Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 70716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70716 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 354(@200wpm)___ 283(@250wpm)___ 236(@300wpm)
“Had to do it for her.”
“Well, you know fuckin’ what? She don’t appreciate it. She fuckin’ despises you and this club because she thinks we’re the enemy. You let me make her look like a fuckin’ liar. You gotta know that showin’ me this just opened a whole different can of fuckin’ worms. What were you plannin’ on doin’ here?”
He’s angry.
Understand that.
I’d be angry, too.
“Wanted you to know, boss. That’s it. She’s safe as far as I know. She looks different now, and nobody around here is lookin’ for her anymore.”
“You sure of that? You one-hundred-percent fuckin’ certain she ain’t in danger? You’d want to be sure, Cohen, because if you’re wrong, you’re goin’ to bring more hell upon that girl than you’ve already brought.”
I swallow the thick lump in my throat.
Is she safe? I don’t fucking know.
I don’t know where these people are; I’ve never looked into it.
I simply made sure she stayed away.
That was fucking it.
Now she’s back and I’m not sure of fucking anything.
“I don’t know, Pres. That’s the fuckin’ truth. I don’t know anything except she’s back and she’s diggin’. If she finds this, it’ll be the end for her. She’ll do somethin’ stupid and ruin her entire fuckin’ life. I can’t allow that to happen. She needs to start anew.”
“What are you suggestin’ then? We just let her go on with her life, never bein’ a hundred percent sure she’s not gettin’ tracked by these fuckers? We change her name and tell her it’s for her own safety? We ship her off somewhere else? What the fuck are you plannin’ on doin’ here?”
“I don’t know,” I growl. “But I’ll figure it out.”
“You’d want to do it soon, brother. That woman is on a mission, and she has hatred in her fuckin’ soul. Gone is the woman you clearly had feelings for back then. In her place is a cold, empty shell of who she was. Be very fuckin’ careful what you do with her now—she’s hangin’ on by a thread.”
My chest tightens, and pain explodes in my chest.
“I’m hearin’ you, boss,” I mutter.
“Work out a plan, Cohen, and come to me with it. This needs to be sorted, or we’re goin’ to have another problem on our hands that we can’t fuckin’ contain. While you’re at it, get her to fuckin’ talk so we can end that side of things once and for all. I’m fuckin’ done with all of this. Do what you’ve gotta do, but get what we need from her.”
I nod and turn, walking out of his office.
How the fuck am I going to do all of that?
Fuck me.
4
NOW – AVIANA
As I round into the kitchen of Briella’s house the next morning, I see her and Alarick standing by the counter, coffee in hand. Both of them look to me when I walk in. I’m hungover, sore, and fucking ready to light the god damned world on fire. The anger in my soul is busting at the seams, and I’m struggling to keep it in. Struggling to fucking fight it. I don’t know how much longer I can take this before I explode.
“Avi,” Briella says the second I make eye contact with her. “I’m so sorry. I believe you. I believe everything you’re saying. I’m sorry it sounded like I doubted you, even for a second.”
I stare at her, my expression empty. “I don’t give a shit what you believe, Briella. I care only about getting out of here so I never have to see any of you again. You want your information, Alarick? I’ll give it to you. Everything you need to get that girl back. To finish this. I have something I want in return, though.”
“What?” Alarick asks, his bare chest on display for the world to see.
He’s changed, so much from when we were younger. He’s broader now, his shoulders large and rounded, his chest defined and covered in ink. He’s incredible, they all are, but that’s not a shock. They always were.
Especially Cohen.
My anger twists into pain for a moment as I remember the friendship we developed over time. Not many people know about it, in fact, I’d go as far as to say Cohen and I were the only two people who knew about the bond we had created. I never told Briella, not because I didn’t trust her, but because having Cohen as a safe place to go changed something in me. Seeing him, with no one else around, felt like a secret that was healing my soul.
A secret I wanted to keep forever.
We had no reason to keep it a secret and, yet, we did.
That was exactly how we both wanted it.
Our own sanctuary where we could escape the world and everything it had to offer.
The bad and the good.
That is, until he turned on me and ruined my life forever.