Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 81009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81009 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
The six men were covered in tattoos. One had a tattoo that went all the way up onto his face—which, like the others, had several piercings. The man in the center of them all—if he hadn’t reminded me of a thug, I would have thought he was attractive—was the leader. There was that unmistakable air of authority about him. His darker skin and light-brown eyes, which reminded me of honey, made for a nice mix, if not for the cruel glint in his eyes.
His gaze settled on Kendrix, then swung to me, and a sadistic smile curled his lips, which made me shiver.
“Jett,” he said and winked at me before turning his gaze back to Kendrix, “you’ve been ignoring my calls.”
Kendrix started to move, and three of the men turned their aim directly at him.
“Wait!” Kendrix shouted. “Don’t do this…here,” he said.
The honey-eyed man’s attention shifted back to me, almost as if he was amused.
He tilted his head slightly, and then his gaze traveled down my body, making me feel exposed. “While I can appreciate your taste in cunts and the distraction this one must be,” he said in a slow, raspy voice, his eyes shooting back to Kendrix, “you stole from us. You stole from me.” The man made a tsking sound. “You should have known better.”
“No, I—”
The man cut him off, “Are you calling me a liar, Jett?”
“No, of course not.”
“Sure sounds like it.” He looked at the men flanking him, and they nodded in agreement. Then he cut his gaze back to me. I wished he’d stop that. “I might take some collateral.”
“Wait, I can get it,” Kendrix began.
The man snapped his cold gaze back to him. “Oh, so you do know where it is? And here I thought, you were telling me that you didn’t steal from me.” He nodded his head at the man to his right. “Bring her to me.”
My blood ran cold as the other man began taking long strides in our direction. The twisted grin on his face had me pressing my back against the bar behind me, trying to put distance that I didn’t have between us. Kendrix’s hand shot out to grab my arm. The man moved so quickly that I barely had time to react as the end of his gun was pressed against Kendrix’s forehead, shoving him backward.
The fingers that wrapped around my upper arm bit into my skin. I let out a cry from the pain as he jerked me up hard from the stool I had been sitting on to make me stand to my feet. If he tightened his hold on me any more, I was sure he’d snap my humerus in two. Tears stung my eyes from the pain, and I wobbled slightly on my heels before he began pulling me with him toward the honey-eyed man.
“Jesus, easy with her, Fly. I didn’t tell you to break her. She’s too pretty to be roughed up.”
The ironlike grip eased immediately, and I gasped in relief. He shoved me forward until I was in the man’s face. His eyes drifted over my face as he studied me, and then he reached out a finger and ran it along my jawline.
“I’m sorry, precious,” he apologized. “Fly is a brute. I should have sent Hatter to handle you.” He cut his eyes to his left. “Protect this, brother.”
If I could grow any stiffer, I would as another one of them came up behind me. My heart was hammering so loudly that it was almost all I could hear.
“It’s all right, love.” His voice was gentle, but that only seemed to make him more terrifying.
“Let her go, please. I’ll go with you to the gallery. It’s there.” Kendrix’s voice sounded panicked.
The honey-eyed man lifted his gaze from my lips, which he’d been studying, to my eyes and the evil gleam that lit his made me tremble. A pair of hands grabbed my upper arms, but not like the man he’d called Fly had. These were large, firm, and meant to move me, not manhandle me.
“Step over here with me,” the voice said.
With the sight of the other five men and their guns pointed at the bar, I went with him, not wanting to provoke anyone to shoot. He walked me over a few steps, then turned me to face Kendrix, Pepper, the two customers sitting at the opposite end of the bar—a couple who had been laughing and holding hands earlier—and the bartender, Regina, who had come in moments before these men did.
It was the calm yet almost-pissed expression on Pepper’s face that got my attention. The others were pale, and Regina was visibly shaking as tears rolled down her face. However, Pepper appeared ready to stalk over here and jerk their guns out of their hands, then hit them on the heads with their weapons.