Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72126 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 289(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
But that quiet strength of hers was still there.
Even in her most vulnerable moments, it was always there, lingering beneath the surface. And she was going to need it over the next few months. She had a lot of changes ahead of her, but she wouldn’t have to face them alone. I would make sure of that.
The soothing sound of her breathing had me nodding off. I was fighting to stay awake when I heard a tap at the door.
“Hey, Ghost,” Seven whispered. “Are you in there?”
“Yeah. Give me a sec.” I didn’t want to wake Whitney, so I jumped to my feet and answered the door. “What’s going on?”
“Prez called church.”
I could tell by the urgency in his voice that something was wrong, so I stepped out of the room and closed the door. “I need to change.”
He nodded, then followed me down to my room. He waited as I threw on a pair of jeans and my boots, then, we were on our way. As we started back down the hall, I turned to him and asked, “You gonna leave me hanging, or are you gonna tell me what the hell’s going on?”
“It’s Kay.” He grimaced as he told me, “We just got word that her house in Memphis just got torched.”
“Ah, hell. Does that mean what I think it means?”
“Don’t know for sure. That’s why Prez is calling us in.”
I nodded, then followed him down to the conference room. When we walked in Preacher was already at the head of the table, and the other brothers were filing in around him. I could feel the weight of whatever news Preacher was about to drop, and it had me feeling on edge as I took a seat next to Goose.
Once everyone was settled, Preacher leaned forward, his expression hard. “As some of you might have heard, Kay’s home was torched tonight.”
A wave of murmurs spread through the room, but Preacher raised a hand, quickly silencing us.
“Our contact talked to one of his guys at the fire department, and there were accelerants all over the property and house.”
“So, someone’s sending a message.”
“Afraid so.” Prez ran his hand over his beard. “We believe this was tied to Carmine and the money he stole from the cartel.”
I exchanged a glance with Goose, and I could tell by his expression that we were both thinking the same thing. The cartel didn’t play around. If they were making moves like this, things were going to escalate fast.
“Carmine’s done well. He’s managed to stay under the radar, and it’s looking like they’ve grown tired of looking for him.” Preacher's jaw clenched as he looked over to Memphis. “Looks like they’re targeting anyone they think might be connected to him, and that includes Kay and possibly Antonia. But she’s here and safe.”
“But Mom’s not.” While they had their differences and lots of them, Memphis had always been protective of his mother. “You really think they know she’s in California?”
“No way to be sure,” Preacher said, his voice grim. “We’ve been careful, but it’s possible.”
“Fuck.”
“She’s family, son. We’re not going to let anything happen to her,” Preacher assured him. “Zeke is bringing her home. It’s a haul, so it’ll take him a couple of days to get here. But they’re coming, and once they’re here, we’ll do everything we can to keep her safe.”
I could feel the tension in the room rising as the reality of the situation settled in. We all knew it was bad. The cartel wasn’t going to back down until they got what they wanted. Memphis knew this, so I wasn’t surprised when he asked, “Why don’t we just give up Carmine? He’s the one that caused all this.”
“Why don’t you ask Antonia that question?”
“She wouldn’t want his actions to put Mom or the club in jeopardy!”
“We committed to help him. We step away from that now, it will just come off as weak. And we are anything but weak.”
Memphis nodded, then watched as Preacher stood and said, “Our strength is in our loyalty. All for one, and one for all.”
We all nodded in agreement, determination marking our expressions. There was no doubt that we were in this together—we always were. Before dismissing us, Preacher told us to stay close and be prepared for the days ahead. The guys quickly dispersed and either headed back to their rooms or to the bar.
Memphis stayed back to talk to Prez for a moment, then stormed out of the room with a huff. He was upset, and I couldn’t blame him. It’s hard enough when someone you care about is in trouble, but it’s even harder when it’s your mother. I figured he could use a moment to vent, so I followed him outside to the parking lot.
He'd just pulled out a cigarette and was lighting it when I walked up next to him and asked, “Hey, brother. You alright?”