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)
I wasn’t sure who “he” was, but instinctively knew I didn’t want to know.
“Ana --”
“No, Thorn! Listen to me. No one has to know everything. El Diablo, Samson, and possibly El Segador, but not everyone.”
“I can’t keep something like this from the club!”
“We may have to, brother.” Havoc scrubbed a hand over his face. “At least for the time being. If they need to know, we can always fill them in later. Besides, Ana knows. You know I’ll have to tell Spring. Not sure it’ll make much difference. The Black Reign men will tell their women same as we do. That’s too many people trying to keep secrets. It’ll slip.”
“This is a good way for someone to get killed.” Thorn wasn’t happy, but I could see he was going to take Havoc’s suggestion into consideration. “We’ve got a week or so. I’ll call El Diablo and set up a meeting. Will probably need to get Cain involved, but only if we have to.”
“Fuck.” Havoc laced his hands behind his neck. “We’re so fucking fucked.”
“I don’t think we are,” Ana said gently, her arm gripping Thorn’s shoulder. “It will all be good. I want you to make sure everyone knows to be extra careful. I don’t want anyone getting hurt because they weren’t prepared.”
“You always want to see the good in people, Mariana,” Thorn said, but I could tell he was relaxing by degrees. “Given your past and how you were betrayed, if you can do it, I’ll manage it too. Different doesn’t mean bad. It means we need to find a common ground and treat them like we would any other club.”
This sounded serious. I looked at Lia, and she was frowning in their direction. Not like she was mad, just puzzled. “What’s going on?” she whispered.
“Not sure, honey.”
“We should let them know we’re here. They’ll think we’re eavesdropping.”
“Not yet.” I had a feeling this was something I needed to know, but honestly, what difference was it going to make? If this was about Grim Road -- and I was sure it was -- it didn’t change the fact I was keeping Lia. The only thing that might be useful would be to know in advance anything that might affect Lia or her family so I could prepare her gently.
“OK. It’s settled, then. We’ll brief the people Rocket named, then see how it plays out. Above all, we have to make sure Doc keeps Talia safe. Rocket insisted on this.”
“We both know that was more for everyday living than any situation he’s got going on. Doc claimed Talia properly. The wedding ceremony still has to happen, but the license has been signed and filed. Doc insisted on it. Not only that, Talia got a tattoo proclaiming her property of Doc. No one’ll be able to contest his claim. Rocket said so himself.” Havoc seemed to shrug Thorn’s warning off. Which was a good fucking thing, because the thought that my brothers weren’t sure if I could protect my woman made me want to bust a motherfucker up.
“Good. We’re of the same opinion. I just needed to hear you say it. What about Caroline? You believe him when he says she was perfectly safe?”
“I shouldn’t, but I think I do. If there was a possibility of anything happening to her, he’d have told us directly when he was asked. Instead, he’d looked like I’d insulted him and his entire club.”
“I know this is difficult to accept, Thorn, but I think everything will work out. It’s all going to be good.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I am. You’ll see.” Mariana smiled up at Thorn and hooked her arm around his as the three of them went back inside.
“Wow,” Lia said when the door had closed, and we exited the pool to retrieve our clothing. “That wasn’t intense or cryptic or anything.”
“Not at all.”
“You going to talk to him about it?” I looked down into her face. There was nothing there but curiosity. She wasn’t afraid or resigned. Which meant she was in the dark, same as me.
“No,” I said, knowing it was the truth. “If Thorn thinks we need to know, he’ll tell us. Until then, we’ll both be extra vigilant until your dad gets back from whatever job he’s taken away from here. If something changes, we’ll reevaluate.” I brushed a kiss over her mouth. “Make no mistake, though, Lia, we’ll decide together. We’re a team. You scared?” If she was, I’d go to Thorn tonight and demand to know. In any other environment, I’d have done it. At the hospital. My clinic. Literally any other situation. But this was my club. My brothers. Thorn was our president. I’d trust him to know when he needed to tell me.
She smiled up at me. “No. I trust you. If you trust your club, I will too. I follow you.”