Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36070 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 180(@200wpm)___ 144(@250wpm)___ 120(@300wpm)
And that was all we needed to retaliate.
We were going under a small lockdown. When Scorpion had told me, I’d almost scoffed. Now Scorpion wanted to fucking do something to protect her after she was already goddamn attacked? It was a little too damn late for that.
Mark slid open the van door, and I eased out of the backseat. Sophia protested at the movement, her face screwing up with pain. “I’m sorry, cupcake,” I whispered, agony slicing through my chest like someone had just stabbed me. “Just a little longer, okay? You can have a shower. We have a doctor coming to see you. Everything’s going to be alright.”
I strode into the clubhouse as she softly cried, nodding her head, her eyes squeezed tightly shut. Scorpion stepped into my path, and I glared at him, clenching my jaw, my hold on Sophia tightening.
“We need to call church,” he told me.
I shook my head, anger flaring. “Church can fucking wait,” I growled. The muscle in his jaw ticked with annoyance at my defiance, but I didn’t give a fuck. “She needs me right now. Fuck off, Scorpion.”
He stepped closer to me. “Brother—”
“Prez,” Halo called, coming up to grip Scorpion’s shoulder, “I know you’re on edge, but Chase and Sophia need some time. Give them that. He’s right; church can wait.”
Scorpion narrowed his eyes at me. “We’ll be fucking talking about this later,” he warned me.
Oh, we certainly fucking would, and he had better hope I was calm enough by then to handle the matter civilly.
I snorted, and without another word, I marched up the stairs to my apartment. The rest of the members gave me a wide berth and probably for good reason. I was always the jokester of the club. I never let shit get to me. But today, for the first time since Scorpion had become president and he’d built the Texas Charter back up to something great, I hadn’t backed down to him.
If it had been Jessica, Scorpion never would have pulled the protection. He would have kept it on her, no matter how much time, money, or man-hours it cost us. And the fact that he hadn’t extended that same courtesy to Sophia, knowing how I felt about her…
It pissed me the fuck off.
“I don’t want to be alone,” Sophia confessed in a whisper as I opened the door to my apartment. It was a bit messy—dirty clothes on the floor, a towel hanging on my bedpost, a pile of clean laundry piled up on my couch. But she didn’t even glance at any of it. Her eyes remained locked on my face, fear pooling in the dark depths.
“I’ll be right here while you shower,” I promised her as I carried her into my en-suite bathroom. “You won’t be alone.”
She shook her head, clinging to me when I tried to set her on her feet. “No. No,” she choked out. “Please don’t leave me.” Sobs wracked her chest, more tears sliding down her face. I almost crumbled. “They—I—”
I set her on her feet and then pulled her into my arms, holding her as she fell apart again. She clutched at the blanket wrapped around her, her smaller body shaking in my hold. “Calm down,” I pleaded. “Please, cupcake. I’ll stay in here with you. I’ll even shower with you,” I added when she shook her head. “I won’t leave. I promise. I’m right here as long as you need me.”
It was a vow I’d take to my fucking grave. Of that, I knew without a shred of a doubt.
She hiccupped and nodded her head. Leaning her back a little, I reached up and swiped at her cheeks with my thumbs. She was so fucking pretty when she cried, but I never wanted her tears to be out of fear. Never out of fear.
“I need to get undressed,” I told her. “Can you sit on the counter for me while I do that and get the shower started?”
Hiccupping again, she nodded, swiping at her cheeks. I grasped her hips and lifted her onto the counter. She kept the blanket wrapped around her, shivering now. No doubt, the adrenaline was wearing off. She would be exhausted in a bit.
I stripped out of my clothes and turned the shower on, changing the setting on the shower head to a softer one. I had no doubt her body would already be discoloring, her muscles and skin sore and throbbing. I wanted to make this as gentle and easy as possible for her.
“You ready?” I asked, moving toward her.
She released a shaky breath before she let the blanket fall from her shoulders. I bit back a growl at the sight of her. I hated that my first time seeing her naked was because she’d been attacked. I hated that I wasn’t seeing her unmarred, though that didn’t make her any less fucking beautiful in my eyes.