Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
I kept at it, and after several hours, Hop and Tripp finally showed up. I used the control panel to open the gate, and Hop pulled through. When he got up to the house, I had him drive around back. Once he was parked, he went over and took a look in the garage. “Damn, Billy. You weren’t lying when you said this was a big job.”
“Yeah, we got a long night ahead of us.” I grabbed my duffle bag from the back of the van. “How’d it go with the warehouses?”
“Not too bad.” I put on my Hazmat suit as I listened to him say, “I wasn’t sure how many casualties there’d be, so I went on and took the five from the warehouses by your place.”
“Probably a good idea.” I glanced over at the tarp as I told him, “We’re gonna have a tight fit as it is.”
“Don’t know how we’re gonna get this sorted before daylight.”
Tripp had already started loading the van when he interjected, “We’ll manage. We always do.”
“That we do.”
Without wasting any more time, we all got to work, and we kept working until DeLuca’s place was absolutely spotless. I knew there would be questions about his whereabouts, so Tripp and I headed upstairs to his room and packed several suitcases worth of clothes. We did the same for his wife and kids, then took everything back down to the van.
Once we had everything loaded, we locked up the house, then headed to my place. We’d already had a long night, but there was still a great deal of work that had to be done. Hop was biting at the bit to be done, so we jumped back into it and it wasn’t long before we had everything wrapped up. Tripp looked quite pleased as he announced, “See, I knew we could do it.”
“You boys did good.” This whole thing with DeLuca and Everleigh had gotten me to thinking about the future, and I thought it was only fair to share what was on my mind. “I’m thinking about making a change.”
“What kind of change?”
“I’m not sure yet, but I don’t think I got it in me to do this shit anymore.”
I looked over at Hop, and he didn’t look the least bit surprised by my declaration. In fact, he seemed to expect it. “You gotta do what you gotta do.”
“But what does that mean for us?”
“Can’t say for sure.” I gave Tripp a pat on the shoulder. “But we’ll talk about it. Figure out something that works for all of us.”
Tripp still looked a little skeptical as he said, “Okay. Sounds good.”
“Come on, Kid.” Hop nodded his head toward his truck. “It’s late. Let’s get out of here.”
I watched as they both got in Hop’s truck and started down the drive. Once they were out of sight, I went upstairs and took a hot shower. I considered going back to the clubhouse to get Everleigh, but it was late—really late. I figured she was already asleep, and I didn’t see the point in waking her.
And I was beyond exhausted.
I figured I’d fall right to sleep.
I didn’t.
I tossed and turned, and was becoming more restless by the second. I just couldn’t seem to get settled knowing that Everleigh wasn’t in the house. I couldn’t begin to explain it, but there was something about her sleeping in her bed or lying there next to me that put me at ease. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to sleep without her there, so I got out of bed and threw on some clothes. Seconds later, I was on my bike and driving over to the Ruthless Sinners’ clubhouse.
When I pulled up to the gate, one of Viper’s boys came over to me and asked, “Yo, Billy. What are you doing here?”
“Came to get Everleigh.”
“Ah, I haven’t seen her. Pretty sure she already crashed for the night.”
“I’m sure she has. I’m gettin’ her all the same.”
“Understood.” He eased the gate open as he said, “I’ll let Davies know you’re here for her.”
I gave him a nod, then pulled through the gate and parked right next to the front entrance. I was about to head inside when Davies opened the door. I could tell by his groggy eyes that he’d been sleeping, but he didn’t act the least bit put out as he asked, “You looking for Everleigh?”
“I am.” As I stepped inside, I asked, “You got any idea where she is?”
“Yeah, Country put her up in one of the guest rooms.” He turned and started walking out of the bar as he said, “I’ll take ya to her.”
“Thanks, man.”
“No problem.” He led me down the hall, and when he got to the right room, he eased the door open and whispered, “She’s in here.”
“Appreciate this, Davies.”
“Anytime.”
He waited for me to step inside, and then, he disappeared back down the hall. I wasn’t planning on staying long, so I didn’t bother shutting the door. I used the light from the hall to help me see as I made it over to the side of the bed. After I eased the covers back, I leaned down, and her eyes flew open the second I lifted her from the mattress. “Billy?”