Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 123672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123672 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 618(@200wpm)___ 495(@250wpm)___ 412(@300wpm)
Turning back to Kyah, I find her gaze already on them with the kind of determination that reminds me just how strong she is. That’s exactly why I want her to be mine. At some point, I’ll step up as President of the Grim Reapers, and when that happens, I’m gonna need a strong woman at my side, someone who’ll keep me grounded and turn a blind eye to the bullshit. I’m still trying to figure out if she can handle that last part, but I think she’ll be alright.
“The other day,” she says, her voice breaking, “you said Crew was no good for me, that he wasn’t a good guy—”
“Kyah,” I breathe, stepping right into her and bracing my arms on the wall beside her, caging her in as I tip my head, my forehead just an inch from hers. “Don’t ask me what you’re about to ask me.”
“He was one of my best friends, Viper. I knew him for six years, and after the past few days, I’m starting to wonder if I even knew him at all. I need to know,” she says, her chest heaving. “What was he involved in?”
I clench my jaw, reluctant to have this conversation with her. He was a piece of shit, and he was involved in some unsavory business, but it all came back to his bastard brother. Hell, if he wasn’t around, I’m sure Crew might have been able to keep his nose clean, but his brother made sure that if he was going down, he was gonna drag Crew down with him.
Mason Ledger is solely responsible for the biggest human trafficking ring in the state, and to be honest, I don’t know how the bastard is pulling it off considering he’s not the sharpest tool in the shed. Twelve months ago, Crew got himself in trouble, and instead of doing the right thing and working his ass off to repay his debt, he borrowed money from his big brother with the condition that if he fails to pay him back, Mason will take payment in the form of Kyah. Naturally, Crew’s overinflated ego agreed to the deal.
He had only a few weeks left before his time was up, and it was no surprise when I found Crew in my fucking clubhouse, begging on his knees for me to find a way to save Kyah, and of course, I would have. I already have my plan in place for when the time comes, but considering Crew is now dead, perhaps my plan needs to change. Whether Crew is dead or not, Mason will still come looking for what he’s owed, only now there’s no reason to wait.
“It’s not my business to get into, Ky, and if you were smart, you wouldn’t go looking for answers.”
“Viper—”
“No,” I growl, my hand falling to her waist and squeezing tight. “Don’t fucking push me on this. Crew was a piece of shit, and I’m not getting myself involved by opening my fucking mouth. That’s all you need to know, so do yourself a favor and keep your eyes open and don’t go looking for information, otherwise, you’ll end up just like Crew.”
Ky’s eyes widen, fear blasting through her bright blue stare, and while I hate scaring her like that, it’s for the best. There’s no reason to tell her what Crew was involved in, no reason to have her constantly looking over her shoulder.
She has me. She’ll be fine.
Spider clears his throat from the opening of the alley, and as I glance back toward him, he nods, silently letting me know it’s time to get out of here. I turn my attention back to Ky, stepping back to give her space. “Get out of here, Ky. Go home,” I tell her. “The cops will eventually start asking more questions and when they do, keep your mouth shut. Don’t tell them you were at the shop yesterday. Don’t tell them he hurt you. As far as the cops were aware, you were home all day. I’ll give you an alibi if I have to.”
Ky visibly swallows, but she continues to hold my stare before finally nodding. “Okay,” she says in a small tone.
“Good,” I say, pressing my hand to her lower back and giving her a nudge to get moving. “Now go home. You don’t need to be here.”
Kyah moves out from the wall, her hands shaking at her sides as the tears continue to well in her eyes. “If I find out you’re lying to me, and you really did have something to do with this . . .”
She lets her words fall away, her empty threat sitting between us, and I’m not going to lie, I don’t fucking like it. People have lost their lives for making comments like that to me, but when it comes to Kyah Bailey there’s not a lot I wouldn’t forgive.