Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 107118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107118 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 428(@250wpm)___ 357(@300wpm)
It was a strange feeling, pride. I never had much of a chance to feel proud of someone before. Cowboy took up for me every day. Would fight anyone that even looked badly at me. But that was just us. How we’d been for so long I never really noticed it anymore.
But right now, I was so full of fucking pride for this bitch who’d swooped into our lives like an eagle riding a hurricane that I couldn’t help but smile.
A second later, Sia’s hand came down on my wrist, and her mouth dropped open in shock. “Hush!” she said dramatically. I fixed my gaze on her. “You can smile!”
I nodded and ran my hand over my shaven head. “Rare, I know. But it happens once every blue moon.”
Sia nudged me with her shoulder. “It suits you, darlin’.” Her eyes dropped, and she kicked the dirt with the toe of her boot. “I wouldn’t mind seeing it a whole lot more.” She threw me a wink. One I knew she’d fucking picked up from Cowboy. “And, you know, you’re kinda hot, more so when you flash those pearly whites in this gal’s direction . . .” My eyes blazed, stomach fucking tightening.
The announcer called out that it was time for the saddle bronc riders. I glanced behind us and saw Cowboy approaching us alone, no sight of AK, Vike, and Flame. Cowboy was almost at where we were stood when someone brushed past him, did a double-take, and then stopped dead. My eyes narrowed, trying to gauge what was happening, when the guy in brown chaps said, “Aubin? Aubin Breaux? Is that you?”
Cowboy’s attention snapped to the guy to his right. The smile he was wearing slipped right off his face. The minute I saw who it was, I was overcome with rage so fucking hot it almost burned me where I stood. My hands shook so fast I actually fucking looked down at my fingers, before curling them into fists. My chest slammed up and down as I lifted my head back to the fucker that had dared fucking speak to Cowboy. I was gonna fucking explode. I was gonna fucking tear him to shreds. I was gonna—
“Hush?” Sia said, putting her hand on my arm. But I couldn’t respond. My heart pounded too fast in my chest as I watched Cowboy recognize the man standing before him. Cowboy’s face flamed as if the devil himself had possessed his body.
Cowboy shot a brief glance my way. I blinked, my narrowed eyes moving to the tattoos peeking out from under the cunt’s collar, his sleeves . . . Tattoos I would recognize anywhere.
I fucking knew it. Knew they’d have gone down that road eventually.
“Fuck, man, where the hell have you been?” Pierre said, speaking like all that shit hadn’t gone down years ago. I told myself to fucking move. I told my fucking legs to run and smash the prick’s nose across his face, but nothing was working. Pure anger stopped anything on my body from fucking working. “You’re in Texas? This is where you disappeared to? I know a lot of shit went down a while back, but we never thought you’d leave town.” Pierre frowned. “Your folks have been looking for you for years.” Cowboy’s mouth opened to say something, but Pierre looked over his shoulder and signaled to someone.
I felt like I was watching a slow-motion movie as a face I never wanted to see again came strutting through the crowd. Cowboy turned. Jase Du Pont stopped as his eyes fell on Cowboy. Then he rushed through the crowd.
Him. That motherfucking cunt.
My body vibrated. I felt Sia’s hand press down harder on my arm, but I couldn’t fucking hear anything she was saying. All I could hear was the blood surging through my ears. All I could see was the fucking red mist descending over my eyes as the mark on my back ignited with fire.
“Aubin?” Jase ran over and took hold of Cowboy’s arm. “Fucking Aubin Breaux!”
Cowboy didn’t reply. Instead his eyes met mine. I knew if I could see clearly, they’d be silently telling me to calm the fuck down. But how could I when these assholes were here? In my fucking home!
“You here competing?” Jase asked, clearly not understanding that Cowboy’s silence meant he was one second from slitting his fucking throat. Because there was no way Cowboy wasn’t close to snapping. He hated these cunts almost as much as I did. “I’m here with my nephew. Just starting out on the youth circuit.” He turned his nose up. “Bit of a shithole competition for you, isn’t it? This what you’re reduced to now? Shitty rodeos in Texas. You were a fucking king of the rodeo once. Better than all of us.”
My blood boiled as I glared at the dark-haired, freckle-skinned prick. My foot moved forward, pure hatred spurring me on. “Hush?” Sia stepped in front of me. But I kept my eyes on him. The one I intended to fucking kill. “What’s wrong? Do you know those men?” Sia’s voice was panicked.