Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46081 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
How humiliating.
He kissed you back.
He’d been hard too. At least she knew he didn’t hate kissing her.
“You good, kid?”
She shoved the intrusive thoughts away for later examination as she pulled away from her brother’s embrace. “Yeah. Let’s roll. That’s what you guys say, right?”
Curly’s head dropped back as he let out a loud laugh. Then he threw an arm across her shoulders and guided her out of the apartment. “We’ll make a biker chick out of you in no time.”
Fifteen minutes later, they were well on their way to her hotel.
Brooke’s SUV was quite comfortable, with spacious leather seats and great speakers playing low country music. Conversation flowed easily as she and Curly chatted and got to know one another.
And then Curly’s phone rang.
“Sorry,” he said. “It’s Spec, probably calling to ask me to pick up pizzas before we come back. Hey, brother,” he said after answering via the car’s blue tooth.
“Yo, Prez, we got shit going down with Frost.”
Rachel froze in her seat.
Curly’s eyes flicked to hers as he tensed.
“What happened?”
“Shit fucking happened. We need bodies down here fast. Frost is fucking bleeding, and I’m gonna kill someone if I go in there alone.”
“Motherfucker,” Curly grumbled. He took a hard U-turn without warning.
Rachel gasped and grabbed the car’s oh-shit handle to avoid being thrown across the car. The seat belt dug hard into her hip and shoulder.
“I’m in Brooke’s car. Two minutes out,” Curly announced.
“Thank fuck,” Spec replied right before the line went dead.
“Fuck!” Curly shouted as he sped back down the street they’d driven up. “I’m sorry, Rach, but I have no fucking choice but to bring you.”
She breathed heavily, holding the bar for support. “I-it’s okay.”
“It’s not fucking okay. You gotta promise me you’ll stay in the car.” He glanced her way before taking another hard turn that had her pressing into the door.
She’d stay in the car all right. He did not have to worry about that.
When she didn’t respond he went on. “This is not how I wanted to bring this shit up, but I know you got issues or fears around certain men. Trust me when I say you do not want to be inside this bar.”
Her insides tumbled like a wool ball in a dryer. “O-okay.”
“I’m sorry.”
“No. Please don’t be. Just help Frost. I promise I’ll stay in the car.”
He whipped into a dark parking lot. The kind of place she’d have never gone to by herself after dark. Her heart leaped to her throat the second she spotted Spec, standing outside by the door. He bounced on the balls of his feet, stretching his neck side to side like a boxer entering the ring.
Curly didn’t bother with a parking spot. He slowed to a stop close to the door. “Keys are here,” he said as he dropped them in the cupholder.
He looked her straight in the eye, and the seriousness she saw there had a shiver running down her spine. “Ignition on, doors locked. Do not unlock them for anyone but me or my guys, understand?”
She nodded, wide-eyed.
“You get spooked, drive the fuck off. We’ll manage.”
And then he was gone.
No way in hell would she strand them there, no matter how terrified she was. She watched them disappear into the bar and then scrambled across the center console to the driver’s seat.
Her pulse hammered so fast it felt as though her heart might jump out of her throat. The music never came back on after Curly’s phone calls. She sat in complete silence with her hands gripping the wheel, listening to the rapid sounds of her breathing and staring so hard at the entrance to the bar her eyes ached.
She felt like a character in a horror movie, trembling as she waited for the monster to find her.
The quiet grew deafening as each second ticked by slower than a snail moved.
What was happening in that bar?
How hurt was Frost?
Were Curly and Spec okay?
Thump.
Thump.
Thump.
Her heart hammered a rapid rhythm in her ear.
She’d never remember how much time had passed or how long she sat there waiting and worrying. It was long enough for her thoughts to run wild.
What if they never came out?
How long should she wait before calling for help?
Who should she call for help?
Calling the police seemed like a terrible and smart idea simultaneously.
Damn her for not getting Brooke or Olivia’s phone numbers earlier that night.
God, had it been that same night?
The door flew open, causing her to startle so hard she swore her heart stopped for a few seconds. A gasp flew out of her mouth as she watched Frost being assisted out the door by Curly and Spec. They each stood under an arm, ushering him to move faster.
It was the pained expression on Frost’s face that had her depressing the brake, putting the car in drive, then unlocking the doors. Spec climbed in the back first, then helped Frost in. She wanted so badly to ask if he was okay but was too afraid to find out the answer.