Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82930 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“Are you coming on the run?” Colt asked.
“Yeah, Warden told me this morning that he wants me by your side.”
Colt sighed and leaned up against the car. “Our first gun run since it all went down. Seems like a fucking lifetime ago.”
“You think they’re gone?” Dirty asked.
“Fuck, no. Dad doesn’t either, but we can’t keep putting shit off. If they’re going to hit, it’s time we brought them out.”
“You’re going to be a dad soon,” Dirty said.
Colt shrugged. “Doesn’t change the fact I’ve got shit that needs to be done. Nothing is going to change the fact I’m going to be a dad. Are we done?” Colt asked.
“Does it scare you?” Dirty asked.
“Being a dad?” Colt nodded. “Fucking terrifies me. Especially with the shit I put Rosalie through. I mean, what am I going to say to him or her? That we were forced together and everything I thought I knew about their mother was wrong, and that is on me.” Colt snorted.
“Or, you don’t tell them what happened?”
“Rosalie said if we could handle our arranged marriage, we could handle anything. We made it work. Why do you want to know?”
“Just curious.”
“You thinking of being a dad one day.”
I was a dad, for what seemed the merest bleep of a second, and then it was gone.
“Nah, probably not.”
Colt laughed. “I’ve got to finish this. I’ll talk to Rosalie later, okay?”
Dirty nodded and headed toward his bike. There was only one place he wanted to be today, and that was near Petal. He’d not seen her for most of the morning.
Pulling out his cell phone, he located the tracker he had on her cell phone and saw she was at the local florist shop. He checked the time and saw it was her break, and he frowned, seeing her move. He’d put the tracker in her phone before shit hit the fan. This was his way of making sure she was all right, and to always know where she was.
He saw where she went and climbed onto his bike, riding toward the local cemetery. It didn’t take him long to get there. Petal’s shitty car was parked outside. She refused to let him take it to Colt to work on. She was very stubborn, and her hatred of Colt and what he’d done to her friend was absolute.
Parking his bike behind her car, he climbed off and headed inside the cemetery. It was fucking cold, and he saw it hadn’t stopped a few people from visiting loved ones. He knew exactly where Petal was, and why she was here. This was Gabrielle Barlowe’s final resting place. Rosalie’s mother—the woman Petal had loved like a mother. He believed she loved her more than her own mother.
She was sitting on the bench conveniently placed just in front of Gabrielle’s gravestone. He moved toward her and didn’t make a sound as he sat beside her. She didn’t tell him to get lost or to leave her alone.
Dirty was silent. He barely knew Gabrielle. The life the woman led had been filled with fear, anxiety, and pain. There were only moments when Daemon had left her alone long enough to enjoy them with her daughter.
Dirty knew the story, as did most of the clubhouse. Gabrielle had visited the Evil Fuckers MC clubhouse when she was very young, barely legal age, with her best friend. One look at Gabrielle, Daemon had wanted her. She didn’t want him, but that hadn’t stopped him. Daemon raped her, and in doing so, she had become pregnant with Rosalie. She’d tried to go to the police, but they were in Daemon’s pocket. Her family turned on her. No one would help her. Daemon was the only one who did. He provided the house and paid for everything.
Over the years, Daemon didn’t stop taking, although Gabrielle wanted nothing to do with him. She couldn’t fight. She wasn’t even able to protect her daughter, as Daemon used her as a pawn with Colt and the club. It had ended with Gabrielle being shot. The men responsible were butchered, and Daemon was dead, as Colt killed him.
Petal losing their child and losing the mother she always wanted.
“You didn’t have to come here,” she said.
“I know I didn’t have to come but I wanted to.”
He looked at Petal and watched as she swiped at her cheeks. She visited Gabrielle regularly. More so than even Rosalie did. He had a feeling he knew why. This was her mourning the loss of their child as well. She lost them both that day.
“Don’t,” Petal said.
“Damn it, Petal.”
“Don’t,” she said. “You do not get to tell me what you want and don’t want. I want to be here alone. I don’t want you around me.”
“But you’d like Myth?” he asked, feeling that jealousy claw up inside him.
Petal laughed, but it wasn’t a humored sound. “You know what, yeah, I would. He wouldn’t ask questions. All he would do is sit here in silence and not expect anything.”