Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77236 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Reckless or plain dumb, though, they just kept charging at him, figuring they had the advantage.
But I watched in stunned silence as he, with his non-dominant fucking hand, grabbed his knife, tossed it, and had the damn thing land true, wedging into one of the men’s arms as he reached toward a cabinet.
The man roared, but was determined, reaching again with the other arm.
Pop pop.
Before I could even aim, Coast had taken him out, then turned to the next guy with another pop pop pop.
“That one’s yours,” Coast said, nodding toward the tall bald one as he walked up to the slumped body of the first guy, yanking his knife out of his arm, and sticking it back in his pocket.
Then, like he hadn’t just added two more bodies to his kill count, he sauntered right back out.
“This about that stupid bitch?” Robbie asked, completely unconcerned with his fallen comrades.
That stupid bitch?
My back straightened.
“Stupid bitch, huh?” I asked, finger slipping to the trigger.
“You really going to start shit with the Greeks over some slit in glasses?”
A growl moved up through me as I raised my arm, then pulled the trigger, watching as his entire body collapsed down as the bullet landed true. To his kneecap.
The roar that escaped him only seemed to spur me on, thinking of how he’d slammed Siana’s head onto the step, but hadn’t given her any grace, how he’d reached to try to pull down her pants, to hurt her even more.
I aimed again, taking out the other knee for good measure.
Then walking closer to make sure it was a kill shot, I pulled the trigger, and watched the hole lodge in his head a second before his body collapsed onto the ground with a thud.
Finished, I took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of blood and the slightest trace of gunfire, then turned and walked away, knowing it was done.
No one would come for her again.
She would never need to look over her shoulder, to fear being without me.
And, yeah, some part of me was afraid she would want to go back to her apartment, to her old life. But I couldn’t let that factor into taking out the threat to her life.
If she was going to stay with me, I wanted it to be because she wanted me, not because she was terrified of being on her own.
“How much you think a place like that is gonna sell for?” Coast asked as we walked back toward our bikes. “Once they clean out the bodies and shit,” he added.
“What? Are you thinking of buying it?” I asked, looking around the neighborhood.
“Always good to have a place of your own,” he said, shrugging. “After the place airs out and gets at least a fucking window unit,” he added as he climbed on his bike.
This guy was a fucking mystery.
But I didn’t have the bandwidth to try to figure him out right then.
I needed to get back to my girl.
I stopped at the club only to exchange my bike for a car, realizing I was going to have to either get Siana comfortable with trying the bike, or invest in my own sedan or SUV, so I could stop borrowing.
“Hey, how is she?” I asked when I walked inside, finding Sass and Rynn sitting in the living room, with the sounds of dishwashing in the kitchen.
“She took another dose a while ago,” Sass said. “She was hurting, but she did manage to eat a little before she went to sleep. Eddie left, but he put away the leftovers before he headed out, so you’re all set when she wakes up again.”
“Thanks for this. I appreciate it,” I said, reaching down to pet Frida’s head as she came down the hall.
“Eddie took her for a long walk,” Sass said, reaching for her purse, ready to get back home to her family.
“Great. You ladies are the best,” I said as Rynn went to the kitchen to get Lark.
“Everything go alright?” Sass asked, knowing she couldn’t ask for specifics.
“Yeah. We’re all good now,” I said, nodding.
“She’s lucky to have you,” Sass said, giving me a soft smile.
“Nah,” I said, shaking my head. “I’m the lucky one here.”
The girls made their way out then, leaving me to take Frida for a quick walk around the back yard, check her water, then kick off my shoes, and make my way down the hall toward the bedroom.
Siana was asleep on her good side, her bad cheek having turned an impressive shade of purple and blue. The swelling looked worse too.
But she would be okay.
A couple of days of icing and taking her pain meds, and she should be on the mend, even if she might sport those bruises longer than either of us would like.
I stood there for a moment, just watching her breathe softly before carefully sliding in behind her, legs cocked under hers, my arm going gently around her, careful not to wake her up, knowing she needed her sleep, but also longing to be close to her.