Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 109696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 109696 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 548(@200wpm)___ 439(@250wpm)___ 366(@300wpm)
“It’s our life, brother. When shit like this happens, we gotta learn from it.” Axel props his boots up on our wooden table.
Blade turns. “That was Eve he held the gun to—”
“He was gonna kill all of them. The Disciples would have crumbled in a second. He could have brought all of us tumbling down. But he didn’t.” Axel takes the pipe back as I hold in the thick, almost heavy-tasting smoke before slowly exhaling.
Blade shakes his head and looks out at the darkness. “I need more security, better security.”
“Agreed, we all do. And I guess we need to teach our ladies to shoot a gun. Thanks for thinking of that, man.” Axel glances at me. His eyes, which always hold such confidence, show his exhaustion.
Beat-up.
Yeah, today brought us all to our knees.
“Fuck, I owe her everything.” Blade takes a swig, looking at me. “She saved them, all of them.” His eyes are a mass of anger, pain, and awe. “Axel’s right. I protected Eve because I believed that I was enough to take care of her.”
He shakes his head and takes another swig, pointing the bottle at me. “I thought my will would be enough. That no one would dare try to touch what I love because I’m me.”
His honesty is humbling. This is what makes Blade McCormick great. It’s what makes him a king.
“You don’t believe that though… you taught Julianna to take care of herself. I think that’s what I can’t forgive myself for.”
“You will, brother. We all will because they need us to.” I stand, resting my hand on his shoulder. “This will never happen again.” My voice vibrates around the large conference room.
“I know.” He looks at the bottle. “Church at 10 AM.”
“I’ll be there,” I say, knowing there’s a real chance I may not be in the near future.
Blade nods, bringing the bottle to his lips. Axel’s boots drop to the floor.
Brotherhood.
This club is my family. It took care of me when no one else would. I’ve fought, fucked, and killed with them.
If, in two weeks, I’m not there to enforce… the Disciples will live on.
I’ll make sure of it.
JULIANNA
Present
Disciples’ clubhouse
Burbank, CA
“Julianna?” I blink my eyes open to see tan legs along with a pair of dark skinny jeans with holes in the knees. My hand instinctively reaches for Ryder, but the bed is empty, and instead, Eve and Gia stare down at me.
I bolt up.
“What’s wrong?” Bringing the sheet with me, my body jumps into fright mode.
“Um, besides that it’s ten thirty in the morning and you blew a man’s head off yesterday, nothing.” Gia looks at me like I’ve turned blue.
“Gia,” Eve shushes her in a warning tone, then looks at me, her blue eyes full of gratitude. “We’re just checking on you. Making sure you’re okay.” She pats my arm like I’m in the psych ward.
“God.” I sigh. “I thought something bad had happened to Ryder.” Closing my eyes, I swallow back that wave of nausea that’s been rolling around in the pit of my stomach. This constant state of terror is not helping it.
“We tried to wake you when we came in, but you didn’t move, so…” Gia stares down at me, frowning, as if she’s getting ready to check my temperature.
I let out another deep sigh, trying to will the nausea away and get my bearings. “Can you hand me a shirt? Oh, never mind.” I toss the covers off and stand up naked, rolling my eyes at their shocked faces as I make my way into the bathroom.
“What is on her collarbone? Do we need to get Ryder?” Gia hisses at Eve as I pass them, and my brand, which was an annoying throb but has now combusted into a raging inferno now that Gia’s mentioned it.
“I’ll explain la—”
“It’s my brand, Gia. Ryder branded me last night,” I call out as I use the toilet, only to be greeted with silence, followed by whispering.
As I wash my hands, I look in the mirror. The brand looks like a winged scab. I reach for the Neosporin and slather some on.
“Do you want coffee?” Gia yells.
I groan at the thought yet groan at not having it. “Give me a second. I feel terrible.” After splashing some water on my face, I wrap a towel around me, stopping when I see the look on their faces.
“Why are you both looking at me like I’m on suicide watch?”
“Because I’m racked with guilt.” Gia throws her arms around me. “I was late, and oh my God, are you okay?” She pulls back, her arms tight on mine.
“I am, and you need to be grateful you were late. One of the few times it worked in your favor.” I take a breath as the enormity of what Eve and I went through saturates me, like someone turned a hose on and cold water is waking me up.