Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68936 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
I can’t think about it.
I focus on Remy.
The gunfire ceases after a few minutes, but we don’t know if they’re still out there or not. We don’t even know if the club members have found them, or if they’re safe.
We don’t even know who they are.
“Any idea who that was?” I whisper, my heart still racing.
Remy shakes his head, his face tight. He wants to be out there, and why shouldn’t he? It’s his club, too. He sits tightly, anger very clearly bubbling inside him.
“I didn’t see the car,” Eve says. “It was so dark. It’s right in the middle of town. I don’t understand who would risk shooting at us like that.”
“I think I know who it was,” Poppy says, taking a seat beside Remy and glancing at the blood as I inspect his wound.
We all look at her.
“Well?” Remy grunts. “Who the fuck was it?”
“Oh,” Poppy says. “Oh, it was probably my husband.”
Wait.
What?
Did she just say her husband?
What the hell is going on?
26
“Husband?” I say, staring at Poppy.
She nods. “Yes, husband.”
“How?” I squeak.
“Yeah, I’d like you to explain fuckin’ how,” Riggs growls. “Because someone could have died tonight.”
Thankfully, nobody did. By the time the club members go out there, the shooters were gone and the streets were clear. They didn’t even get to see who they were or what they looked like. For all we know, it could be anyone.
Poppy chews on her lower lip for a moment, then she explains.
“I was kind of forced to marry him. I was in trouble, the only way I could get out of trouble was to agree to marry him, and he’d help me. It turns out that was a terrible idea, and, well, our relationship wasn’t very healthy. So, I did a runner. It’s safe to say he didn’t like that and has been looking for me since. I guess he found me.”
“You fuckin’ think?” Beckett barks. “What the fuck were you thinkin’ keeping something like that from us? We could have been killed.”
“I didn’t know he was going to come here and shoot at you all. God, if anything, I thought he’d come and drag me out. Maybe it wasn’t him...”
“You were pretty sure it was him when we spoke to you,” I say very carefully.
Poppy exhales. “Look, he’s unpredictable. If he were in a rage, sure, he’d probably do something like that.”
“And what might cause him to have a rage?” Riggs growls.
Poppy gives Riggs a careful, nervous grin. “Me taking his money.”
Riggs closes his eyes.
Beckett curses.
“You stole from us and you fuckin’ stole from your husband?” Riggs barks, finally losing it. “What the fuck is wrong with you?”
“Well, he owed me.”
“How much did you take?” Beckett asks, his voice gruff and tight.
“Ah, a lot. I used it to buy the equipment I’d need to make fake money. Then, I took your money so I could learn to do it better.”
Beckett looks like he’s going to blow a fuse. “So that shit we’ve got out there, that we’re makin’ money with, was purchased from the money you stole from your psycho husband? Is that right? Have I fucking missed anything?”
“Look, I didn’t ask to stay here,” Poppy growls. “You could have taken your money back and sent me on my way, but instead, you decided you wanted to know how I was making it. You kept me to benefit you. I never said I didn’t come with baggage. You just never asked.”
I mean, she has a point.
“You’re fuckin’ loopy,” Beckett yells.
“Enough,” Riggs puts his hand up. “That’s enough. We’re goin’ to go and figure out what the fuck we’re dealin’ with here, so we can make a choice.”
“I already know what we need to do,” Beckett snaps. “We need to get her the fuck out of here, so we don’t end up with a war on our hands. We don’t have time for that shit, nor do we need it.”
“He has a point,” Remy nods from the corner, hand on his bandaged leg.
“Gotta agree, boss.” Adan nods.
I look at him.
They can’t send her out there, on the streets, with nothing. She’ll be killed.
“She’ll die if you send her out there,” Eve says, her words exactly what was just running through my mind.
“She made that choice,” Riggs says calmly.
“What about she makes money somewhere else,” I throw in, “somewhere that she hasn’t been seen with us. You can tell that dick of a husband that you threw her out after she stole from you. He’ll believe it, and it gets her away from the club. She can have somewhere to stay and a place to make money.”
It’s not a bad idea, right?
“We do have an old warehouse we store shit in,” Hank adds. “It’s dingy as fuck, but it’s safe, out of town, and nobody knows it belongs to us. Would be a good place to run this shit from.”