Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 518(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
The man wore a shirt several sizes too big for him and was rather bony, which explained why he compensated with the two rifles he had on him. “Your son lied to her. He should take responsibility for his actions!”
Mike spread his arms and approached the fence despite several guns pointed at him as if he carried a bunch of grenades. “That is such bullshit! She told me she wanted to have fun with a biker. I never told her it was anything but that!”
“You said I could stay at the club!” Harlyn didn’t fight Arden anymore, standing still even when his hold on her loosened.
Mike shook his head. “Yeah, but not as my wife!” He turned to Axel and said something too quietly for Arden to hear, but Axel nodded, determination making his expression sterner than usual.
Mike patted Axel’s arm and pointed to him as if he were presenting a particularly fat pig at the market. “Look at him, Harlyn. Is he not a fine piece of biker? You should get to know him better. Hell, I’ll even pay for the wedding cake if the two of you hit it off.”
Arden took a deep breath, his brain glitching at the ridiculousness of this proposition. But he still whispered in her ear, “He’s actually really nice.”
“W-what?” Harlyn asked, too shocked to immediately understand the offer, but whether Axel was serious about this thing or just bluffing, the scheme could be Arden’s way out.
“Axel just proposed to you.”
“Oh… he did?” she asked while the Jarens stood perfectly still, as if Axel were Medusa and had turned them into stone.
Jeff and Zolt spoke to Axel, but he only stood straighter, cleared his throat, and joined Mike at the front of the group, staring straight at Harlyn. “I always thought you were very pretty. Do you want to go for a walk?” he asked in his dull voice, but this was still better than his initial proposal.
Harlyn’s father shook his head. “I warn you, Mike. If this is just a ruse to get the boy out, I will bring the wrath of heavens upon you!”
Talk about being dramatic.
Arden led Harlyn toward the makeshift barrier of rubber and concrete, closer to the Hellers and safety, but the Jarens were now at arms’ reach, their eyes on him as if he were toxic waste. His heart beat faster at the danger of their proximity, but Mike would surely protect him if anything went wrong. Once he was out, it wouldn’t matter that they’d broken up. They’d hug, and he’d ride home on Mike’s bitch seat one more time.
When had he started thinking of the clubhouse as his home?
“Just say the word, Harlyn, and I’ll fuck them all up!” yelled one of her brothers, but she waved at him dismissively.
“Let me go on my date, okay?”
“Supervised!” her father huffed, scowling at Arden as if he were a piece of rotten meat. But as soon as Axel stepped past the old car blocking the driveway into the compound, hands raised to show he wasn’t going to attack, Arden pushed Harlyn forward and leapt to the other side, scrambling over the tyres making up the fence.
His skull boiled with worry that someone on the Jaren side might lose their patience and send a bullet his way, but moments later he was on the other side. Safe.
Mike ran up to him right away, and as Arden choked up, jogging forward, the familiar chest was the solace he needed. It smelled like it had in the morning too. Of wood, and a hint of jasmine.
“It’s okay, baby. I’m sorry,” Mike whispered, panting.
Arden had kept his cool before, as if his body had been pure adrenaline, but his knees buckled the moment Mike’s arms closed around him. “I didn’t know what they’d do,” he uttered, barely able to speak with his trembling lips. I was so scared they’d hurt me and you’d have to suffer because of it.”
Mike sank low with him, sitting in the dust while Arden caught his breath. “It’s my fault they took you. I’m so sorry,” he said, petting Arden’s cheeks, his face tense with anger. Mike didn’t even need to profess it, Arden had no doubt he’d drive headfirst into the tyre fence for him if need be.
“You can’t control everything,” Arden said, settling into a hug as the most awkward date in history began somewhere behind his back. “It’s their fault, because they abducted me.”
Mike hummed, tightening his hold on Arden. “Yeah. But they did that because they knew I care about you. This will always be a risk,” he whispered, resting his chin on Arden’s head.
Arden pulled away to look into Mike’s eyes and slid his fingers into Mike’s beard. “And you teach me self-defence. I’d take that risk ten times over to be with you. I still love you.” It was an embarrassing thing to admit to someone who had pushed him away, but he needed to say it. He’d been through enough to know safety was never a given. Any relationship could end badly, one way or another, but he couldn’t live afraid of ever trusting again.