Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46412 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
I walk over to him as he leans his face down close to mine. “You’re not an idiot.”
“But King—”
He cuts me off with a soft, short kiss before I can argue with him.
“We all make mistakes, Shelby,” King says. “Yours trapped you and you were trying to protect the people you love. That’s it, babe. If anything, the only think you did wrong was not waiting for me to find you.”
I laugh, “But King, you didn’t even know I existed.” All I can do is shake my head at him.
“That’s just semantics,” he says with a wink.
“Go on. Go finish what you’re doing so we can get out of here before grandma lays eyes on Ford and decides she’s going to be a cougar.”
Somehow, we’ve managed to keep the two apart, but there’s a very real chance there and I’m not going to test it out.
King walks away laughing, leaving me with my grandma, I turn to find her watching me.
“What?” I ask when she doesn’t say anything. She just tilts her head slighting as she thinks something over.
“You really care for him,” grandma points out as she narrows her eyes at me.
“I love him,” I tell her softly, unable to stop from smiling. “He’s nothing like Mason. You’ve seen his club protecting the people in their lives, not hurting them. He makes me feel like I matter.”
“You’ve always mattered, Shelbers. You don’t need someone to prove that to you,” grandma says. “You should know you do and hold your head up high.”
“I think I did once but somewhere along the way I started to believe the poison Mason was always spewing, you know?” I take a deep breath. That man did a lot of damage. Damage to my mind and heart that I still seem to be cleaning up, but at least I know all that is behind me.
“If I had the power, I’d make that S.O.B pay for that,” she growls out.
“I think King may be doing that already,” I mutter. Does it make me a bad person that I won’t ask him to stop? I push the thought out of my head to process later. So much has happened for me to think over and he’s the last thing I’m going to worry about.
“Are you sure you care for king?” she dodged the question to ask a question.
“It happened so fast, but, I’m positive. I love him. It’s just…”
“Just what?” she asks, staring at me. I can tell she wants to tell me to run if I’m already seeing red flags and having second thoughts. I shake my head. She’s still thinking he’s trouble in a bad way.
“I’m not sure how he feels about me. He cares about me, but he’s never mentioned love or anything like it really. All he’s said is he’s claimed me.”
Grandma Billie laughs. “For most men, that is more powerful than the word love. A word can be said by anybody, but it’s the actions behind it that matter.”
“So, you know from experience?”
“Your grandfather, god rest his soul, wasn’t a fee man with the love word, but he never failed to show it- that is unless he was driving me up the wall and making me made enough to spit names, normally by calling me Willie.”
I smile at her. I can picture it in my mind, and it warms my heart.
“You’re just as bad as he was, you know,” she says, wagging her finger at me.
“Yeah, I know. I love you just as much too,” I tell her, pulling her into a hug.
‘I love you too, Shelbers.”
Chapter 31
King
Down in the dank basement of the Demon Chaser’s club house, Mongrel is chained to the floor in front of me as I taunt him. I won’t make this easy on him. He’s done a lot of horrible shit, especially to Shelby and who knows how many other women, so he will pay for it. His death won’t make them feel better, but it sure as fuck will bring a semblance of piece knowing he’s no longer walking the same city as them.
“I’m going to level with you, Mason,” I tell him, trying to mimic the drawl he put on in the abandoned building. “I’m supposed to be trying to get information from you about the rat, but I don’t really care that much. I know we will smoke out the man you put here to take out Ford. So really, I just want to see you dead. That way my woman can rest easy.”
“You’re stupid. No bitch is worth losing two million dollars, especially her,” Mason spits. “I thought you were smarter than to let a piece of ass cost you everything.” He shakes his head at me. He still believes that I really wanted that money. Jokes on him.
“Keep talking, Mongrel, all you’re doing is shortening your time.”