Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 76381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76381 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
“Dutch?” Rider asked.
“Overheard ‘em talking before Rider sat down to boot their asses,” Dutch said. “Was talking about that old billiards place over by the amusement park,” he said, making some of the men nod. “Said their uncle owned it. But, way I hear it, that place has been closed for a few months now.”
“Empty large space like that on a street with not much else going on? Good place to take someone,” Rider said.
Before I could even fully process what he was saying, that he thought those bastards took my little girl to an empty billiards place to… do God-knew-what with her, Callow was turning and storming out of the building.
When I saw several of the other men rushing out behind him, I ran too.
Only to find my wrist snagged in a tight hold.
“Let go,” I snarled at who turned out to be Danny. “I have to go get my baby.”
“I know,” she said, giving me a look that I think only a fellow mother could. A look that said she knew exactly what I was feeling and thinking. “But we have to give the men a couple minute head start,” she said, tone heavy with meaning.
It took a second to understand what she meant.
That this situation was, more than likely, going to be violent. And they wouldn’t want me in the crossfire.
“Come on,” she said, her hand still holding my wrist, but more loosely, as she led me out of the front door. “Thanks, Rider,” she called over her shoulder to her brother before leading me over toward the only remaining SUV in the lot. Mine was long gone. With Callow. Who went to get my baby back.
“Trust me,” Danny said as she pulled out of the lot and turned onto the main drag, “if some shit is going down with someone’s woman or kids, these are the men you want handling it.”
Having no choice, I had to believe her.
It wasn’t until we were pulling down the street that I realized Danny had taken me the longest way possible to get to this area of town.
The street was lined in bikes and a few SUVs.
There were several of the men standing around.
I didn’t stop to think.
I threw open my door before the car even stopped.
Then I was running.
“Wait,” someone called, arms going up.
I felt another set of hands trying to grab me from behind.
But then the door at the side of the building was opening.
And Callow was walking out.
With Daphne.
Her eyes were wild.
Until she spotted me.
“Mom!” she cried, a little girl sound that had my heart shattering as she ran to me, knocking me back into who was behind me with the force of her hug.
I glanced past her, seeing Callow watching us.
Thank you, I mouthed, seeing the blood on his hands, knowing what he’d had to do to get me my baby back.
And falling even more in love with him than I’d already been.
Callow made his way toward us, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, pulling both me and Daphne closer.
“Turns out your girl just barely needed rescuing,” he said, making Daphne pull back. Tears were streaming down her face, but she shot him a watery smile. “I think I owe you some extra books for that, yeah?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Daphne
Okay.
It was kind of stupid.
I mean, there wasn’t even any ‘kind of’ about it. It was really stupid. Especially when things were going so well.
My plan to get my mom together with Callow was going even better than I first imagined since I first spotted them together on the picnic table at the clubhouse.
And, even better than that, the three of us were kind of, I don’t know, becoming a little family.
I would never say it to my mom, who worked her ass off to be more than enough parent for me, but some part of me kind of always wished she’d dated, found someone, made a trio out of us.
I guess I figured she just wasn’t into it. Like maybe she didn’t have that desire or whatever. I knew an ace girl at school. I couldn’t relate, but she just… didn’t want anyone. Not that way. I started to think that was what was going on with Mom and her chronic singleness.
Until I saw her with Callow.
And it all sort of just clicked.
She was single because of, well, me.
She’d been too busy raising me when I was little, then trying to keep me out of jail, detention, or from becoming a teen mom myself to think of doing anything for herself.
Like getting a boyfriend who made her smile like Callow did.
I was patting myself on the back about how it all turned out.
But then Tammy texted, breaking a several-day silence that I’d sort of initiated after the whole attack thing. Mostly because Tammy tried to play it off and act like I was being a baby about it or blowing it out of proportion. Like I didn’t literally have a broken bone in my arm for it.