Total pages in book: 126
Estimated words: 145606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 728(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145606 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 728(@200wpm)___ 582(@250wpm)___ 485(@300wpm)
“Gwen.” He greeted me, his rough voice caressing my name.
“Luke,” I breathed, glad about my outfit choice.
I was wearing short, white tailored shorts with a dusty pink silk shirt tucked in. My hair was up in a messy ponytail and I had multiple gold necklaces wrapped around my neck. I had on my third favorite pair of heels, they were pink with a criss cross of straps rounding my ankles. I felt good, I felt confident.
His eyes assessed me, a small smile on his lips. “Thought we could go outside the store and grab some of your drug of choice and perhaps some lunch?” he asked, eyes twinkling.
I started to tell him I couldn’t until Rosie got back when I heard the chime of the bell. Rosie bustled in, hands full, looking down to make sure she wasn’t spilling anything.
“Hey, girl. I got us lemon cake as well, because Dylan makes the most kick ass lemon cake. Seriously, it’s almost better than sex,” she yelled, making her way towards us. She looked up and froze when she saw Luke, red crept up her cheeks. “Um, hey Luke,” she muttered sounding embarrassed.
Weird, she didn’t usually get embarrassed, about anything.
“Hey Rosie.” Luke gave her a chin lift. “You’re right, that cake is the shit, can’t say it’s better than sex though,” he teased and Rosie’s blush deepened. She scooted past him handing me my coffee, eyes looking anywhere but Luke.
“Thanks babe,” I said.
“No problem!” she replied with false brightness and the gears started to turn in my head.
Shit, did she have a crush on Luke? She was never here when he came in the mornings, so this was the first time I had seen them together. My spidey senses were picking something up, the way she avoided making direct eye contact with him and was as red as a beetroot. I bet she was struggling with this crush, considering the mutual hatred Luke and Cade had for each other.
“See you’ve got coffee, babe,” Luke’s voice interrupted my thought process.
“Um yeah.” I met his eyes, deciding there was no way I’d even think about starting something with him, especially if Rosie liked him. And if I was honest with myself, I didn’t like him, I would just be using him to try and quell the hurt of Cade using me and then forgetting about me, although that’s exactly what I said I wanted. God I hated being a girl sometimes.
“Babe?” I heard Luke ask. Damn, that was twice in a row I had retreated into my mental trance while I was supposed to be participating in a conversation.
“Sorry, what?” I replied, sipping my coffee trying to sound alert.
Luke chuckled. “I asked if you wanted to go for a walk instead.”
I looked to Rosie, who was sipping her coffee and trying not to frown, whether it was because of Cade or because of what she obviously felt for Luke I wasn’t sure.
“Sure.” I turned to Rosie. “You going to be okay on your own for a while?”
“Yeah, fine! Take your time!” she replied with more of that false brightness.
“We won’t be long,” I assured her, grabbing my shades and coffee.
Luke put his hand to the small of my back, opening the door, he kept it there, directing me towards the beach.
“So how’s your day going?” he inquired conversationally.
“Good!” I exclaimed. “Today is the first day since we opened we haven’t been run off our feet.”
Luke looked at me sideways while we keep walking. “That’s good to hear sweetheart.”
“So how’s business with you? Crime running rampant on the streets of our little town?” I joked. My words did not have my intended comedic effect, and Luke’s face turned hard.
“Been quiet since the boys been out of town,” he said roughly, still watching me closely.
“The boys?” I parroted, my voice sounding high.
“Yeah, the Sons have been off on some ride, no doubt causing trouble in another county.” His tone was bitter.
Guess that explained why I hadn’t heard the roar of Harley pipes down the mean streets of our town, and why I hadn’t seen Cade.
“Um, so I’m guessing there’s no love lost between you and the club?” I asked softly, trying to tread carefully.
Luke gave me a look, then gestured for me to sit on one of the tables outside the deli. We hadn’t really addressed what had happened the night of the opening, I was sure Luke didn’t miss what went on with Cade and I.
“That’s a bit of an understatement, Gwen,” he replied, voice tight. “They’re a gang, not a club, whatever they say different is a lie. They are criminals, and they’ve brought trouble and death to this town. I’m doing everything I can to stop that, to put them where they belong, which is behind bars.”
I blinked. Shocked at not only his statement but the raw emotion in his voice.
“Death?” I asked, a sick feeling curled up in the pit of my stomach.
“Yep, every now and then one of the Son’s is killed in some shady way or another, or someone connected to them. They never used to hurt women though,” he looked away as if he was remembering someone.
I struggled with nausea. “They hurt women?”
Luke nodded sharply and was silent for a moment. “Her name was Laurie, sweetest girl you’d ever meet, I grew up with her. She fell for one of the boys and fell hard. Didn’t matter what he was into, what her parents thought, trust me they were not impressed to say the least, but they also loved their daughter, wanted her to be happy.” His gaze was intense and full of anguish. “Guess the boys had something going with a rival gang, drugs, pussy, I don’t know what it was about. Anyway the gang decided enough was enough and they needed to teach the boys a lesson. Grabbed Laurie one day, said they would kill her if the boys didn’t back down.”
I gulped, knowing the story didn’t have a happy ending. Luke continued, eyes on mine.
“They didn’t give a shit, even fuckin’ Bull, he was supposed to love that girl, didn’t leave the goddamn clubhouse. The next day Laurie was dropped off in front of the clubhouse. Raped, savagely beaten, stabbed. Her fucking face tattooed. She died in hospital the next day.” His voice was flat, almost devoid of emotion, but his jaw was hard.