Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“You know,” she drawled, voice laced with venom, “your daddy always had a hell of a dick. How he made you, I’ll never know.” Her gaze flicked over me, smug and cruel. “But then, he always wanted a boy, didn’t he? Couldn’t stomach the idea of a daughter. So, he named you like a guy.”
For years, I’d hated this woman. The way she treated me. The words in my mother’s letter. The truth I had learned about what Preacher had done with this piece of shit.
And what had happened after.
I inhaled slowly, keeping my expression carefully neutral, I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction of a reaction.
“That’s nice, Store.” I exaggerated a yawn, sitting back in my chair and stretching like I was bored of her existence. “But here’s the thing—it’s not me you have to worry about.” I leaned forward slightly, voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “See, my daddy—” I barely swallowed down the bile that rose in my throat at the word “—has something he wants to say to you.”
Her lips parted, eyes narrowing slightly, but she recovered quickly.
“Probably the same thing he was saying to me two nights ago,” she taunted, her voice saccharine sweet, knowing exactly what she was doing. “The same thing your bitch mother walked in on years ago… before she blew her brains out.”
I stood in one slow, controlled movement, and then walked back toward her.
Standing in front of her, I watched her closely.
There. A flicker. She was good, but not that good.
Fear flashed in her eyes for half a second before she masked it.
“Oh, no, no, no,” I tutted, bending slightly so we were face-to-face. “See, I know exactly where my father was two nights ago, and it wasn’t with you.”
Her expression faltered and I smirked.
“In fact,” I continued, my tone dripping with amusement, “you’ve been a nothing for a long time now, haven’t you?” Her face twisted in rage. I’d scored a direct hit. “That’s why you did it, isn’t it, Store?” I murmured. “Figured you’d get some payback because you weren’t looked at anymore. Not in the MC, not by Preacher, not by anyone.”
I cocked my head slightly.
“It’s been a while since even the prospects would touch you, huh?”
The snap was instant.
“You bitch—” She lunged, spitting at me, but I was already moving, stepping out of the line of fire before she could do anything.
She was way too predictable.
Before she could open her mouth again, the door creaked open, and Preacher stepped inside.
Store stilled immediately.
“Well, isn’t this interesting,” he murmured, his voice deceptively calm as he strolled toward me.
I had to fight the instinct to move away from him, but I forced myself to stay still. We had to present a united front for her. Preacher grabbed a chair, flipped it around, and straddled it, resting his forearms against the back.
She latched onto him like a lifeline.
“She’s lying,” she whined, her voice turning desperate. “She’s lying, Preacher. I went to see Dragon because I needed a break—”
The door opened again, and in walked Dragon himself. I didn’t remember him much from my childhood, but he was the kind of man you didn’t fuck with. And the look he was giving Store? Well, that look would make most men shit themselves.
I’m fairly certain it had the same effect on her because her entire body went stiff.
Behind me, Hunter walked in, followed by Coleman and Mace. I didn’t turn, but I could feel the shift in the room as even more bodies filtered in.
Preacher leaned back slightly, looking at her with lazy disinterest. “You were saying?”
Store’s mouth opened and closed, and for the first time, I watched real fear settle in her expression.
Jagger let out a low, disgusted noise. “Jesus Christ, Preacher.” His voice was rough, tinged with something off, something I couldn’t quite place. “You fucked this?”
The room went eerily silent. I refused to take my eyes off her, but I could feel the weight of Jagger’s words, and I had the sickest feeling that this was just the beginning.
The guys all let out low chuckles at Jagger’s jab, but something about it hit a nerve deep inside me. Yeah, this was what had led to my mom putting a bullet through her skull.
And no, Store wasn’t fucking worth what I really wanted to do to her. No one was, including Preacher.
I forced myself to push past it, to bury it under the disgust and hatred I had carefully cultivated for my sperm donor. With a slow inhale, I squared my shoulders, letting my expression go completely blank. Every ounce of training, every lesson in control, every brutal experience that had honed me into the weapon I was today—I drew on it all, keeping myself composed and prepared.
Because if there was one thing I knew, it was that people struck when you least expected it. And in a room full of predators, only fools let their guard down.