears the top of the stairs from the basement with the large, tattooed man right behind him. "And I'm President of the Gatlinburg, Tennessee chapter of the Cerberus MC."
I don't even bother fighting the smile that tugs up the corners of my mouth.
"Really?" Jericho snaps, but there's an absence of anger in his tone. "Did I even have a chance?"
"Did you apply?" Pax challenges, but I see a hint of amusement in his gaze for a brief second before he shuts it down.
Jericho looks at Kincaid, the man who was introduced as the New Mexico chapter president. "There was an application?"
Kincaid shakes his head with a laugh. "There was no application process."
Pax crosses the room, standing right in front of me, eyes sweeping over my entire body as if he's checking me for wounds or inventorying my mood.
I look up at him, my piece of toast suspended a few inches from my mouth. I'm not hungry for some reason, but I accepted the bread to have something to focus on and keep my hands busy while waiting for them to leave the basement.
"We have a lot to talk about," he says, eyes locked on my mouth to the point that I'm distracted enough to forget that anyone else is even in the room standing behind him until someone speaks.