Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 46448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46448 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Matthew wasn’t stupid. He was aware that his father was a killer and that he’d killed many people.
Today could end in bloodshed, but he wouldn’t mess this up. This was his one chance to prove to everyone that he wasn’t that fucked-up teenager anymore.
And of course, thinking about what a mess he’d been, he had no choice but to think of Luna. His Luna. The woman he loved more than anything else in the world.
He didn’t know what he was going to do to make it up to her.
What could he do?
Luna was … Luna. She hadn’t even been impressed when he convinced his father to pay for her scholarship to stay at college. He wanted her to have everything her heart desired. Mainly because he’d broken her heart. He had hurt her.
That feeling hadn’t gone away. The guilt stayed with him.
Taking on the open road was a welcome relief. Riding and seeing Luna were the two activities that freed his soul. That made him feel alive and ready to take on anything and everything. With Luna back, he was going to struggle to watch her from afar.
He needed to win her back.
What he didn’t know was how to do it. How could he win back the woman he wanted more than anything? Especially when they had a history? He’d been trying to figure out how to do that. How to make it up to her. He had even tried the whole letting-her-go thing, and that was bullshit. Loving someone enough to let them go was impossible.
Duke gave the signal that they were close to the meetup. They’d been riding for nearly an hour and were far from Vale Valley.
Matthew wasn’t nervous. He was ready. His dad had picked him for this and there was no way he was going to fuck this up.
He slowed down, matching his father’s speed until they came to a stop. Matthew parked alongside his dad’s bike as he saw the single car up ahead. After turning off his ignition, he climbed off his bike and followed his father’s lead. This was about him being silent and just letting his father do all the talking.
They walked toward the space between where they were parked. Matthew saw the older man as he approached. His hair was white, and he had many lines, but he didn’t appear ancient, just older, wiser. A scowl covered his face as if he’d eaten something bad.
“Duke,” Ned Walker said.
The two men with him had stayed back a few feet.
“We said no muscle,” Duke said.
Ned Walker snorted. “You brought your son. You think I don’t know what that little shit is capable of?”
Matthew recognized the insult thrown his way.
“He’s family.”
Ned Walker laughed. “And you think you were able to forego my demand that you bring no muscle? I see the muscle on your son. Knowing who he is, where he comes from, I have no doubt he could hold his own.”
“He is still my son, and you didn’t stick to your own recommendations.”
“I’m an old man.”
“Cut the crap,” Duke said. “I want you out of Vale Valley, and I want you out now.”
Ned Walker chuckled and pointed his finger at Duke. Matthew stayed perfectly still. If he read the situation right, everyone was eyeing each other, waiting for the right moment to strike.
The men at Ned Walker’s back were prepared. Their stances looked calm, but Matthew knew better. They were waiting, poised. He had no doubt they were all packing. All except him.
Yeah, his dad hadn’t given him a gun yet. That would apparently come later. Much later. He wasn’t in a good mood.
“What is this, Duke? Some kind of joke?”
“I want your shit out of my town. Away from my people. Did you know that your shit, whoever your supplier is, it’s putting people in the hospital?”
This made Ned Walker stop laughing. “You’re being serious right now.”
“I’m deadly serious. I told you no. Your shit running through my town, or out of it—I said no.”
“And I respected those wishes,” Ned Walker said. “Don’t get me wrong, I don’t agree with it. It’s bad for business, but I’m not someone to go fucking with you behind your back. I’m an old man, Duke. Not senile. I don’t pose the risk of it coming back on my ass. Whoever is running drugs in your town, it ain’t me. And my shit doesn’t kill my customers. It makes them want more. People who kill their customer base are fucking morons.” Ned Walker shook his head. “Is that what this is? You’re blaming me?”
Matthew didn’t move a muscle, but he didn’t have to look at his dad to know Duke was pissed. He believed Ned Walker had found a way to get drugs running through Vale Valley.
Duke didn’t say a word.
“Now that we’ve got the whole insulting bullshit out of the way, how about we talk like men, and you agree to negotiate with me?”