Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67324 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 224(@300wpm)
“Murdering people isn’t exactly how he should be doing that!” She shakes her head, dropping it into her hands.
“They’re a club, and while we see the kinder side to them, they’re still a club. They do what they have to do, and it’s not really up to us to get involved. Let them sort out what they need to. Do you want me to take you for a drive? Clear your head?”
“No,” she says softly, standing. “I just need to take a walk. You don’t mind, do you?”
“No, of course not.”
She gives me a weak smile and then disappears out the front door. I watch her go and make my way down to the shed. I’m not sure I want to see what’s going on in there, but at the same time, I know that I’ve come this far alongside of them—I’m not about to stop now. I step through the door and immediately am assaulted by the coppery smell of blood.
Alarick is standing in front of three tied men on chair, they’re hands roped tightly behind their backs, and they’re all absolute messes. Bloodied knives lay on a table beside him, and he’s covered in blood, his fists swollen. I’ve never pictured him like that, but seeing him standing there, is utterly terrifying. Cohen is standing beside him, Mykel on the other side, and they’re both bloodied, too.
King is in the corner, arms crossed, his face expressionless as he lets his son take over the worst job the club probably has—dealing with scum.
I’m surprisingly not upset by the sight in front of me, because those men, and anyone involved with Dax, deserve everything they get. Not to mention, someone in this club has betrayed everything they stand for, and they’re not exactly about to forget that. They’re going to do what they have to do to get answers.
I guess this is what they have to do.
“You can’t be in here.”
Samson’s voice comes from behind me, and I spin around to see him walking in with a hammer in his hand. I don’t even want to know what he plans on doing with that. Nope, I’m not going to think about it.
“I need to talk to Alarick,” I say firmly.
“He’s busy right now.”
“I know that.”
“Come back later.”
“Samson . . .”
“Waverly, come back later.”
I swallow and meet his eyes, and the expression he’s giving me is telling me that he’s not going to take no for an answer, and I need to leave right now. I exhale and look back to Alarick, who extends a hand for the hammer Samson has. Okay, yep, it’s most certainly time to leave.
I nod, and then walk out.
Samson closes the door behind me and locks it.
As I walk back to my car, the agonized roars of those men follows me. I close my eyes, take a deep breath and then exhale slowly.
How much more can we possibly take?
20
WAVERLY
“Zariah,” I say, opening the door to see my sister standing, fully in uniform.
She looks tired, and worn, and I know this is bothering her. She hates what she had to do; she’s torn about what side she should be on. She has a son, and her job means everything to her. She’s worked so hard to get where she is, but at the same time, she knows the club has been good to her, and they’re good people, and it’s tearing her apart.
“Can I come in?” she asks.
I nod, stepping aside. We head into the kitchen and I turn the coffee-maker on. If anyone loves coffee more than me, it’s my sister.
I look to her while it heats up and ask, “Are you okay?”
She shakes her head, exhaling.
Zariah is strong, stronger than any woman I’ve ever met, but she’s tired. I can see it in the way her shoulders are sagging, and the way her eyes seem like she hasn’t slept in days.
“Talk to me,” I urge, walking over and putting my hands on her shoulders. “What’s happening?”
“They are currently doing an autopsy on Bennett’s body, and looking into his connection to Dax and the club. I don’t know how well Dax hid what they were doing, but I imagine they’re going to find something pretty damned revealing. They’ve got an arrest warrant out for Dax, and they’re going to come and question the other members of the club later today.”
Well, Alarick would want to clean up the mess he’s making then. I make a note to warn him about that.
“Kendric?” I ask, my heart aching at the thought of him sitting in prison.
“He’s angry—god, he’s so angry. I’ve never . . . I’ve never had someone hate me so much in my life. He . . . he just hates me.”
My heart aches for her. Anyone with two eyes can see that she and Kendric had some sort of weird connection. I don’t know what it was—I just know that when they’re together, you can practically feel your skin burning from the sparks flying off them. He helped her a lot when we were looking for Dax, and I know they spent some time together, though I don’t think it went any further than that.