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)
When it swings open and I see it’s Maggie, I practically tackle her in a hug, my lips meeting her face in a flurry of desperate kisses. “Nova,” she moans, pushing me back.
“I thought you were gone for good,” I gasp, my hands roaming her body to confirm she’s real, that I’m not spiraling into some delusional state.
“I was, but then I came back.”
She came back. For me? For us? “Why?”
“I don’t even know.” Her tone is annoyed.
“I’m glad you did.”
She rolls her eyes. “You’re glad your boys locked me in here like a fucking prisoner after I gave them what they needed to get Viper’s girl back? Good to know.”
“What?” She gave Ace the info on Willow? “What the fuck did you just say?”
“You heard me,” she growls, shoving at my chest until I’m in the hall once again. “I said what I said,” she blurts out before slamming the door in my face.
“We’ll talk later,” I promise through the door and go search for Ace, who’s in the bar sipping a beer with his arm flung around Kenna’s shoulder. “What the fuck, Ace? You locked her in the room?”
He nods unapologetically. “Yes, I locked her in the room until you could get back and control her. Bitch is fuckin’ psycho, and we don’t need any more fucking trouble. Jesus man, my ol’ lady’s gonna have a baby soon.”
“You mean the trouble of her helping us get Willow back? That’s how you fucking repay her? Unbelievable.” My anger bubbles up to the surface. “I’ve always backed the MC. Even when I didn’t agree, I was on board with whatever plan you decided, but the one fucking time I ask for the same, you shit all over it.”
“Dude, get your balls out of her purse. You’re being a little dramatic.”
“Dramatic? You know what’s fucking dramatic? Saving Banger’s life. That’s dramatic. Rescuing Willow? More fucking dramatic!”
My hands begin to shake, and I feel my anxiety start to take over, but this time, there are no dead bodies, just white-hot rage.
“Dude, relax. She came back here for protection. And we’re protecting her.”
“If not for her, Willow would still be chained up in that fucking house, scared and hungry, and that’s not worth a few dollars to leave town? We’re fucking flush with money! It sure as shit has to be worth not locking her in the room like a goddamn criminal.”
Ace stands, Dix and Shades behind him in a silent show of solidarity. “I’m thinking about the MC, and you’re thinking about getting your dick wet.”
“That’s bullshit, and you know it. It’s always been about the MC for me, but for you, Dix, Shades, and the rest of you guys, as soon as some woman came into the picture, all of that flew out the fucking window. Gia was fucking kidnapped by Hector. Still, we helped her. McKenna and Kelsey, too. Even Letty,” I say, letting my gaze land on my brothers. “Nothing to say? That’s what the fuck I thought.”
Olly drops a hand on my shoulder, and Stone does the same on the other, another show of solidarity, but this time with me.
“This isn’t the same,” Dix growls.
“No? You mean how no one said one fucking word about you bringing cartel heat on the MC with your woman? This whole shit show started with the cartel. I am goddamn sure, as sure as I stand here, that Maggie is no longer involved with BTD.”
Dix takes a threatening step forward, but Shades stops him.
“Fuck this,” I growl as my phone rings. “Yeah,” I bark into the phone.
“Kane? This is your mother.” Her stiff, overly formal tone freezes me mid-step. It’s like stepping into a time machine. Everything else fades as I distance myself from my president and my brothers.
Kane. That name feels like it belongs to a stranger.
“Mom,” I say, the word unfamiliar and thick in my mouth.
“We’re worried, Kane. We saw the news about Angel Harbor. You still live there, don’t you?”
“Yes, I do,” I grind out through clenched teeth, the irritation still festering.
“My goodness,” she sighs. “Are you all right? We saw all the chaos over there.” She lets out another sigh, but it’s one I recognize well because it always precedes an order. “It’s time for you to stop this nonsense and come home.”
Fury bubbles up inside me, but I force it down. “I am home, Mom.”
The truth is that the MC is my home, and it’s also at a crossroads, but so am I in my personal life. Right now, I’m so angry it all seems like too much to handle, like maybe something has to give.
She scoffs. “That place is not your home. It’s where you ran off to when the real world became too much for you to handle, Kane.”
I grip my phone so hard it could shatter. “Now’s not the time, Mom. Sorry to disappoint you, but I am home.”