Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 33998 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33998 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 170(@200wpm)___ 136(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
I grunted and strode past him, dropping the towel to tug on a pair of boxers and jeans. Joey didn’t say anything about my nakedness. Hell, we’d all seen each other in worse positions, usually while we were pummeling pussy. Lord knew I’d seen enough of Joey’s bare ass while he was dating Adelaide to last me a fucking lifetime.
“I can’t stay here, Joey,” I gruffly told him as I tugged a plain, gray, long-sleeve shirt over my head.
Joey sighed. “I figured, which was why I was hoping to catch you before you disappeared for another week.” I grunted again and shrugged my cut on before sitting on the edge of my bed to tug on a pair of socks and my boots. “I wanted to talk to you about going nomad.”
I arched a brow at him, not following. “We don’t have nomads, Joey.”
Joey pushed his fingers through his dirty blonde hair. “I know we don’t, brother, but if going nomad is what you need to figure yourself out, then I’m allowing it. And it’s not up to the club. I’ll take whatever heat the members want to throw about it. I’m not losing you to this shit, Whiler.”
I swallowed past the sudden lump in my throat. I was already lost. There was no saving me. “I still hear her screaming for me, Joey.”
Joey sat beside me on the bed and clapped a hand to my shoulder. “I’ll keep you busy, Whiler. You won’t just be riding to ride. I’ll do my best to make sure you don’t have much time to think on your shoulders.”
I nodded once in thanks, blowing out a harsh breath. It was the best option I could see at the moment besides putting a bullet in my temple. And that was too easy of a way to go. “Do I need a new patch?”
Joey shook his head. “No. Because when you’re ready to come back home, Whiler, you’ll be welcomed right back into this charter, you hear me?” He gently shook my shoulder. “We’re family, brother.”
I nodded and blew out a ragged breath before standing to my feet. “I’ll pack a bag,” I rumbled. “I’m leaving in ten minutes. Whatever orders you’ve got to get me started, have ‘em ready.”
He nodded once and slipped from the room, not even calling me out on ordering him around like he normally would. I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to hold back my tears. Every piece of me hurt.
I was thankful as fuck to have Joey and this club on my side. I wasn’t sure if I’d survive this without them.
But who the fuck did Helena have when she was burning alive in her fucking bedroom?
2
Whiler
FIVE YEARS LATER
I hadn’t been home in five years. Not to visit. Not for club get-togethers. Not for a single goddamn thing because I was terrified to step foot back in this town.
The clubhouse looked the same as it always had. Plain brick. Bulletproof windows, courtesy of Alejandro to better protect Elaina, Antonio, and their newest addition to the family, Dahlia. Iron bars still surrounded the property with high chain link fencing behind it. Barbwire curled at the top of the chain link fence to deter anyone from trying to climb over. Gravel covered the lot, and the same playground that had been there for years was off to the side, where Elaina was sitting, reading a book.
Antonio was swinging on the swings, and I stared at the kid for a moment, my chest tightening at the sight of him as I remembered Helena. Goddamn, that boy grew up fast as hell. He was a lot taller now, and it was uncanny how much he looked like Alejandro. Elaina and Joey’s baby—now almost six damn years old—was sliding down a slide, her blonde curls flying out behind her. Dahlia was the spitting image of her gorgeous mother.
Elaina glanced up at me, and a small smile tilted her lips. As if sensing I wasn’t in the mood for her warm welcome, she stayed where she was. I nodded once at her before I made my way across the lot and into the clubhouse, pushing open the doors. I’d warned Joey I was coming back home today. Permanently. But I was still nervous he wouldn’t be welcoming. I’d been gone five years. Hadn’t stepped foot in this damn clubhouse in all of that time, despite him trying over and over to get me to come back home, at least for a visit.
I’d been trying to outrun my ghosts, though that had proven to be impossible. Took me five years to realize that but I’d finally figured it out.
Helena was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I just had to learn to deal with it. Live with it.
She wasn’t going anywhere. My little angel followed me wherever I went.