Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 77999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
“I don’t know. I think you would’ve managed just fine.” Blaze gave me a friendly wink. “You got a little farther than most folks would’ve gotten, and you did it without any help. You got spunk, kid. Real spunk.”
He lifted his glass, toasting me before he finished off his drink, and I did the same. I felt the burn spreading through my chest and knew it wouldn’t take much more to take the edge off, so I had another. I finished it and was about to go for one more when the back door swung open.
The bar grew oddly quiet, and when I looked up to see what was going on, I saw Wes charging towards me. Just seeing him brought a sense of peace that I hadn’t felt since I was taken.
I slid off the barstool and started toward him, trying my best not to break into a ball of tears. When I reached him, I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he immediately pulled me into a tight embrace. My voice was thick with emotion as I whispered, “You came.”
“Of course I did, baby.” Wes pulled back slightly, just enough to look into my eyes. “Nothing could keep me away from you.”
I clung to him, letting the warmth of his embrace chase away the last remnants of fear and uncertainty. After several moments, he lowered his mouth to my ear and asked, “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”
“No, I’m okay.”
“You scared me. I should’ve never let you go.”
“No way you could’ve known what was going to happen.”
“Doesn’t matter. It was my job to protect you, and I fucked up.” He squeezed me a little tighter. “But I won’t make that mistake again.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Absolutely.” He brought his hand up to my face as he said, “You’re mine, and I’m going to do everything in my power to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”
And just like that, the world felt right again.
But the hard times were far from over.
In fact, they were just getting started.
Memphis
“I know it’s late, but can we go home? I really just want to go home.”
“We can do whatever you want.” I leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. “I just need to have a word with Gus before we go.”
“Okay. I’ll meet you outside.”
“Sounds good.”
We said our goodbyes to the guys before making our way out of the bar. I watched as Toni made her way down the hallway, and once she’d made her way inside the bedroom, I turned and started towards Gus’s office. It was hard to believe that just an hour prior, I was a complete wreck. My girl was in trouble, and I was terrified that I wouldn’t get to her before something awful happened—that I’d lose her forever.
Thankfully, Blaze and the others made sure that didn’t happen, and for that, I felt this overwhelming sense of gratitude. When I reached Gus’s office door, I knocked and waited for his okay before I entered. When I walked in, he was sitting behind his massive desk, and like my father, he had this presence that commanded attention. His piercing blue eyes met mine as he smiled and said, “Memphis! You made it.”
“Yes, sir. I hate I couldn’t have been here sooner. I sure would’ve liked to have been there when the boys took out Vittorio.”
“Oh, your girl beat us all to that, but we made sure there’d be no trail leading back to her. So, we won’t have to worry about any blowback from him or his crew.” His eyes narrowed. “Her father is another story.”
I was momentarily confused by his statement, but I was more concerned about her father being an issue, so I asked, “You really think he’ll be a problem?”
“Afraid so.” Gus grabbed a file from his desk and offered it to me. “Vittorio wasn’t the only one he was fucking over, and it’s only a matter of time before one of them figures out what he was up to.”
“And when they do, they’ll come calling.”
“Exactly, so you might want to have Toni steer clear of him—at least for the time being.”
“I don’t think that’s gonna be a problem.”
“Well, if he causes any problems, just give us a call.”
“I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’ve already gone above and beyond."
“It’s what we do for family.” Gus leaned forward, his elbows resting on the desk. "You know that.”
"Yeah, I do, and I truly appreciate it, Gus. Really."
“Glad we could help. Now, go on and get out of here. Take your girl home where she belongs.”
“Planning on it.” I reached over and shook his hand. “Keep the shiny side up and rubber down.”
“Right back at ya, brother.”
I said my final goodbyes before going out to the truck to meet up with Toni. She was already sitting in the passenger seat of my Ford pickup, and I couldn’t imagine a more beautiful sight. My girl was there and waiting for me. In my mind, there was nothing better.