Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 78732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78732 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 394(@200wpm)___ 315(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Go to Vegas and get a feel for the place before you start the real work in a week.
Under no circumstances are we supposed to get involved with a case.
Yet after less than a week in town, I find myself married to a woman I don’t know because she got herself tangled up with some really bad guys.
It was meant to be a rescue, a problem easily solved, but as it turns out, life never works the way you think it will.
The contract Kaylee signed demands two years of service before she’s able to make another move.
With the threat of harm to those she loves, it’s up to me, and the other men of this brand new Las Vegas chapter of the Cerberus MC to figure out how to get her, and the other women these men have trapped, to safety.
As the days drag by, I find myself thinking that maybe being married isn’t so bad.
Only, it’s obvious that Kaylee doesn’t feel the same way.
How can I possibly make my wife see that being married to me isn’t all that bad?
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
Chapter 1
Heathen
How is this my life?
Sitting here with the New Mexico branch of Cerberus members wasn't even something on my radar as little as five years ago.
I had no idea this specific group existed, although I'd heard rumors that there were multiple groups around the United States that had teams that specialized in rescuing people who had been trafficked, either into sexual slavery, debt bondage, or forced labor.
This team is much different from the one I'll be on in Vegas, but I, along with a few other men, have been training with them for the last several months.
This gathering is sort of like our going away party, although it doesn't take anything substantial for this crew to get together and have a good time. Their quickness to turn a regular Tuesday into a party makes me realize that I've finally found the type of people I can really set roots down with.
"That could be you," Rooster says, nodding toward Hound's wife. Hound is a team leader for Cerberus New Mexico. I lost count but I swear the man has half a dozen kids with the club president, Kincaid's, daughter Gigi.
"That," I say without pointing, because I'm not as awkward in social situations as our Vegas IT expert Rooster, "is not the way my life will ever go."
He huffs a laugh with a wide smile as if he can see the future and I have some eye-opening changes coming.
"I'm serious," I argue. "Married with a horde of kids? Never."
"You don't like kids?"
I shrug. "I'm indifferent to kids, but I don't see this job being very kid friendly."
"Did they not give you the same eye test I had?" he asks. "Look around, brother. Every man here is tied down. That happens first, and then the kids come along."
Instead of arguing with him, I look around the room and just observe the people milling about. This place isn't only for the men and women who have dedicated their lives to righting the wrongs of evil men. They've forged a family, finding love and happiness in the midst of wickedness.
But as happy as I am for them, it's not something I see happening for myself.
Watching my parents as parts of a political machine has tainted any expectations of long-term happiness as far as an emotional relationship with a woman is concerned.
They married at the perfect age and from the viewpoint of people on the outside looking in, they're happy and supportive of each other. Not much is different at home. They don't hate each other, and they do make a perfect team, but their own political aspirations are what drives them, not love and family. They had children because it was expected, not because they wanted to shower their undying love on their offspring.
Neither were displeased when I joined the military. Time in service to your country looks very good on a political resume, but their first disappointment was when I stayed in for eight years rather than only the required four. The second time my father frowned at me was when I chose to work for a company that specializes in teaching people self-defense and at-home safety rather than going to law school.
The communication with my family over the last three years has been sporadic at best, and I wouldn't be surprised if they hadn't given me a second thought since they've considered me no longer a part of the political legacy they have been building.
Safety First was where Kincaid found me and offered me a different kind of job. That first meeting blew me away. Considering the man knew more about me than I could recall of myself, I really thought I had been put in a bad spot where my own safety was concerned, but it all worked out. Here I am, one of the founding members of the Cerberus, Las Vegas Chapter.
"Team meeting in ten," Bandera says as he walks by.
I knew after my first five-minute conversation with Dustin "Bandera" Jennings that he already had it in his head that he would eventually become the Vegas chapter president. But even after several months of training, Kincaid still hasn't handed him that patch yet.
On the other hand, I just feel lucky as hell to be a part of something so incredible.
When Bandera begins to make his way toward the conference room, it activates us other four men who will be the initial team in Vegas.
By the time the doors of the massive room close, it's filled with the entire Vegas team as well as many of the New Mexico team, including every team leader and the remaining six original Cerberus members.
I look around the room, noting just how badass all of them are. Not for the first time since arriving here, I hope I can have just half of the success these men and women have had in aiding the rescue of so many trafficked and indentured people. They make a real difference in the world, and when I joined the military, it was all I ever wanted to do.