Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37093 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 185(@200wpm)___ 148(@250wpm)___ 124(@300wpm)
Gleeson’s tirade got cut short before it even started when Brick one-punched him in the head. The man dropped like a stone.
“Brick,” Wylde sighed, sounding for all the world like a disappointed parent. “We didn’t get the papers signed. You were supposed to wait until he signed the papers.”
“Yeah, well, I’d had enough of his blustering and shit. It’s not like we care anyway. This was about revenge for our sweet girl, Odette.”
“Oh, I got that for her.” Wylde’s grin was positively gleeful. “In spades. In fact, I’d be willing to bet my left testicle old Stevie boy there would rather get punched in the head again than go through what he’s getting ready to go through.”
“What did you do?” Odette turned her head where she’d buried it in my chest, and I wanted to growl at Wylde. I wanted her taking comfort in me. Not curious about what Wylde had in store for this bastard.
“He’s going to lose everything he has, Odette. Everything. I drained every single bank account he has that’s not associated with his wife or kids. He’d been siphoning his wife’s money since they got married, so she’s not gonna be happy to learn about that. He’d managed to get his name on all but his wife’s corporate account for her very successful accounting firm. The house, the cars, their summer home in the Hamptons, all of it, I reverted back to her. As of this afternoon -- which is why we moved now -- he doesn’t have a penny to his name.”
Odette gasped. “Are you serious?”
“Oh, very.” Wylde sobered now. “Not only that, but I contacted his wife a week ago. She and I had a nice little chat. Which is the reason she’s banging the security chief. I gave her a divorce. The appropriate paperwork is done, the computer shit is filed. She wanted to go back to her maiden name, so I fixed that too. Woman’s sharp. She knew there were things that didn’t add up, but she didn’t want to rock the boat. We compared notes, and she acknowledged what she already knew. Her husband is a lying, cheating bastard who damn near took everything she had.”
“Will she be all right?”
“Odette,” I sighed. “You’re too compassionate for your own good. That woman will be fine.” I didn’t want her anymore upset than she already was. I know seeing Gleeson had thrown her. She’d tried to be brave and face him with her chin up, but everything he’d said about her had really shaken her self-confidence.
“No, Cyrus. I think she’s even more of a victim than I am. What about her children, Wylde? Won’t he try to get custody in order to get child support if she’s the breadwinner in the family?”
“Nope. Kids ain’t his. She had them from her first marriage. A good man from all accounts. Died in the service a year before she met Stevie boy. The kids are safe and she’s rid of that loser. Besides all that, she filed charges against him. There are warrants out for his arrest for all kinds of shit including money laundering and tax evasion. We got everyone involved we could think of. I have protections in place to keep her from being collateral damage and to protect her business, but even if this bastard tries to go after her for money or us for this, he’s in so much trouble it will look like he’s trying to deflect blame. Besides, we all have airtight alibis and, as you said, she’s the victim in his little schemes. No one’s going to believe a word he says, and when it’s all said and done, he’s going away for a very fuckin’ long time.”
“I bet she hates me, and I don’t blame her.”
“No, honey.” Wylde spoke kindly to Odette. Like he knew how fragile she was. I wanted to yank out every single strand of bright green hair in the ridiculous streak on his head one hair at a time. Just to fuck with him. Because he understood Odette’s feelings and concerns, and I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to. “She knows he duped you just like he did her. She’s a really nice woman, actually.”
“We done here?” I needed to get back to the clubhouse with Odette. I needed to make love to her. It was the only way I knew how to express how much she meant to me. To tell her what she needed to hear that I wasn’t sure I could ever say and know in my heart the words were true.
“Yep.” Brick and Clutch put Gleeson in the back seat of the limo. “I’ll take this asswipe outa here and drop him and the limo off across the river. He can go wherever he wants from there.”
“We’re heading back,” I told Brick. “Got shit to do. Take Blade with you, will ya?”