Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36632 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 147(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“I take it she didn’t want a divorce?” Sonya glanced from me to Gloria and back. Gloria was busy flirting with one of the prospects. The man was trying his best to ignore her, but Gloria was nothing if not persistent. I was literally living proof she always got her way.
“Actually, no. She did want one. She was supposed to meet me for lunch to sign a standard divorce agreement. Once she said she wanted the divorce, I went to a lawyer to do the paperwork. I gave her half my benefits and kept her as my beneficiary in the event I was KIA. It was very much in her favor. I was career military and spent all my time on bases or overseas because I was special forces. Until I met El Diablo, my life was the military. I had nothing and no one else. Never needed or wanted anyone else. Kept things simple.”
“Except you had a wife you barely knew.” Sonya sounded equal parts understanding yet bitter, as if she were resigned to the fact she’d lost me before she’d ever had me. Which could not be further from the fucking truth. “So why aren’t you divorced, then?”
“Because I never showed up.” Gloria was headed toward us with purpose. Her hips swayed with an erotic twist that made a man wonder what she could do to him if she were on top during sex. Her breasts were high and firm and barely bounced at all when she moved. There was no denying she was a beautiful woman, but she did absolutely nothing for me.
Sonya stiffened and backed away from me another step, eying us both warily. That’s when Linnie came up beside Sonya and took her hand in solidarity.
“Why wouldn’t you meet him after you’d said you wanted the divorce? Was he lying? Did you really not want it?” Sonya gripped Linnie’s hand in a white-knuckled grip. I could see sweat beading her upper lip and brow and she was trembling.
Gloria waved her hand like it was all no big deal. “My boyfriend took me on a trip to the Maldives. Besides, it wasn’t that important. I figured I could worry about it later.”
“Sounds like it was pretty serious between the two of you. Why wouldn’t you want to have your divorce final in case you decided to marry the other guy?”
“Why would I want to marry the guy? You marry a man rich enough to afford a private resort room in the Maldives at fifty thousand dollars a night and all you get is a prenup saying you get nothing from him in the event you divorce unless it was a gift. However, if you’re the girlfriend, you get all the benefits of his money and get to negotiate your personal allowance in addition to all the trips and clothes and basic necessities of being on the arm of a billionaire.” She gave me a superior smirk. “I had Colm’s pay coming to an account I never touched. Compared to the money I got from Jasper, it wasn’t much, but it let me have a personal stash. I saved every penny of my allowance I could so I’d be OK if we broke up. Getting a divorce was last on my list of things occupying my time because it wasn’t strictly necessary.”
“Then why bother meeting with him at all?”
“Why not? I probably would have if Jasper hadn’t sprung the trip on me. After that, I forgot about it.”
“We haven’t spoken since, Sonya,” I said. “By that time I’d taken up with El Diablo, so when I called her about a divorce, I told her about Black Reign and that she could find me here. I’m assuming that’s how she found me?” I raised an eyebrow at Gloria.
She shrugged. “Yes. I’d have come sooner if I’d known this wasn’t an ordinary motorcycle club clubhouse.” She looked over the emasculate grounds with appreciation. “Who did you say owned this place?”
“No one you need to worry about, Gloria. If you’ll please wait in your car, I’ll take you inside when I’m ready.”
“I don’t have all day, Colm.”
“Gloria, go wait by the car.” I was losing patience. More, I was starting to panic. Caroline was tugging Sonya away from me back toward her car. “Sonya, please stop.” I tried to keep my voice as calm and tender as I could when I spoke to Sonya. “Talk to me.”
“Why didn’t you try to find her again?”
“What was the use? I had the papers. I’d given her a way to contact me. And I was gone most of the time with either my unit or something for El Diablo. We were married, but had spent exactly one night together that I didn’t remember. That was it, Sonya. She was a passing acquaintance with a legal tie to me, but it didn’t really matter because no one else did. You and I are too new for me to have worked out everything, but me and Gloria would have been one of the first things I took care of. Shotgun would have taken care of it like he did with Warlock when Warlock’s mother had married him and Hope without his knowledge. I would have explained all this to you right out of the gate if I’d had the chance.”