Total pages in book: 15
Estimated words: 13411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 67(@200wpm)___ 54(@250wpm)___ 45(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 13411 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 67(@200wpm)___ 54(@250wpm)___ 45(@300wpm)
Alex held a hand out to me. “Come on. I’ll give you a ride home. No sense in waking up anyone else when I’m available.”
I eyed his offered hand with distrust for a moment before I grabbed it, allowing him to pull me to my feet.
I had no idea what the future held for me as an employee of the Savage Crows MC. I just hoped I hadn’t made a huge mistake.
“Will Grim uphold his word to me?” I asked Alex as we ascended the staircase.
“Grim never says anything he doesn’t mean,” Alex assured me. “He promised we would provide the finances to take care of your mother, so we’ll do that.”
“Even if something happens to me?” I asked as I walked through the doorway. I needed to know she’d always be taken care of.
“Yes,” Alex promised, pulling his keys from his pocket. “Think of it as a pension for her.”
That was good enough for me. Silently, I followed him out of the clubhouse and to an old pick-up truck parked near the garage.
I climbed into the cab, then lifted my wrist, looking at the time on my Rolex. Blowing out a harsh breath, I dropped my arm back to my lap. Hopefully, I made it home before my mom woke up and realized I was late.
CHAPTER 6
Solace
Despite getting very, very little sleep the night before, I was up and awake at six. I had coffee brewing and breakfast just about finished when my mom and her live-in nurse, Claudia, emerged from the hall. Mom smiled at me, and I let a smile of my own tip my lips, even though I felt anything but chipper. I was tired, overwhelmed, and I felt like I was walking on eggshells now that Dad was dead and I worked for the Savage Crows MC.
It was definitely not the way I pictured my life going, but it was going that way, nonetheless. And I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter if I wanted my mom to continue receiving the healthcare she needed.
“Good morning, sweetheart,” Mom greeted as she took a seat at the coffee table. “How was work?”
“Work was work,” I replied, wanting to leave it at that. My mom was aware of what I did for her ex-husband, which was why she panicked so easily when I wasn’t home on time. She was always afraid something would happen to me on a job, no matter how highly trained I was. And while I no longer worked for him since he was dead and I now worked for the SCMC, I didn’t want to tell her that. I was afraid how she would respond to not only the change in my job working for an entire criminal organization but also knowing her ex-husband was dead.
Mom took the remote Claudia held out to her, and Mom turned on the TV, switching to the news channel like she did every single morning. And I didn’t think anything of it because no one should know my father was dead yet. It wasn’t time for him to be at work, so no one should have known he was missing.
But someone had already found him.
“I’m standing in front of the Dukes estate, where first responders have responded to a call for a potential murder. Police sources state they found Stewart Dukes, CEO of Dukesuor, a liquor production company, dead in his home this morning. The investigation is still ongoing…”
I tuned the news reporter out, my gaze immediately locking on my mom. Her lips were trembling, and her hand was shaking around the remote she was still holding pointed at the TV. Tears welled in her gray eyes and slowly trickled down her cheeks.
I opened my mouth to say something, but then, she smiled. Like really fucking smiled. Her smile was so wide, it spread almost ear to ear. And then, she started laughing all while crying. I shot Claudia a panicked look, sure my mother was about to snap, but then, Mom looked at me.
“Did you do it?” she asked.
“No,” I said quietly. She knew I wouldn’t lie to her. But seeing her so… happy made me wish I’d been the one to do it. To end her misery long ago.
She sniffled and nodded. “Do you know who did?” she asked.
We stared at each other for a moment before I sighed and nodded. “I do.”
She tapped the table with her fingertips. “I want to meet them. I want to thank them.” She shook her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. I clenched the edge of the countertop. “I’ve been living in fear of that man for years, terrified he’d come back here and demand we get back together just so he has someone to beat on again.” I swallowed thickly because I never knew she feared that. She had to know I’d never let him near her. But maybe she didn’t. “I’m free, Solace.”