Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 130761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 654(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 130761 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 654(@200wpm)___ 523(@250wpm)___ 436(@300wpm)
I turned to face him and kissed him on his stubbled cheek. “I am good,” I lied, not wanting him to worry. Worry that I now knew about Meister’s men. Worry about the nightmare that would not go from my mind, or the fact that I was beginning to remember things about the town I was rescued from.
I just wanted AK to be happy. I had seen glimpses of it at the lodge. I did not want my burdens to drag him back down to darkness.
The sound of Viking’s voice pulled everyone’s focus again. “And then this other time, AK and Flame burst into the crack house we were stealing from . . .” Men laughed as Viking told tale after tale. And I liked hearing about AK. I liked hearing about silly things he had done in playful moments with his friend, when the weight of his past had not burdened his mind.
My eyes drifted to the raven-haired woman beside me. Mae, she was called. I watched her cradle her stomach as she talked to Maddie. Her husband’s hand lay over her bump too, and I felt that same pit form in my own stomach as whenever I saw a mother and child. Only this time it was worse.
Save me, Mother . . . remember . . . Beauty said that we find messages in dreams . . . save me, Mother . . . remember . . .
I stilled as my blood ran cold. The potion . . . the bed . . . her beaten face . . .
Meister telling me I would forget, that he would make me forget it all . . .
No, I thought, my heart spiraling into an uncontrolled beat. It could not be true. She was safe, abroad. I knew she had been taken from New Zion. Judah had promised me . . . Judah . . .
Judah, who had lied about so much . . .
“You okay?” AK asked and turned my face to his.
I forced a smile. “Just tired.”
I shrieked as AK put his hands under my legs and lifted me into his arms. In front of everyone, he took me toward his cabin. I looked around to see them all watching us intently. My face burned with embarrassment. “You that desperate for a fuck?” Viking shouted as we reached the cabin’s door. AK flipped his finger at Viking and walked into the cabin. He laid me down on the bed, stripped me of my clothes and then shed his own. He climbed under the covers and drew me into his arms.
I did not want him to see how panicked I was inside. AK was perceptive. He saw things within me that no one ever had. I needed to deflect his attention. “You like Viking very much, do you not?” I asked. He rolled his eyes in affectionate exasperation.
“Can’t shake the fucker,” he replied. “That night I saw Dev in the hospital, I went to a bar. I needed a drink so fucking bad. It was a biker bar Dev sometimes took me to when we were both on leave. I was sitting at the bar when that asshole giant came and sat next to me. He saw me in my Marine fatigues. Fucker just smiled at me and asked, ‘How many of the assholes have you killed?’ Just came right out and asked me.” AK laughed, and I loved hearing the rumbling sound from his mouth.
“I told him to fuck off, and the fucker just laughed in my face. Five minutes later, he got into a fight with some meatheads by running his mouth again. I was itching for a fight after seeing Dev in such a damn state, so I had his back. We knocked out four of the cunts in minutes. He shook my hand, bought me a drink and asked me if I’d like to ride bikes and knock more fuckers out on a daily basis. I said yes. He brought me here, introduced me to Styx’s old man, and by the next day I was the newest prospect of the Hades Hangmen. Fucker never left me alone after that day. Then you know how we got Flame out of the nuthouse, and the rest is history. The Psycho Trio was born. Those two just got me from the start. Did one last tour that I’d already signed up for, then left the Marines for good. Been at this club ever since.”
“You love them like family,” I said. “Viking, Flame and now Asher.”
AK inhaled and lost his humor. “Yeah. Love all my brothers here, but those two are my best friends. I’d have been fucking lost without them when all the shit went down. They kept me from spiraling down to a place I couldn’t get back from.” His eyes fell. “Like I wanted to do for you.”