Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 83961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83961 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
"Good then we understand each other."
"Hardly."
"Look," I said, sighing. "Worst case, IA comes in and wipes out the force, right? They all get replaced with another batch of cops and detectives. I guarantee you they will be just as easy to turn as this last batch was. There's also the chance that there will be pressure on IA to sweep this under the rug, blame it on one dirty cop and let it go. From what I know, this goes way past the force. It goes up to judges. It goes to juries. It goes to senators and governors. They start pulling at the stray thread, the entire state will unravel. The jury tampering alone... people sent away or let off based on a tainted jury? Any idea what a mess that is?"
"You better be right, Jstorm," Repo said, leaving abruptly, his every step weighted with his anger.
To be perfectly honest... I wasn't sure I was right. I didn't know that this would work. All I knew was I couldn't sit on my hands as the force and the news tried to paint Wolf as a bad guy. Especially when he had killed Lex for me, to make me feel safe again, to give me peace of mind. He did it for me. And he was being punished for that.
Not on my fucking watch. No sir, no way.
"Reign," I called, looking up into the room to find him talking with Cash.
"Yeah babe?"
"Most brutal fuck in the area who will work with me?" I asked.
Reign and Cash shared a look.
"Eli Mallick."
"Yeah but will his rage-out be controllable?" I asked, knowing all about Eli. The Mallicks, a family of loan sharks from the dad to the five sons, had a reputation for ruthlessness. You missed your payment, you got a warning. You missed it again, you got a visit from Shane or Mark or Ryan. You missed it again... that was when Eli darkened your door. And if you got some kind of false sense of security because you already got visited by one of the other Mallicks and were able to recover after some stitches or a knee replacement, well, you were in for a rude awakening when Eli set his sights on you.
Many said Eli was the most brutal of the Mallicks because he was the one with the temperament least meant for a life of violence. He was an artist, a gentle soul. But Charlie and Helen Mallick raised their boys to settle their disputes with their fists, with one another, with the kids on the playground. Violence was a quality every human possessed, buried deeper in some, almost never to surface. But it was a quality the Mallicks dug out of their sons, brushed off, and polished, making them ruthless knee-cap breakers, making them salivate for blood the way Pavlov's dogs did for a bell.
"That's the thing, kid," Cash said, shrugging. "He doesn't rage-out. He goes in so cold it's glacial. Get in his way, get in his face and you'll get his attention. He'll stop. He's not like Wolf."
"Alright," I said, slamming my laptop closed. "Time to go see a man about an old school ass kicking."
"Babe, be smart about..."
"About getting someone out of jail who killed the man who tortured me for sixteen days?" I spat, my eyes going huge at what I had just admitted, not just to Reign and Cash, but to a whole compound full of bikers. Shit.
"Kid..." Cash said, his voice sad.
Reign stayed silent, but his eyes spoke a thousand words. They wouldn't stand in my way. They wouldn't say another word. They would let me do what I needed to do.
"Jstorm," Repo's voice called and I jerked before I turned to see him walking toward me, all the anger gone, his light eyes on me. "I'll take you to Chaz's."
Great. I had their sympathy. Exactly what I never wanted.
"Look," I said moving back a step so I could address the whole room. "I don't need any of your fucking pity, do you understand me? Pity is for victims. I am not a victim. I'm the badass bitch who stormed into your compound and got you jumping to follow orders. I'm the woman who is going to get your road captain off on three counts of murder. So take those sad looks and shove them up your asses. I don't need that shit. I need..."
"A ride to Chaz's," Repo broke in, voice calm, hands in pockets. "So quit your bitching and get your pretty ass in my car before I throw you in there."
Well then.
Normally, I'd want to gut him for the strong sexist undertone in that statement, but it was better than the pity and he was giving me what I wanted. But still... I couldn't just let it slide now, could I?
"Threaten to throw my ass anywhere again and I will find one of those beloved cars of yours and tear out all her guts, then set the bitch on fire, got it?"
"Low blow," Repo said, holding his gut, but giving me a smile. "I got it, Jstorm. Let's get going. Wolf doesn't like being locked up. We're wasting time standing here..."
"Clucking like a couple hens," I supplied, grabbed my bag, and took off outside.
I had a man to see about a good old fashioned passionate ass-kicking.
Twenty
Janie
Chaz's was a watering hole for the local bikers as evidenced by the half dozen chrome beauties parked out front at any time. The building was low and brick with a simple sign displaying the name. Nothing to write home about.
I parked Repo's obnoxious bright green old school muscle car. He had about six of various kinds of said cars that he was currently working on in the field behind the compound. Once they were finished, he lost interest in them and ended up selling them. Apparently, he made a pretty penny doing so.
"Try to tone down the 'tude in here," Repo said, grabbing the door handle at the same time as me and giving me a look until I let my hand drop and he could pull it open.