Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83970 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
***
I open my eyes suddenly when I hear a light tapping near my head. Looking out the window, I see Diego standing on the other side of the window. It does not go unnoticed just how ruggedly handsome he is. His lips curving up into a smile when my eyes meet his elicits the same reaction from my mouth.
He points to the door handle, warning me that he’s going to open the door. I pull my body away from it. I have no idea how long I’ve been asleep, but my body obviously needed the rest if I slept sitting up in a moving vehicle for Lord knows how long.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” he says as soon as the door is open.
I stretch in the seat with my hands over my head but wince when the tightness in my ribs reminds me of my injury. I grab my purse off of the floorboard and fish out some Tylenol, taking two and wishing it were something stronger.
Diego waits patiently in the doorway. A quick glance backward tells me that Kid has already gotten out of the van, another thing I slept through apparently.
I give Diego a questioning look. “Are we there?”
He angles his head across the parking lot, and I see a small Mexican café. “The guys are already inside. Kid said you didn’t eat anything. You must be starving.” He reaches his hand in to help me out of the van. Even though I’m perfectly capable of getting out myself, I take his hand. “They have an awesome taco bar.”
He closes the door behind me, and we make our way to the front of the restaurant. He doesn’t pull his hand from mine and for some reason, I leave them clasped. His presence is comforting. He has a protective atmosphere around him that I can literally feel when I’m near him. I’m cautious, but that still doesn’t abate the urge I have to stand even closer to him as we sit down in a booth and place our order.
The café is tiny and well kept, and even though it’s crowded we managed to get a booth to ourselves. I look deeper into the seating area; I can see the other three guys sitting together with plates already piled high with tacos. I shoot a weak smile in their direction until Wrench notices me looking and creepily licks his lips. Noticing my scrunched up face, Diego looks across the room and narrows his own eyes. It’s clear even he doesn’t like the guy. It reminds me to stay clear of him. Wrench seems dangerous, and my skin crawls when he’s near.
We settle in at a table away from the other group of guys. The waitress is at our table immediately, taking our drink and food order. Although Diego recommended the taco bar, we both order food that keeps us at the table rather than having to get up to make tacos.
“What are the plans when we get back to your place?” I realized before falling asleep on the ride over that I’d agreed to go to New Mexico but have no idea what happens once we get there.
“I’ll get you settled at the clubhouse. You’ll have a room there.” He takes a sip of the soda the waitress brought and placed in front of him.
“You live at a clubhouse?”
His smile is from ear to ear. His genuine happiness and handsome face makes me squirm slightly in my seat.
“We have a building where members meet, hang out, and socialize.”
“For the biker gang?” I fiddle with the napkin in front of me.
“Club,” he says. I raise my eyes and an eyebrow at him, clearly not able to distinguish the difference. “It’s a club, Emmalyn. We’re not criminals. Everyone in the club is former military. We’ve all served our country, and even after discharging we continue to serve our country. We just do it differently now.”
He doesn’t expound on his last statement, so I decide to push a bit.
“So that’s not guns and drugs in the duffle bags in the van?”
His light laugh is rich and sultry, gaining the attention of several people in the restaurant.
“No drugs, Em. I promise.” No drugs. That still implies that there are guns. I lower my attention back to the napkin my hands are unconsciously shredding.
“Em?” I cut my eyes back to his. “We were in Denver helping the police find my cousin’s kidnapped girlfriend. We specialize in recon and recovery; we aren’t running guns. The weapons in the back of that van are being transported one hundred percent legally. You have nothing to worry about.” He cuts his eyes at the table with the other guys at it. “Well, stay away from Wrench.”
I nod my head in understanding as the waitress sets our food on the table in front of us.