Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131916 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
“Sounds to me like you’re making excuses,” he said.
Maybe, but they were still valid.
“She doesn’t know anything about us. Who we are. Besides, I don’t know what she’s up against.”
“And you’ve taken it upon yourself to find out?” It was a partial accusation.
“Yeah, you could say that.”
On the other end of the line, I could feel Otto warring, unsure of what to say. Finally, he exhaled and muttered, “Just be careful, man. You know what we have riding on this. You start straying from the purpose, and the waters get muddied. It puts all of us in a precarious situation.”
“Know it. I am being careful.”
Nah, I was being fuckin’ reckless, but I couldn’t admit that.
“So what’s your plan?”
“Going to call Cash. See what he can dig out.”
“Without her knowing?”
“She’s not ready to give me details, but I need to be prepared.”
“Fuck, River, you’re in deep, aren’t you?”
I didn’t try to fuckin’ deny that one.
“Fuck,” he wheezed before he continued with a sigh. “You have that job, man. Next week.”
A boulder formed in the middle of my chest.
It was an extraction. We’d tried the normal avenues with her, trying to get her to safety without it getting messy, but her plans to leave had been uncovered by her piece of shit husband.
Now, there’d be no avoiding the mess. These jobs were the most dangerous. Ones where any number of things could go wrong. Ones where my special skills were often required.
“I’ll be ready,” I told him.
“Good.”
It wasn’t good, but we did it because it was right. No matter the consequence. No matter the price. I’d become a monster if it gave someone else a better life.
My ribs clamped around my heart as I thought about the woman who was back at my place. Wondering what treacherous shores she was battering against. If it was possible I could protect her from them, all while wondering if who I really should be protecting her from was me.
Silence traveled between us before he finally said, “You know, I’ve never seen you this way before.”
It was both curious and a clear insinuation.
I shouldn’t even honor him with a response, but I was taking his bait, anyway. “Seen me like what?”
“Smitten.”
A scoff jumped right out of me. “Smitten? Believe me, brother, guys like me don’t get smitten.”
“Well, I guess some people call it obsessed.”
Irritation blazed through my system. “I’m not fuckin’ obsessed.”
He laughed hard. “Call it what you want, man, but I saw it written all over you this afternoon. Girl’s got you.”
My chest tightened. “That’s bullshit, and you know it.”
“Is it?”
“Just leave it, man,” I warned him.
We both knew the rule.
We could fuck and play, but we could never make attachments. Could never get too close or allow anyone to really know who we were.
We had to go this life alone because we couldn’t afford to have someone relying on us. Couldn’t afford to take them down the precarious path we’d chosen.
Most of all, we could never risk being exposed.
Raven had already been my responsibility…and well, Nolan? He’d come into my life wholly unexpected, and he was the one exception I could ever make.
“Just wonderin’ if it might be time to change up the rules a bit is all,” Otto said, his musing taking on a benevolent tone.
Guilt constricted, knowing the line I’d already crossed by bringing Charleigh to my place. I scrubbed a palm over my face as I made it back into the main area of town.
“You know we can’t do that.”
“But how long can we really go on living this way?” he asked, a bit of longing filling the words.
The truth that we’d been living thin, even though we’d promised that having each other’s backs would be enough. This mismatched family that had been forged through the flames. Through desperation and treachery.
Just a handful of fucked up kids living on the street who’d come to rely on each other to survive. And once we’d become members of Trent’s MC, Iron Owls, we’d taken it full fledge.
Out of it, we’d discovered the one thing we had to offer this world.
“Don’t know,” I told him honestly.
“Do you ever wonder what would happen if we made this thing legit?”
Surprise jolted through me, disbelief at what he’d implied.
We’d started this thing crooked because that’s what we’d been, and we kept it that way because we were a whole shit-ton more effective without having laws and chains and parameters to hold us back.
Thing was, it also made us criminals, and he and I both knew there was no going back.
“Maybe you need a break.” I struggled to keep the dread out, the way my pulse had gone offbeat at the implication.
Otto sighed. “Nah, man, I’m just rambling. No need to worry.”
A frown pulled at my brow. “You sure you’re good?”
“Yeah.”
“All right then. Take care, brother.”
“Yeah, you, too.”
The line went dead just as I was making the turn into the parking lot at the side of the building where Moonflower and Charleigh’s apartment were housed. I pulled into a spot, looking up at the white bricks, wondering what the fuck I thought I was doing.