Total pages in book: 178
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
“I killed his brother.” Molly blinked away tears, refusing to let them fall, and I respected her for that. “He’ll never forgive me.”
That was when Lexi’s quiet voice penetrated the silence. “Oh, sweetie.” My woman’s face was desolate as she moved instinctively to Molly and wrapped her arms around her from behind, resting her temple on her head. “I didn’t know.” Lexi’s eyes closed as she dealt with what had just been revealed to her. And solid as she was, she squeezed Molly tightly, and muttered, “I’m so sorry.”
Molly spun in her hold and allowed Lexi to mother her, and it did something to me. Both of these women were important parts of my past. It was funny how the past kept repeating itself, bringing us together, forcing us together as if we were all to play a significant role in one another’s future.
Lexi pulled back, her eyes sad, and peered down at Molly, keeping her arms around her. “You don’t have to call him, okay?”
My face screwed up.
Um, yeah. She did.
But, my beautiful angel, she surprised me when she added, “But I know Twitch wouldn’t ask this of you if it weren’t important, honey. So—” She ran her fingers down the side of Molly’s soft cheek. “—you don’t have to, but—” Her eyes landed on me a moment before she went on gently. “—we’d like it if you did.”
Almost immediately, Molly uttered a hoarse, “I’ll call him.”
And Lexi leaned in, pressing her lips to the petite girl’s forehead. She closed her eyes and held them there a long time before she responded a heartfelt, “Thank you. I know this isn’t going to be easy, but I’ll be right here with you, okay?” Molly’s dejected eyes lifted to hers, and Lexi smiled warmly at the little woman. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Molly nodded, her expression one of desperation, and the childlike look in her eyes forced a protective streak out of me that I hadn’t felt with anyone apart from my son and his mother.
“Call him,” I uttered as I pushed myself off the wall. “Tell him to come alone.”
I had a bad feeling. A feeling that told me some people would need to be sacrificed to keep my family safe. I walked away, needing to get a grip on my inner turmoil. Because I couldn’t protect everyone.
The silence was thick, sticky, holding the four of us in place as we sat at the table. And when my eyes drifted from the huge monster of a man with the tattooed face to the tiny, petite willow of a woman with pouting lips, I couldn’t help but smirk inwardly, because in the ten minutes we’d been here, they only had eyes for each other.
As Lexi remained seated by Molly, she threw me a look that said “Oh my God, this is so awkward,” and I heard that shit whispered into my ear. Clearing my throat, I turned my eyes to the man and held them there. “What do you know of The Dragons?”
Tama’s dark gaze didn’t leave Molly as he drawled, “The price of this chat is gonna cost you.”
The soft way he said it made me realize he wasn’t talking to me. My eyes narrowed on Molly, and I watched the panic set in.
I decided to let it be known that, “Molly doesn’t work for you, Tama. She works for me, and I don’t have any plans to let her back into the fold.” He turned to me, and if I wasn’t who I was, having seen the shit I’d seen, I’d think he was a scary man. Fortunately, his intimidation tactics didn’t have shit on mine. “Especially not after the shit you pulled the last time you called her out.”
His deathly stare landed on her once again, and his response was rough, low. “Never said I wanted her for work.”
My stomach clenched with anger, painfully tight. “Not about to make my girl turn tricks for you either, so if that’s the plan, you can take this opportunity and get the fuck on out of my house.”
Tama didn’t speak for a long while, but I noticed the way his hands clenched into fists, then released constantly, before he said, “What opportunity?”
I internally grinned.
Got him.
“I hear you got a guy. A guy who runs surveillance. And I hear he’s good.”
“Amoho.” Tama chest puffed out with pride. “He’s not good. He’s the best.”
His confidence spoke volumes. “I need him to keep an eye on Ling Nguyen.”
But Tama was already shaking his head. “Nah, bruh. We don’t fuck with The Dragons.” He blinked down at the table. “They’re mental. No rules apply. That queen of theirs has a screw loose upstairs. Let’s ‘em run rabid.” His lip curled. “Disgusting. Shameful.” He took in a deep breath before shaking his head once again. “I won’t have my men killed for you, and that’s what will happen if we take this job.”