Total pages in book: 124
Estimated words: 126840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126840 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 634(@200wpm)___ 507(@250wpm)___ 423(@300wpm)
Core bought his house two years ago when they opened their first dispensary, money started pouring in, the club had maintained their righteous path for three years, and Core finally felt like he had a solid foundation under his feet.
Since he bought it, though, he hadn’t done dick to it, outside buying furniture.
Except the back patio.
He’d laid some attractive pavers, built a wood-burning fireplace and a built-in grill with a sink, a fridge and a high bar for eating. He’d installed some decorative brick around the base of the pillars that held up the roof that covered it and dropped a load on some pimp, comfortable furniture. He took care of his yard and planted some awesome greenery.
The fence needed to be updated, and that was his next project, but he liked being out there. Every inch of it was his hard work and it looked nice.
He should get on with the house, but he had no clue where to start with that.
The bones were there since it had been flipped.
Though he could do a backyard, home décor was not his gig.
Nanook went to his personal bathroom space at the side of the house, Core went to the seating area.
He took a load off and watched his brother do the same across from him.
“Want a beer?” he asked.
“Nah, bro, not gonna stay long. Got pussy waiting for me at home.”
That was Eight. He had pussy waiting for him everywhere.
“What’s up?” Core prompted.
“Marcy came into one of the dispensaries with a message.”
Core sat up straight.
“She talked to Brain,” Eight went on. “Brain talked to me.”
“Is Hellen okay?” Core asked swiftly.
Eight gave him a look.
Fuck, fuck, fuck.
“Listen, brother—” he tried to pedal it back.
“Marcy wants you to know, Hellen’s meeting with some dude named Bryan tomorrow at ten. Bryan wants to talk things through.”
Core felt the back of his neck start burning.
Eight kept his eyes trained on his brother. After several beats, he asked, “Got nothin’ on that?”
“Not my business,” Core pushed out.
“Right,” Eight said disbelievingly. Then kept at him. “She’s got some meet set with her pops Wednesday night.”
Fuck, Core needed a beer.
He said nothing.
“Marcy also told Brain a story.”
Goddammit.
“This isn’t mine to have,” he informed his bud. “We’re not that.”
“When she was a kid, Hellen had a dog.”
Core grew very still.
“She loved that dog. It was her best bud. She fed it and it slept with her. Then one day, her pops comes home from one of the many business trips he was always on, and for some reason, he’s pissed about something. So the dude just gets home to his family, and in the middle of a lot of screaming and crying and begging, not only Hellen, but her mom and sister too, he takes her dog, leaves and comes back…without the dog.”
Core’s fingers curled around the arms of his chair.
“Never brought the dog back,” Eight went on. “She never saw that dog again. No clue what he did with it. Also never had another pet because she never got over losing her bud. When he was taken away, she was six.”
Jesus Christ.
Like he knew what was being discussed, Nanook jogged in, alternately panting and sniffing the ground. He went to Eight to say hello and get a head scratch.
Then he came to his dad.
He sat beside Core’s chair, and Core buried his fingers in his boy’s thick ruff.
“Apparently, Nanook triggered her,” Eight continued. “Marcy said Hellen isn’t doin’ too good.”
Core looked away.
“You’re triggered too.”
When Eight said that, Core looked back.
“And it’s no fuckin’ surprise, brother,” Eight carried on.
“We’re not going here. I’m wiped. You gotta get home. And Hellen is not a thing.”
Eight ignored him.
“When we did what we did to Rosie, it tore Beck apart. The reason was easy to fathom. But you, Christ, I watched you that night. You got your licks in. I got mine. I stepped back, took a look at you, and my gut went sour. Almost puked. You were watching the brothers fucking her up, and you looked haunted. It was then I woke the fuck up. It was then I got out of the fog that was my own damage and realized I’d just bought my ticket to hell, and I was never clawing my way back. But there was something else happening for you. It wouldn’t be until later, when you gave it to me, I knew what that was.”
“Did you hear when I said we’re not going here?”
“Yep.”
“Then why you pushing this shit?”
“’Cause someone’s got to get your head out of your ass, and I’ve decided that’s gonna be me.”
“My head has been in my ass a lot of my life, Eight, but with this, I got it straight.”
“You are so full of shit.”
Fuck it.
Enough.
He pounded his chest. “You think I’d be good for her?”
“You bought your ticket to hell right alongside me, brother. So you got work to do on this earth, and giving a woman good is part of that work.”