Total pages in book: 40
Estimated words: 37734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37734 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
“She has any problem with her phone, needing more data or whatever, she’ll come to me. Besides, that’s a shit excuse, and I think you know it. You should have asked to use hers. Or anyone’s, really. You keep in contact with the ones you love.”
I’m not sure I’d ever been more embarrassed and humiliated in my life. Not only was I stranded -- I’d been trying to ignore the fact I no longer had a working vehicle -- but I’d made a fool of myself in front of a man I’d basically idolized from afar for the better part of two years.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, doing my best to choke back tears. “I’ll call him the second we get to Tito’s.”
He sighed, then did something that completely surprised me. He reached over and gripped my hand until I turned my head to see him. “I’m sure it will be fine. I’ve got Ripper locating Rocket for me. When I talk to him, I’ll thank him for your help. He can meet us at Tito’s to pick you up. It’s neutral territory for most everyone around here. He’ll respect that and know I’ve not hurt you. We’ll wait for him there.”
“I never thought of that. Will he be mad I’m with you?”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. If it were my daughter, I’d probably be more than a little pissed, but if the guy was doing what I am, I’d cut him some slack.”
“I’ll tell him you didn’t hurt me, only…” I touched my jaw where Ms. Collins had struck me. It was starting to swell, and I was sure there was a dark red bruise starting to form. My skin was so fair I sometimes thought I could bruise from harsh language.
“Fuck.” Doc scrubbed a hand over his face. “We’ll get you some ice for it when we get to Tito’s. I’ll do my best to soothe Rocket’s feelings on the matter, but we’ll figure it out. He needs a pound of flesh, I’ll let him have it.”
“Dad!” Caroline sounded distressed. I turned to glance back at her. Her eyes were wide with shock. “You can’t let him hurt you for something Mom did! I’ll tell him it was Mom!”
“You’ll do exactly what I tell you to, Linnie. You know the rules when there are other clubs around. This will be quick and congenial. If it’s not, we’ll deal with it.”
“I’m so sorry.” I was rolling toward a full-on cry, but I refused to let tears fall now. Not with this man as witness. My pride was all I had left.
“No need to be sorry. I do have some more questions for you, though.”
I figured I owed him for trying to take care of me. I still wasn’t sure how Dad was going to take this. “I’ll do the best I can. I won’t betray Dad’s club.”
He raised an eyebrow and glanced at me. “Never thought you would. But that’s part of what I mean. You seem scared or resigned to face your dad. Do you think he’ll hurt you?”
“No. He’ll be disappointed. That’s bad enough.”
“What about the rest of the club? You talk like you really like them, but you seem like you’re beaten down. I don’t want to take you back to a bad situation, Lia. If you’re afraid of them, I’ll make sure you’re safe at Bane.”
“It’s not that. They believe in following the rules. Not necessarily other people’s rules, but the rules governing their club.” I glanced to the side, because I knew Caroline was listening and didn’t want to say anything not appropriate for her ears. “Women are allowed in the club only under certain circumstances. Once I turned eighteen, I was still the president’s daughter, but I was also an unattached woman.”
“I understand.” He nodded at me, and I thought he might get it. He’d probably make me spell it out when Caroline wasn’t there to listen, but he was also letting it go for now. “And you don’t want to move out… why? If he knew you had to move, wouldn’t Rocket have set you up with a place away from the compound?”
Damn, the man was shrewd! “Well, yeah.”
“So why don’t you want to leave the Grim Road compound?”
“That’s not your business.”
“No. It’s not. I’m still askin’ for the answer.”
I gave an exasperated huff. “Is he always so obstinate, Caroline?”
“He’s not even begun to be obstinate. Pretty sure he could out-stubborn a goat.”
“Very funny, Linnie. Now hush.” His icy green gaze pinned me before he glanced away and pulled the big truck into the parking lot of Tito’s Diner, stopping the truck and putting it in park. “You need me to send Caroline inside the diner to get us a seat?”
“I’m sure you don’t want to leave her alone.” I was reaching, and I knew it. Not only was I being a coward, but I was going to insult my friend if I wasn’t careful.