Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76082 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
"So what? You paid for me so I'm just some sort of possession?"
Animal, using the end of my bed for a chair, gets up. He starts out loud and just gets louder as he builds momentum. "It’s not about the fucking money, but yeah. We’ve taken responsibility for you in front of the whole fucking club. If you go in there, what’s that going to fucking accomplish? You got a plan? Going to kick his ass and carry her out while the club explodes behind you? This isn’t a goddamn movie, Natalie. Be fucking smart.” I can’t help the laugh that bursts out of me. Animal spins and pins me with a dark look. “What?”
“Nothing. You’re absolutely right, but you gotta admit this is rich coming from you.”
“Shut the fuck up. I’m not—Okay, maybe you’re right, but that should just go to show how fucking stupid it would be.”
Natalie’s hands grip the armrests so hard her knuckles are chalk white, and she's glaring up at us with unmasked aggression.
"Chill out. You're only pissing her off." I put my hand on Animal's shoulder. "Babe, we’re not saying abandon your sister. Just don’t give them the satisfaction of having both of you. There's gotta be a way for us to figure this out."
"What's there to figure out? We need to get her out of there. I don't even care if it's voluntary or not, because if she’s mixed up with drugs again, it’s not really her. I can't let her go again. I refuse." She pushes out of the chair, the defiant upturn of her chin and her steely glare daring us to stop her. "Screw this. I'm leaving."
"The fuck you are." All of us go for her, but I happen to be closest. I grab her wrist and yank her arm over her head, keeping her from going anywhere.
"Let go."
"No."
She slams her free hand into my gut. If I needed proof that she’s not going to Rambo her way out of this, I got it. “Was that supposed to hurt?”
"Let. Go!" Each word is punctuated by another angry punch.
“Aim for the diaphragm, honey,” Badass comments unhelpfully.
“Whose fucking side are you on?”
He grins. “This is a teachable moment. Could come in handy later. It’s not like she’s getting away.”
As she winds up again, I capture her other wrist and hold that up as well. "Stop fucking hitting me."
"Stop fucking touching me," she retorts in the same tone. Her deep blue eyes flash lightning at me. If looks could fucking kill, man…
"I'm not letting you go until you're being fucking rational."
"I am rational! It's you guys who're turning out to be just as bad as I thought you were back when you bought me." She twists against my grip, but doesn't get anywhere.
"Don’t fucking push it,” I growl. “Are you going to calm the fuck down?"
She hesitates for a second, then kicks at my shin. Fuck, that one actually hurt. "Let me go!"
"Fuck this." I yank her right off her feet and carry her back to the bed, then throw her down on it. A moment later, I'm straddling her with her arms pinned over her head and my palm over her throat, forcing her to look at me. "You don't fucking get it, but we fucking care about you. Animal doesn't want you hurt, Badass doesn't want you hurt, and I sure as hell don't want you hurt. Our lives haven't been the fucking same since you came into it. You aren’t in this on your fucking own anymore!"
Her eyes get glassy with unshed tears, but she fucking growls and struggles against me. How the fuck am I supposed to convince her? I guess the only way I know.
So I lean in and kiss her.
She bites my fucking lip.
Copper floods my mouth, but I refuse to fucking stop, because I refuse to let her walk out that door.
She struggles for a second, then relaxes and her lips soften under mine. And little after that, she starts kissing me back, her perfectly curvy body pressing against me.
I open my eyes to find her glaring at me, tears streaming down her cheeks, but she's not fighting anymore. Did she finally give up? I ease back, pulling my mouth from hers. There’s a smear of blood across her chin and I’m just messed up enough that it makes me fucking hard.
"You're a bastard," she chokes out, but a lot of her earlier venom seems to have left her.
"I've been called worse than that, usually by Animal." Both Animal and Badass chuckle softly at that, but they're watching us carefully. "Are you ready to listen to us?"
Her expression softens, then falls apart as the sobs start for real. "I can't abandon Sandra. You guys have to understand that."
"Of course we do," says Badass, sitting down on the bed next to us. "Do you really think we're just going to fucking leave someone important to you like that? Think, baby. So long as she’s in their hands, it’s a hold on you which means us. But Quickshot’s right. You’re not alone anymore. You’ve got us, and that means you’ve got the Eagles.”