Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67975 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
I want to know why he didn’t tell me he was back.
Want to know how he could go to her and not me.
So many fucking questions.
The door opens and there stands King, my father, leader, hero. I stare at him with a blank expression, and I’m full of alcohol so no doubt this is going to shit really quickly.
For a moment, he just looks at me, and then with a low, raspy voice, he says, “How did you find me?”
“You forget I know all your hidin’ places. When I found out you’ve been here all along, it didn’t take me long to track you down.”
“You shouldn’t be here, Alarick.”
“You mean Briella can fuckin’ know you’re here, but I can’t?”
He exhales and looks around. “If you were followed ...”
“I’m not fuckin’ stupid.”
He pushes the door open and I step inside the old run-down shed that he’s fitted out to live in. It’s filled with furniture and he’s even managed to put in a fireplace. It’s well hidden. I remember the shed because when we were kids, Sissy and I would come here and have parties with our friends. It’s well hidden, in bushland, not easily found.
“You care to tell me why you’re here, drunk, at fuckin’ two am?” King asks, turning around and facing me.
The years have aged him, but not how I expected them to. He looks good, really. Aside from being a little greyer, he is coming along well. Not that I expected anything less. It’ll take a great force to take my father out of this world. He’s endured more than most people.
Yet, I am finding it hard to stand here and not feel wild rage toward him.
I’ve needed him. So many times over the years.
I’ve covered for him.
I’ve made up lies.
I’ve protected his club.
He went to Briella first.
“I want to know why you went to Briella instead of me,” I say, walking in farther and sitting on an old grey sofa.
King stares at me, and then looks around the room for a few moments before answering my question. “I went to her because I knew you had enough on your plate. If you knew I was here, and things got out of control, you’d have even more to deal with. Didn’t want your focus bein’ taken off what you needed it on.”
“You told her about Cova, didn’t you?”
King nods. “She has a right to know.”
“She nearly got her life fuckin’ taken today because of your stupid little stunt. She’s not ready to process that kind of information. If you had come to me first, I could have told you that, but instead you decided to fuckin’ take matters into your own hands and send her on a chase she can’t possibly fuckin’ win.”
King looks genuinely shocked. “What happened?”
“She got to Dax’s place, nearly got killed tryin’ to get out. It’s getting messy now, she’s desperate for answers. She’s got no fuckin’ family left, King. She’s got nothin’ and now she thinks there could be someone out there, someone she can call her sister. You gotta know what that’s doin’ to her.”
King exhales and runs a hand down his tired face. “Look, I didn’t think she’d do somethin’ stupid. Briella is a smart girl, I just figured she had a right to know. She came to me, she demanded answers. I gave her the truth because I think she deserves to hear it. I explained to her why she had to listen and do the right thing.”
“Well, she didn’t fuckin’ listen, did she. And now I’m left to clean up the mother fuckin’ mess that you’re creatin’.”
“Alarick ...”
“I’m not fuckin’ here to listen to your god damned stories about why you do shit. You left everything to me, to search for this shit, that five years later, you’re still no closer to fuckin’ learnin’.”
“You’re wrong,” King says, his voice steady but hard. “You’re so fuckin’ wrong. I know where Cova is. I just didn’t tell Briella that.”
I whip my head around and stare at him. My voice comes out in a low rasp, “What?”
“I tracked her down. She’s alive. But gettin’ her back ain’t goin’ to be easy, and I need more information. I want to take the entire operation down, because if I go in and it’s not down, Dax is goin’ to have my head. The second I take Cova, he’ll know all along who has been rescuin’ these girls. Right now, he doesn’t know who that is.”
“You’ve been rescuin’ them?” I ask, shocked.
“Yeah, I fuckin’ have. I’m tryin’ to undo the hell this man is causin’ and to do that, I have to keep hidden.”
“You gotta know that what is goin’ down right now, is gettin’ out of control.”
“I know it is.”
“I can’t fuckin’ ...”
My voice trails off and I drop my head, exhaling loudly. King walks over and hesitantly puts his hand on my shoulder. “Listen to me, son. I left my club to you, because I am confident you know how to handle it. If I didn’t think that, I wouldn’t have done it. You can figure this out. You can fix this. You can win this. You just gotta get control of your head and think clearly.”