Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“I’ll reserve judgment, then. If what you said was true, I think I can understand. It was just bad luck she turned up before you could explain the situation and make it right. I know it’s not fair to doubt you since we only just… you know.” She cleared her throat and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “But I’m going to get Ripper to look into this. Given the circumstances, I’m not going to apologize until after he tells me what he found.”
“Honey, you don’t have to apologize. Never for protecting yourself.” I turned my head to look at Caroline. “Linnie, are you OK to take her home or do you need me to get Red to drop the two of you off back at Bane?”
“No. I think the car’s drivable. She scuffed the whole side and took the mirror off, but it’s fine.”
“I’ll talk to Red about fixing it. Will you stay with Sonya when you get home?”
“Of course.” Caroline’s gaze darted back to Gloria where she stood resting against the hood of her Maserati. I had no idea what the woman wanted, but I absolutely would not let her take up more of my time than strictly necessary. I wasn’t losing Sonya now that I’d claimed her. “Keep her away from Sonya.” Caroline was normally sweet and kind to everyone. But I could see more of Doc in her than she’d admit to. Her father was the same way. Kind and caring until someone pissed him off.
“You have my word.”
I wanted to pull Sonya into my arms and tell her I’d make everything all right, but I couldn’t. The fact was, I’d slept with Sonya. She might have forced the issue, but I hadn’t wanted to stop. I was married. I wasn’t lying when I told Sonya I hadn’t thought about Gloria in years. I’d had no reason to. She was a one-night stand, or would have been if not for the whole Vegas wedding thing. I knew absolutely nothing about the person she was and had no desire to know.
“Good.” Caroline gave me a crisp nod before tugging Sonya to the car.
Sonya kept looking back at me like she was afraid she’d never see me again. Or maybe, if she did see me, like nothing would ever be the same again. I didn’t take my eyes from the little Mustang until Caroline had them out of sight.
When I turned my gaze to Gloria, I let her see a glimpse of the man she’d tricked into marrying her. I stalked toward her. I could only imagine what I looked like. I was pissed. Good and fucking pissed. Whatever happened next wasn’t going to be pleasant.
Chapter Nine
Sonya
I wasn’t nearly satisfied with Archangel’s explanation. Seemed like he had played it stupid, and Archangel was most decidedly not stupid. I didn’t think he was lying, but I needed more. I needed to know how anyone could let something like this go for so long. I’d been ready to leave to spare myself pain; now I wanted to stay because I was in so much pain. Maybe that made me a glutton for punishment, but I’d been infatuated with Archangel, literally, for years. I’d known I was too far gone to stay away from him after we’d had sex, but I’d hoped to pull back slightly and sort of regroup.
“Talk to me, Sonya.” Linnie drove down the highway between Lake Worth and Palm Beach. She was taking every back road known to man, likely trying to draw out the drive as long as I needed her to.
I shook my head, swallowing back the lump of emotion stuck in my throat. I couldn’t break down before I was safely inside my room at the clubhouse. I turned my head to try to express to Linnie I just wanted to go home, but the tears started coming and when I opened my mouth to speak, the only thing out of my mouth was a sob of despair.
After that, things were a little fuzzy. I cried so hard my head ached. It was hard to keep from screaming, but I wouldn’t have done that to Linnie. Instead, I turned my face toward the window and hunched in on myself. Linnie would get me somewhere safe and likely call in reinforcements.
I’d somewhat calmed down when we pulled into the parking lot of a hotel. She snagged her phone and my backpack from the back seat. “Ripper got us a suite. Two bedrooms. Two baths. Let’s get you inside, and I’ll go get some necessities and food. Pizza good?”
That was Linnie. She’d take care of everything. It was what she did. She might be less adventurous than me, but she was the fixer of our trio while Bella was the one trying to keep me and Caroline out of trouble.