Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75152 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 376(@200wpm)___ 301(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
I was biding my time. I knew it was only a matter of time before I got my payback, so I just sat there silently fuming. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I could hear a couple of the guys whispering in the corner. After several moments, the whispering stopped, and our hoods were yanked from our heads.
It took me a moment to adjust to the light in the room, but after a few blinks, I was able to see that we were in an old, abandoned warehouse—much like the one Fury used as storage. Other than trash littering the floor and cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, there wasn’t much to the place.
Five men circled us. They were all still wearing their masks and dark clothing, and none appeared to be all that large in stature. In fact, they reminded me of some high-spun teenagers as they fidgeted nervously amongst one another, eagerly waiting for the man up front to make his move.
Losing his patience, Rooster gave them one of his snarky smirks and goaded, “You know, if you needed a date to the party, all you had to do was ask. Not that I’d say yes. I’ve never really gone for pussies who are too chicken-shit to show their fucking faces.”
“You guys think you’re so tough. You’re nothing more than a couple of hoodlums in leather.”
“Enough of the bullshit,” Rooster snarled. “Just get on with whatever this is and tell us what the fuck you want.”
“I want names.”
“Names of what?”
“All your brothers and everyone you work with.”
“Have you lost your fucking mind?” I could feel my rage building inside me as I barked, “There’s no fucking way we’re telling you anything.”
“We’ll see about that.” The asshole who appeared to be in charge motioned his head toward the others as he said, “It’s time you learned your place in this town.”
While their leader stood watch, the four divided up—two on me and two on Rooster, and they started plowing into us both. They might not have been big and brawny, but their boney-ass knuckles packed quite a punch. After plowing away on us for what seemed like forever, they each took a step back and checked the fruits of their labor.
My head was throbbing, my eyes were almost swollen shut, and my ribs ached with each breath. I glanced over at Rooster, and like me, he’d seen better days. His eyelids were swollen like mine, and he was bleeding from a busted lip and a cut across his cheek. Sounding pleased, the asshole in charge growled, “Not so tough now, huh? You ready to talk?”
“I hate to break it to ya, buddy,” Rooster smiled, revealing the blood on his teeth as he told him, “But it’s gonna take a lot more than that to break either of us. We’re not telling you shit.”
“Is that right?” The leader knelt in front of me, then whipped out the knife he’d taken from me and opened the blade. With a sinister voice, he taunted, “I think it’s time for us to kick things up a notch.”
JULES
“Whatcha got there?”
“Hmm?”
Skylar came over and sat down across from me. We were working the same shift at Danver’s and were taking a much-needed break. She motioned her hand over at the leatherbound book I was studying and asked, “What’s with the book?”
“Oh, it’s ah, it’s a journal Quinton gave me.”
“Like a diary?”
“Kind of. It’s to help me keep track of the things I learn about myself and the things I’m still trying to figure out.”
“I don’t get it.” Skylar was a few years younger than me. “What things are you still trying to figure out?”
“That’s just it. I don’t really know.”
“I am so lost.”
“Look. These are a few of the things I’ve learned so far.” I flipped the pages back, then turned it so she could see. “I like waffles and sausage links. I loved riding with Quinton on his motorcycle and had an amazing time at the beach. I even got to try crab legs.”
“Oh, now I get it. This is your ‘find yourself’ journal.”
“Yes!”
I thought back to the day Quinton had given me the journal. He was quite proud of himself for thinking of it, and I was, too. It was so unbelievably sweet of him. He’d already written down all the things we’d already done, and he wanted me to add a few things for us to try in the future. I’d been sitting there thinking about it during my entire break, but so far, I hadn’t had any luck.
“That’s so cool.” Skylar sounded intrigued as she asked, “So, what’s next on the list?”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to figure out.”
“Okay.” She sounded excited as she suggested, “How about skydiving or going to Paris.”
“I don’t know. I think those might be a bit of a stretch.”