Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117494 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 587(@200wpm)___ 470(@250wpm)___ 392(@300wpm)
Her face went blank, making it even harder to read.
“Guys…” Harper attempted to cut in.
I don’t think Aly knew he’d spoken. She raised her eyebrows. “Fine. I do have things to educate you on. Do you know your boyfriend and his club have murdered people? They work with the cartel? They helped make an entire family disappear, just like that.” She snapped her fingers, looking so cold. “Just like that, Kali.” She inched forward. “You’re my friend. I love you, and I am worried. The stories I’ve heard—”
“Stories.”
She stopped, frowning slightly.
“You’ve heard. Stories that you have heard.” I did not need a guess where these stories had come from. “Your new man, who I don’t know anything about either, must’ve been filling you in with all these stories.”
I had nothing to say on that matter. It was beyond my control. Her new man, whether she loved him or not, had an opinion, and he had shared it.
“What’s funny is that I never thought I’d get this, not from you,” I told her. “Maybe Harper in a drunken night when he’s feeling dramatic.”
“Hey.”
I ignored him. “But you? Aly? You don’t judge. You never have. You’re the one who’s been judged. I thought…” I shook my head. “Never mind what I thought, but it’s definitely not what this turned out to be.”
I pushed back to slide off my chair.
“Hey! Whoa.” Harper had his hands in the air, between us. “Time out, okay? Kali, you do not move from that stool. You hear me? And Aly, lay off the judgment. Kali’s right, but not about the drunken dramatic thing. Don’t get too big of a head over there.”
I had to smile at that, a knot loosening inside of me. Just a little, and not enough. No matter what else was said, damage had been done. Aly had slammed the door before I’d even gotten a foot inside.
We both quieted.
“Okay, now what the fuck?” Harper said. “Honestly? What the ever living fuck? I’ve not heard about any of these things Aly just said, so she’s not been talking behind your back or anything. And you know she’s just concerned, really concerned based on the absolutely horrible delivery, but you know what I mean.” His tone softened. “She loves you, and you came in knowing about her situation. You were prepared. None of us were prepared for your situation. It’s a lot for anyone to digest, much less family.”
A younger me might’ve asked them to be happy for me. But that wasn’t me now, not anymore. We were beyond that stage in our lives.
I shook my head, because there was another elephant in the room. “Where is Justin?”
Harper’s mouth dropped.
Aly started laughing.
That eased a bit more of my knot. But again, not enough.
“I can’t even,” Harper sputtered, flinging his hands in the air. “Fine. You two battle it out.” He picked up his drink and slid off his stool. “Unlike Aly, I’m going to actually go over and get to know your man, because I want to know who his buddies are. See ya, bitches. Harper’s out.”
Aly seemed stricken.
I didn’t care why. A pounding had started behind my forehead, and it was building fast. “You’re the steady one,” I murmured. “The kind one. Warm. Humble. Loving. I don’t know who this new Aly is, and I’m not saying she’s wrong, but man, she was quick to speak in a way the Aly I know wouldn’t have. I do know that much.”
I was done. I’d said enough. But I ached. She’d punched a little hole in my chest.
“Brandon knows the club,” she said after a moment.
“The club. Not Shane.” Because there was a distinction.
“True,” she agreed. “He doesn’t know Shane, but in these clubs, it doesn’t matter. You know one, you know all.”
Bullshit. I was already shaking my head.
“Yes, Kali.” She raised her tone, but not in a bad way. An assertive way. “His brother-in-law has had run-ins with Shane’s club. He told me about them, and he’s terrified of them. Terrified. He’s worried about you. He’s worried about me—”
She wasn’t looking at me now. She was staring off into the distance, her concern clouding everything again. “He said if you stay with Shane, he doesn’t know where he and I will stand.”
“That’s a lot of power you’re giving him.”
Her eyes found mine, and I saw a tear forming in there. She blinked it away. “It’s not like that. We’re older. We know. We don’t have time to waste anymore, not if we know what we want.” Her eyes glistened, and she lifted a shoulder, looking helpless. “I’ve loved you all my life, but you can’t give me babies.”
Damn. Harper was right. She was there, all the way there.
“Harper said you were there, but I was kinda hoping he was exaggerating.” I gave her a sad smile. “I wanted to be here when you fell in love. I wanted to talk to you before your first date, get the 411 after—or the next morning.”