Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 132031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“Keyes and Mack are waitin’ out front,” Tank’s voice intoned from the overhead speaker. Thank hades. Dev tucked his haul under his arm and started for the door. He’d rather swelter in the heat than spend another second in this room.
“Tell ’em I’m comin’…” his old man called out, his voice haggard. Dixie giggled at the innuendo his father probably hadn’t intended. Dev slammed the door shut behind him without a response.
He climbed the twenty steps, mental exhaustion weighing him down. More than anything, he craved some fucking normalcy in his life.
Where the fuck did he find that?
~~~
Cash extended an arm to reach for a bath towel and still came up short of grabbing one. He was forced to step out of the hotel room’s shower, the water cascading off him as he went.
He tossed one towel to the floor to soak up all the water he trailed before taking another and rubbing quick swipes over his body. He attacked his face with a vengeance, digging the terry cloth into his closed eyes as if that alone would block the relentless carousel of memories spinning freely through his head.
What a joke. Lifting weights hadn’t helped. The miles he’d run on the treadmill hadn’t either. Before that, hours of prepping for the undercover assignment that officially started in the morning hadn’t helped.
On the way to his room from the gym, he’d swung by the hotel’s bar and had a few drinks. Even that hadn’t proved an effective escape from all this emotional overload.
If only it were random thoughts of Dev. He could get past those. He always did. Instead, he carried around this foreign feeling in his chest. For some inexplicable reason, he needed to protect the biker. The strength of the urge made his body hum. He wanted to crawl out of his skin to make it happen.
No amount of talking himself down eased the irrational urge.
He ran the damp towel over the mirror in frustrated swipes to push the condensation away. He left behind streaks on the fogged glass. Enough mirrored bits had been cleared to see the weariness in his eyes. The same sadness he’d carried for years, through multiple surgeries and physical rehabilitation. At least he’d survived. Not only that, he’d thrived. The lessons learned through the long recovery made him both mentally and physically stronger.
Clearly, not as strong as he had once thought. The inner focus that guided his every decision had vanished. This wasn’t the first time he’d been triggered back into the past. But this time, refocusing took longer.
He was here to do a job. One he planned to complete. If he found a way to help Dev, he’d do it. If not, well, life had taken them down different paths. Some might call them opposing. But it was the way it was.
Cash brushed his teeth then ran the brush over his hair.
After hours spent reviewing surveillance photos, what he wondered about the most was all of Dev’s tattoos.
He had a memory of watching Dev in class as the then-boy drew caricatures on the side of his schoolwork. The evil devils he’d drawn had confused Cash. He had never seen anyone purposely choose to engage with the darker side of life.
The photos of the man today… Cash’s body tightened. Those were forever etched in his memory. Dev had turned out gorgeous. Seriously a stunner. Beautifully made and handsome, tempting as sin. He carried himself as a rebel, one who faced life on his terms. Dev’s extensive rap sheet spoke of someone unafraid to break the rules. His Child Protective Services records hadn’t been easy to read either.
He dressed in a pair of athletic shorts and a T-shirt as he reexamined his gut feelings. The operation’s leads, those above Malik, were clearly not running the case well... A quiet rap on the room’s door drew his attention. He’d been so lost to his past he’d completely forgotten the gravity of the situation that had brought him to Dallas in the first place.
He took quiet steps toward his weapon on the desk.
The gentle knock came again. A softer knock, maybe a woman. Maybe a ruse. He edged up to the peephole to see Shanna Fox standing alone in front of his door.
“I’m alone,” she said quietly as if she knew his thoughts.
Hmm. He lowered his pistol, stood behind the door and pulled it open. She came fully inside, glanced back at him, and lifted both hands in the air as the door closed automatically behind her. She grinned.
“I’m sorry, you surprised me…” He stood there, gun in hand, feeling silly for the precautions.
“No, it happens every time someone new learns who I am,” she explained. Her voice was softer when she added, “I only came by to say I’ve been fully updated on your file.” Her direct gaze never wavered from his. “I was young when all that went down with you and Dev. Too young to remember the attack itself. I have questions and can’t find the answers in Dev’s file.”