Total pages in book: 63
Estimated words: 60234 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60234 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
“Oh. That.”
“That?” Ace shouts the word, but he keeps his distance. “This isn’t just you getting your fucking dick wet, Nova. This is serious fucking shit.”
Oh shit, here comes my anxiety. All the signs of an attack intensify as I face down my brothers. A shrill laugh escapes, and I shake my head, pushing Dix away from me.
“And why is she any different?” I ask, getting in my president’s face. “Answer me that, oh wise one.”
“Back it up, Nova.” He pushes me back with one hand, not hostile, just a warning.
“Every fucking chick who’s entered the club in the past few years started as a threat. Valentina,” I glare at Dix. “Literally is a cartel princess. She belongs to the enemy that sent those motherfuckers to kill Banger in the first place! So what is the fucking difference?”
“It’s different,” Ace replies.
“Do you even fucking hear yourself, man? She doesn’t fucking belong to anyone,” I tell him. “In case you forgot, the gang she allegedly belongs to beat the fuck out of her, stabbed her, and left her for dead.”
“So she says,” Dix adds with a heaping dose of sarcasm.
I shake my head. “Seriously, what the fuck is this? The BTD tried to kill Banger. They left him for dead and stole Willow, and you’re worried about where I’m putting my dick. Why?”
“Why?” Dix lets out a bitter laugh. “Well, for one, she was flirting with Wild Man to get intel from him and then told the whole fucking clubhouse that she’s fucking you!”
“What?”
Ace blows out a breath. “Maggie needs to get on with her life. She’s in danger here, and the longer she stays with us, the more she puts the club and our families in danger.”
“This is bullshit,” I growl, feeling my chest heave as I struggle to suck down oxygen. My vision starts to blur and spin, and the ringing in my ears intensifies by the second. Fucking panic attack, cropping up at the worst fucking time.
“It was okay when you guys were fucking Kenna and Valentina and all the others, but now it’s a problem?” I dig the heels of my palm into my eyes to stop the room from spinning.
This isn’t real. This is just an anxiety attack, I tell myself for a few seconds until my breathing is in check. My anger is still here, but I have it under control. “Do whatever the fuck you want,” I growl and wave them off. “You’re going to anyway.”
It’s bullshit, pure and simple, just like Uncle Sam and my parents all over again. Loyalty isn’t rewarded when it comes to me. I make the same sacrifices for my MC and my brothers because it’s what I do, but it’s unsettling as fuck that I don’t get anything in return. Not one fucking ounce of loyalty. Every fucking body else gets their happy ending, and what do I get?
Not one goddamn thing.
“Nova,” Dix starts, stepping forward.
I hold my hands up to stop him, but the stubborn bastard barges forward. “Don’t touch me. Not now.”
That brings the VP up short. He nods with his brows dipped into a frown. “Seriously?”
I nod, but my mind isn’t on the three men inside my apartment. It’s on Maggie. How the fuck am I supposed to tell her that she has to go? That she’s no longer welcome at the clubhouse and that we’re tossing her to the curb?
“I promised her we would protect her. And now I’m going back on that promise, knowing she’ll end up another dead body that I can’t forget. Can’t unsee. Do you fuckers even think about that?”
Shades, whose been standing there like a dick statue, starts, “Nova—”
“—No, Shades, just shut the fuck up.”
Ace looks around the room with a nod. “Grab your gear,” he orders abruptly. “We’re rescuing Willow. Tonight.”
That’s it, all he says. Nothing about the promises I made to Maggie, just the plan to rescue Willow.
“You don’t need me for that,” I assure them.
“You’re coming,” Ace growls. “Willow might need you.”
There’s nothing I can say to a direct order. Story of my fucking life.
I nod and grab my shit. Maybe rescuing Willow is just what I need to get my mind off Maggie and the fucked up way I feel about her, the way she makes me feel.
Already, the plans swirling in my mind ease my anxiety. The symptoms are fading. Maybe it’s my turn to pour my emotions into fucking shit up, creating chaos, and wrecking a few lives.
Maybe that’s what I need to quiet the demons in my head.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Maggie
Son of a fucking bitch! I pace the length of the small bedroom, so angry I’m vibrating. I tug on my hair before I remember that all of my dark, thick locks are gone and yank the stupid fucking scarf off my head.
I pack the clothes, which aren’t actually mine, into the duffel bag, which isn’t mine, either, and zip it up before slinging it over my shoulder.