Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35452 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 177(@200wpm)___ 142(@250wpm)___ 118(@300wpm)
Cain scrubbed a hand over his face. “Angel, I didn’t mean to make it sound like any of this is Calliope’s fault.”
“You could have fooled me.” Angel leaned her palms on Cain’s desk and looked him in the eyes. “This girl needs our help. Not your accusations.”
“Well aware of that.” He sighed. “I’m sorry, Calliope. I needed answers before I said anything to Chase. I’m not used to questioning women.”
“I understand,” I said, just wanting to get out of here before I broke down. As it was, I was trembling so hard, there was no way Carnage didn’t notice. “May I go? Theodore especially won’t like me out of his sight for long.”
“Yes. Go to your boys. I’ll have Angel and Zora open a suite for the three of you. Would you feel better close to Carnage?”
“Yes.” Carnage didn’t give me a chance to reply. “Put her in the rooms across from mine. It’s got two bedrooms, but they’re big enough for two full-sized beds in each one.”
“Give the women an hour. Then get them settled. Data, you and Zora are keeping an eye on that Mark guy. Right?”
Zora nodded her head. “Mark Johnson. He’s using her credit card. If he makes a move in this direction, we’ll know it well in advance.” She laid a hand on Calliope’s shoulder. “I promise you’ll be safe here. These guys are really good people. The whole club is.” She gave Cain a glance under her lashes before adding, “Most of the time.”
I just nodded, my gaze going to the floor. I’d never felt more defeated in my life. I wanted to lean on Carnage, to turn to him and cry against his chest, but I didn’t know him that well. If he rejected me, I’d look like an even bigger fool. Worse, if he followed his president as blindly as Chase seemed to have back in the day, I risked letting him tear my family apart.
Which brought up another question. Why did I feel such a pull toward the big, tattooed biker? He was just as gruff as the rest of them. Maybe it was because he’d recognized I needed help and got me out of a bad situation. Maybe it was the way he’d taken care of me when I’d puked so violently on the side of the road. Maybe it was the way he chattered on with Sebastian for four freaking hours on the way to the compound and never once complained.
Whatever it was, I wanted to be near him. Other than Angel, I felt like he was the only one here who would give a damn what happened to me and the boys. Whatever it was, I needed to nip it quickly. I’d end up hurting all of us if I didn’t.
Chapter Three
Carnage
In the twenty-plus years I’d known Cain, there had never been a time when I’d wanted to kill my friend and boss. If we’d been alone, if I hadn’t known both Bohannon and Sword would have killed me rather than let me harm Cain, I would have happily slit the motherfucker’s throat. I got what Cain was trying to do, but there were other ways to go about it.
What surprised me most was, first, that Calliope had put up with it, answering his questions as best she could, and second, that Angel had stood up to her husband the way she had. That second almost made me smile. Almost. I’d be sure to ask Cain how he was sleeping at night. Or where. Because I had a feeling there was a couch in his very near future.
Right now, I escorted Calliope firmly by the hand to the backyard where the kids were all playing. From the looks of things, Sebastian had jumped right in, not missing a beat. Even Theodore was participating, if a bit more sedately.
“I’m so sorry to have put you guys out,” Calliope said softly. “We can go to a hotel or something. You don’t have to put us up here.”
“Not another word,” I snarled. “That was a bullshit thing Cain did, and he knows it.”
“I meant what I said. I won’t let Chase or anyone else take the boys away from me. I realize he needs a chance to get to know them, but he’s not completely innocent here. He knew they hadn’t used protection, so there was a possibility she might be pregnant, and he left without a backward glance. Cherry said she had her lawyer try to get in touch with him after she found out she had cancer.” She sighed, sounding defeated. “The least he could have done was follow up to make sure she wasn’t carrying his child.”
“How long has it been since you had a good night’s sleep?” It was an abrupt change of subject, but I needed to distract her. She looked like she was about to fall down with fatigue.