Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36052 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Despite the gravity of the situation, I couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “Don’t listen to him, Lemon. You keep givin’ it to us straight. Keep us honest.”
She lifted her chin. “It’s part of why you guys voted me in. I know it hurt, Bear. I know you don’t like it.” She turned to her man then. “But Bear’s also right, Rocket. You should have told him. He had the right to know. The other men in Grim could have kept him here or helped him figure out a way to help Boon if he insisted.”
Rocket glared at Lemon. “You’re not helpin’.”
“And you know I’m right.” She pointed a finger at him, poking him in the chest. “So the question now is, what do we do about this Leon Black guy?”
Ringo shrugged. “He wants to talk to us? I say we give him what he wants.”
* * *
Olivia
“I think I should go with you.”
Bear told me the club planned to nab Mr. Black and the man with him and have a come-to-Jesus meeting with them. Much as I wanted to stay as far away from the man as I could, it felt like the coward’s way out.
“Not in this lifetime, baby.” Bear didn’t even look back as he readied himself, dressing in black jeans, a black T-shirt, and his MC vest.
“Bear, please.” I approached him from behind and laid a hand lightly on his back. “This is something I need to do. I have to face this.”
“No.” He growled, low in his chest, but the menace in it was clear. “No fuckin’ way.” He didn’t even turn around.
I changed tactics. “You know, we had the most fantastic sex in the world, and I don’t know your real name.”
That made him stiffen. His shoulders rose and fell once as he took in a deep breath before turning around. “It’s Gailyn. Gailyn Hoover.”
I smiled up at him. “My last name’s Garrison.”
“Yeah. Crush found it when he went digging. Different last name than your father.” They had gone digging. I’d never mentioned my father’s name.
“I’m not his biological daughter. I was two when he and my mother married.”
“You call him your father. Not stepfather. Yet he didn’t give you his name?”
I shrugged. “My family is complicated. He insisted I call him Father. Not by his first name or indicate in any way I was a stepdaughter.”
“Then why not give you his name? Or adopt you?”
“That’s something you’d have to ask him. Honestly, I think it kept a distance between us. He was good to me growing up, but the second my mother died, everything changed.”
“What happened to your mother?” He’d stopped getting ready to leave and moved closer to me, reaching out to brush a stray curl out of my eyes.
“Honestly? I don’t know. I came home from boarding school for summer break, and my father told me she’d died. I had questions but he just said it wasn’t important. All that mattered was that she’d passed away, and I needed to accept it and move on.”
Bear’s eyes widened. “Accept it and move on?”
“Yeah. I was thirteen and more than a little terrified of him. Always had been. So I didn’t question him any further. My mother and I were never really close or anything. I was probably closer to the nannies and teachers at my school than I was her. But it still hurt.”
“Come here, baby.” He pulled me into his arms. “I’m sure it hurt.” He rested his chin on my head, his arms wrapped solidly around me.
I took a breath. “I never want my children to feel the way I felt, Bear. I want them to know they’re loved by both their parents.”
“That’s something you never have to worry about. I never thought I’d have kids, but when you’re ready we’ll have as many as you want. And I will make sure with every breath I take they know they’re loved.”
I snuggled against his chest for several seconds before looking up at him. “I need to do this, Bear. My father might not be with them, but I’m betting they know more about my life than I do. If they’re blackmailing my father, then I know they do.”
“Let me take care of this, then we’ll confront your father together.”
“Bear…”
“No, Liv. This guy is dangerous.” He gripped my shoulders and leaned down to make his point. “My brothers and me would protect you with our lives, but I’d rather not take the chance and put you at risk in the first place. I won’t lose you just when I found you.”
“You won’t lose me. I’ll do exactly what you say without question, but I want to be there. I want them to know they don’t intimidate me. Not anymore.”
“They don’t matter, Liv. Their opinions don’t mean shit. You’re not doin’ their biddin’ no more. I’ll make that clear. Whatever they decide to do with that information doesn’t matter.”