Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 464(@200wpm)___ 371(@250wpm)___ 309(@300wpm)
“I’d heard rumors that Los Segadores had branched out, I just didn’t realize they’d gotten as far as São Tome,” Ben muttered, and I heard the sound of a door slamming. “I’m getting some men, and we’ll move to the estate at Belmont Shore.”
Renegade Falls was just outside Ventura, which meant he would be roughly forty miles away from us. Enough distance that few would suspect he was involved with us, but close enough that he’d be with us within an hour if we needed him.
“I appreciate it, Ben,” I murmured, looking at the door when I heard noises in the hallway. “I gather you haven’t heard the news, which might have been the incentive for Azarov to have aligned himself with Ribeiro?”
There was rustling down the line, but then Ben sighed. “And that would be?”
“The birth of my sons.”
“You knocked that bitch up?” The level of his disgust was blatant.
“Of course not,” I hissed, taking a step further away from the door so they couldn’t hear me. “Nell gave birth to twins.”
There was a brief pause, but then Ben burst out laughing. “You knocked up Penelope Hamilton?”
The various chapters of the Road Kings across the country were well known, but the most notorious was in Renegade Falls. This meant Ben knew Bruce well, and he also knew he wasn’t a man to leave the guy who’d knocked his daughter up breathing, especially not one who was also married.
“It happened while we were together, before the wedding. I only found out the day a bomb exploded as she got out of the car at the Club, which led to her having them prematurely.”
“Jesus Christ, brother, you don’t do things in half measures,” he pointed out, the humor still heavy in his voice.
“Congratulations on fatherhood and still having your balls in the area Dio intended them to be. Nell is one of the most beautiful women I’ve had the privilege of meeting,” he muttered. “I hope they took after her.”
“Sadly not,” I ground out, irritated at his comment about Nell. “My sons look like me.”
“Shame. You better give her girls next then.”
It was a throwaway comment, one meant to irritate me and test the water of the relationship between myself and Nell, but instead, it made me grin. The prospect of more kids with her—especially a daughter who looked like her mother— was appealing.
“I’ll get on that.”
I didn’t hear what Ben said back because there was a knock on the door, and Nell called out, “Taras? Is everything okay?”
“I’ll be out in a minute, malysh,” I replied, and then said quietly into the phone, “I’ll let you know updates as I get them, Ben.”
“Do that,” he agreed, his words followed by the slamming of what sounded like a car door. “I have a private airstrip near the compound, so we’ll have wings when we’re needed.” I was about to bid him farewell when he added, “And give Nell a kiss from me, fratello.”
The line going dead prevented me from telling him he could shove his kisses up his ass, but I’d make sure he knew it later.
Unlocking the door, I opened it to see Nell looking worriedly at me from where she leaned against the wall. She had a small bathroom attached to her bedroom, so that wasn’t the problem, so maybe she’d overheard some of the conversation.
Because of that, I explained, “It was a business called with Benito De Luca. He says to tell you hello.” It was a semi lie, but I was okay with that.
The smile the news received was only made tolerable by the fact that she’d initially looked confused as she tried to place the name.
Moving until our chests were almost touching, I leaned down to touch my lips briefly to hers. “It felt good to sleep next to you again last night, krasavitsa. I’ve missed it.”
I watched up close as her eyes darkened and her face softened for a moment, but then she shook her head slightly, and the softness faded.
“I just came to tell you that we’re going to the Club before we go to the hospital to see Walker and Hendrix.”
“That’s good, baby. I’ve got some things to do this morning, but I’ll come to see them later.”
Nodding, she moved away from me, the loss of her warmth hitting immediately. “I’ll see you then,” she said over her shoulder, moving quickly down the hallway.
My life was one big fucking mess right now. Los Segadores, Azarov, Donna, and Ribeiro being part of it, but figuring out how to fix shit with Nell was the other part.
The problem was that unless I could keep her and the boys safe, I wouldn’t be able to fix shit with her, so I had to focus on the bullshit with Azarov as the priority, even though I wanted to put them in the spot instead.