Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 101001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 505(@200wpm)___ 404(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 505(@200wpm)___ 404(@250wpm)___ 337(@300wpm)
He’d have walked away from Lance without killing the dickbag. Almost had. But he couldn’t regret Lance’s final act of stupidity and how it forced Scott to end him.
For the rest of his life, he’d remember how his knife slid like butter into the man’s gut. It’d be a memory he called up whenever he needed to fucking smile.
Liv was free now. She could return to Chicago, to her home, or go anywhere in the fucking world. But she’d told him she loved him, and unfortunately for her, he was a possessive neanderthal who’d tie her to the bed and keep her prisoner before letting her walk away.
“Now we take Curly up on the offer he made me.”
She tilted her head as her nose scrunched up in confusion. “What offer?”
“To build a house on the farm’s land. I think he wants all of us to live on the property eventually.”
“A house?” she whispered. “Are you sure?”
He grunted. “I’m sure there’s no way in fucking hell you’re living anywhere except with me, and this place is too small for a flea, so yeah, I’m sure.”
“I meant more, what happens now with the club? With the…” she leaned in and whispered, “… body? Will you be arrested? Do I need to go to the station and make a statement? Make sure they know it was self-defense.” The pitch of her voice rose as her words sped up.
“Breathe, baby. You don’t need to do anything.”
He ran his hands up and down the silky-smooth skin of her back. Not touching her wasn’t an option. Thankfully, she craved his touch because he needed it to remind himself she was safe. His nightmares would be plagued by the moment he walked in and found Lance standing over her, pants down, about to fucking rape her.
“Curly is handling it. Money can make even the ugliest shit disappear.”
“But there’s a body in an airplane. How can you hide that? The pilot? That slimy flight attendant?” Her eyes filled with panic. “Scott, I’ll die if you’re arrested because of me.”
“Shh, Livy, breathe with me.” He inhaled slowly, nodding as she copied him. His breath came smooth and easy where hers stuttered. “Now blow it out. Good, again. Okay, you gotta keep this shit locked in a fucking vault, okay?”
She nodded and traced her fingers over a tattoo on his arm. “Of course. I’d never jeopardize you or the club that way.”
“I know, babe.” He hated to give her details, but she was so worked up over the thought of him being arrested. Probably because of the mess he’d been in when the cops hauled his ass in a few weeks ago. “The easiest way to get rid of evidence is a fire.”
Her eyes widened. “What?” she whispered. “You’re gonna set the plane on fire?”
“It’s already done.”
“But… but it’s a twenty-million-dollar plane.”
Scott shrugged. “Lance won’t care.”
She pressed a hand to her chest. “What about TSA? And security cameras? I’m sure they’re everywhere at an airport.”
He pursed his lips as he thought of how much to tell her. Fuck it, she deserved all the details. Curly certainly didn’t keep shit from Brooke. “We have a guy, a hacker, who can take care of all that shit. I promise you no one will be arrested. You don’t need to worry about that. Okay?”
She stared up at him with so much love and trust in her eyes that it punched him in the gut. Christ, this woman was everything.
“Okay,” she said with a half-smile. “Thank you for telling me.”
He cupped her face. “I fucking love you, Liv. I’ll do anything to protect you, which means keeping myself here with you.”
Her slight smile grew until she was beaming up at him. “Then I guess we better start working on a plan for a house, huh?”
“Yeah, baby, that’s exactly what we should do.” He drew her face to him and kissed her until he grew hard again. Then he flipped Liv onto her back on the bed, grinning like an idiot as she shrieked.
He’d never be who he once was. Not after all the shit he’d endured and the horrors he’d seen. During their calls, he wouldn’t ever be the fun-loving, carefree man Deke told her stories about.
Liv got that. She’d witnessed his darkness, his suffering, and his demons.
And she loved him.
After today’s trauma and what she’d witnessed a few weeks ago, she’d changed too from the woman who grew up with that silver spoon. She’d have her demons to conquer or learn to live with.
And Scott would be right by her side for every moment.
Loving her the way she loved him.
EPILOGUE
“HE’S A DIFFERENT man. I can’t tell you how worried he had me. Liv, you’re exactly what he needed, and I can’t thank you enough for loving and accepting him, struggles and all.”
Olivia turned toward Scott’s gorgeous red-haired sister. Chloe and her ol’ man had arrived the day before with a few other men from the club’s Tennessee chapter. After a fun night of drinking, dancing, and laughter, the men were meeting inside the clubhouse while Brooke, Chloe, and she sat in the sun with cocktails.