Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 76425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 382(@200wpm)___ 306(@250wpm)___ 255(@300wpm)
"Souta must not know," I said, looking at the club as we pulled away.
"Let's just hope we are nowhere near either party when he does find out," Che said, pressing a kiss to my temple.
"If we're done fucking around with every local criminal empire," Huck said, "I'd like to go home now."
"Yeah," I agreed, sharing a small smile with Che. "Let's go home."
Epilogue
Che - 1 day
Even after relaying the story several times to the club, to Arty, to Booker, none of us could quite wrap our heads around it.
"I thought bikers were a crazy bunch," Booker said, shaking his head. "Clearly, you guys don't have shit on organized crime."
"Easy," Huck said, going to grab another cup of coffee. "Don't fucking jinx it. We've had enough crazy for one year. Or five," he said, shaking his head.
"How are the girls?" Booker asked, and we all knew what he was getting to.
"Sass was better after a shower and some sleep," I supplied, letting him have his cover.
"Harmon slept through it all," Huck said, shrugging.
"Gus is back in Navesink Bank," Remy said.
"And Ayanna has been home, working," McCoy explained. "We didn't want her going back to her office until we were sure things were safe. She will be heading back tomorrow, though."
"Good. That's good," Booker said, looking down at his mug.
"Why don't you go and tell her you fucked up?" McCoy suggested.
"It's not that easy."
"Sure it is," Sass said, still rubbing sleep out of her eyes as she made a beeline for the coffee machine, smacking Huck out of the way in her desperation for caffeine.
See, I'd told Booker half the truth. Sass was feeling better. But it wasn't the shower or sleep that did it. It was the rapid-fire orgasms I gave her until they wiped her mind clear.
"If you love her, you go and apologize to her," Saskia insisted.
"It's not that simple," Booker instead.
"Why not?"
"Because I know she could find another man who could give her the time that I just... can't."
Booker was a better man than I was, willing to risk his own happiness to ensure that Ayanna could find hers. With someone else.
I couldn't imagine having Sass for as long as Booker and Ayanna were together, then just walking away.
"Well, you could learn to put your woman first instead of your job," Sass suggested, tone a bit cutting. She was defending her new friend. I liked that more than I should have. It was more rewarding than I could have realized to know that Sass was finally starting to make connections, building friendships, because I'd helped show her it was possible.
I saw the look of pain slice across Booker's face at that. It was clear the man loved Ayanna. He loved her enough to let her go, even if it was killing him.
"Speaking of jobs," McCoy said, wincing at his terrible segue. "You need to have a talk with Arty again. He can't be going out working on jobs in person. I mean, it was helpful, but now we have to worry about him whenever we put him on a job for us."
"I'll tell him to leave it to the clients unless he clears it with me or you guys first," Booker agreed. "He's working a job for the Bratva now. I really don't want him involved in that. So do any of you think there will be problems with Jia from now on? Should we be keeping an eye on him?"
He didn't have to say it. It was always right there under the surface.
Should I be worried about Ayanna?
"I don't think so," I said, shaking my head. "He seems disinterested in anything personal. My bet is he is all about the business. And none of us have done anything to fuck with that."
"Good. I have enough on my plate already," Booker said, and for the first time, he seemed overwhelmed, a bit defeated. His long days and overnights were what cost him his relationship. Now they were a source of resentment. "If you guys could keep it calm for a couple weeks, maybe even months, I'd appreciate it," he said, standing, giving Huck a chin jerk, then making his way out.
"Calm sounds good," Sass said, then gave me a wince. "I never thought I would say that."
"Trust me, calm is good," Huck said, shaking his head. "But, from my experience, fleeting. So enjoy it while we get it." With that, he walked out to the front room.
"How are you?" I asked, waiting for her to walk close, then snagging her, dragging her down onto my lap.
"That's a complicated question," she said, letting out a deep breath. "I'm a little in shock. But, mostly, I'm okay. Then I feel weird about being okay with everything that has happened over the past few weeks."
"Maybe it was easier to deal with because you had a whole crew of people who had your back," I suggested.