Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 74022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74022 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 370(@200wpm)___ 296(@250wpm)___ 247(@300wpm)
I hold his eyes. “Boston ...”
He steps forward, curling a hand around the back of my neck, making my skin prickle. God damn, I both hate and love the way he makes me feel. “You’re doin’ it, sweetheart, like it or not.”
Damn.
“Okay,” I whisper.
“Now,” he says, letting me go. “Get what you can. Amalie and Scarlett will take you to my house. The boys and I are goin’ to sort this motherfucker out.”
“What are you going to do?” I ask him, eyes wide.
He stares at me. “Make him wish he never fucked with you.”
And with that, they all leave.
And I’m left with a gaping heart, and yet an incredible new family I never could have imagined up in my very best dream.
Yeah.
I’m grateful for that.
~*~*~*~
NOW – PENELOPE
“You’re sure you’re okay?” Amalie asks, handing me another glass of wine.
We’re sitting on Boston’s porch, drinking away the hell of the day. The men still aren’t back yet, and I’m not entirely sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. It either means they didn’t find Ashton, or they did and whatever they’re doing to him is making him wish he was never born, quite literally.
Will it be enough, though, to keep him away?
Ashton might be messing with drugs, or whatever he’s messing with, but he’s a stubborn man, and he’s proud, and the message he left for me today was very real. It was dark, and it was evil, and it makes me wonder what other lengths he’ll go to to get what he wants. Will the bikers going after him make it worse or better?
“Maybe I should just give him what he wants,” I say softly.
Scarlett’s head swivels in my direction. “You will absolutely not give that piece of snot what he wants. Ever.”
I laugh, it’s soft, but I love her passion. Scarlett isn’t the kind of girl you take on. Probably something to do with her incredible fame, and something she’s been forced to learn over the years, either way, she’s a fighter. Through and through.
“No, you’re right,” I say, feeling slightly defeated. “I just don’t know that a bunch of bikers paying him a visit is going to stop anything ...”
“Maybe it won’t,” Amalie says. “But it has to give him a warning, that what he’s doing isn’t going to be tolerated. Right?”
Yeah.
I guess so.
But who knows what Ashton’s mind is like right now? Who knows what kind of person he has turned into. He’s capable of destroying what he knows means the most to me, then he’s capable of a lot more than I could even begin to imagine.
The front door opens, and all the bikers walk in.
My eyes immediately go to Boston. He’s got a red, swollen hand, but other than that, he looks fine.
Does that mean they found Ashton?
“C’mon, girls,” Malakai says. “Time to go.”
It’s not an option, but an order. Amalie and Scarlett stand, and both of them look down to me. “It’ll be okay,” Amalie says. “We’re here, no matter what.”
That feels nice.
“Thank you.”
Both of them hug me, the bikers nod at me, and then they’re gone, leaving me alone with Boston. He walks into the kitchen and pulls out a beer, and I move straight to his hand, reaching out for it. He flinches when I touch it but doesn’t pull back. “I guess this means you found him?”
“Nah, it means I didn’t.”
I stare up at him for a second. “I’m not following you.”
“Couldn’t find him. Nobody would tell us where he is. Or his girlfriend. Got fuckin’ angry, punched a wall.”
I go to the freezer and pull out a frozen bag of peas, carrying it over and placing it on his hand. He goes to pull it back and shake his head, but I give him a stern look. “It’ll stop the swelling and the bruising, stop being so stubborn.”
He exhales, and I nod to the sofa. He nods, and we both go over, sitting down. I open his beer for him, and he murmurs his thanks. I’m a mixture of a little relieved he didn’t find Ashton, and a little disappointed. I’m not exactly sure why.
“So, he wasn’t around? That’s not surprising.”
Boston exhales with an angry growl. “He must have known we would come for him, has to know by now you’re friends with the club. If he’s smart enough to break into your house and do that much damage, he’s smart enough to know what you’re doing.”
“So he’s done a runner. That might be good, right?”
“Wrong,” Boston says. “When he can’t be found, we don’t fuckin’ know where he is. He might not be done with you, Penny. He might be just getting started. Malakai got into one of his ‘friends’ and found out he’s dealin’ heavy in the drug world, but not only that, he’s got himself a gamblin’ debt that’s out of this world.”