Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69993 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69993 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 350(@200wpm)___ 280(@250wpm)___ 233(@300wpm)
“Nefarious? Nice word, but you’re off base, Gia. Way off.” We’re practically nose to nose now, and I can see the colors shift in his eyes.
“Am I?”
“Gia,” Ro yells. “You heard the front door yourself. Listen to him and get the hell out of there now!”
Preacher’s lips twitch at Ro’s words, and then he glares at me and nods for me to get out of my own damn house.
“Now,” he mouths.
“And why should I believe you? Believe me, you aren’t the first pretty face to lie to me.”
He smirks. “Thanks for that, sweetheart, but I’m trying to keep you safe, so get your pretty little ass on the porch. Now. Please.” He places one hand on my shoulder and gives me a gentle shove, but his intent is clear.
“Since you said please,” I shoot back because I’m a smart ass and can’t let this delicious hunk of man have the last word.
Heavy footsteps sound on the wooden floor behind me, and I let out a gasp as two men in all black step out of the dining room.
“Nobody’s going anywhere. Not yet,” he growls.
“Oh fuck,” I whisper as Ro shouts in my ear.
Chapter Eight
Preacher
“Get back,” I tell Gia, who is now oddly silent as she stares at the two assholes I saw come in earlier. “Stay back,” I growl. “I think you boys have the wrong address,” I tell them with a smile my brothers say gives them serial killer vibes.
They’re both wearing masks, so all I can see are two sets of eyes, one brown and one blue, and two pairs of thin lips, both curling into deviant smiles.
“Nah,” the one on the right says. “We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. What the fuck are you doing here, asshole?”
I smile and move from the porch across the threshold. It’s not the first time some snot-nosed twenty-year-old thinks calling me an asshole hurts my feelings, and thanks to Joaquin, it won’t be the last.
“Real original, but I guess that’s the best you can do until your balls drop.” I take a step forward to put more space between these guys and Gia. They back into the dining room.
“Are we gonna have a problem here, boys?”
The one on the left shakes his head. “Not if you turn around and get on your scooter and leave. We want the bitch, not you.”
Which means they weren’t expecting me and have no clue what to do. I use that to my advantage.
“I’m sorry to tell you that you can’t have the girl, so you’ll just have to be happy to walk away on your own.” I crack my knuckles to make my point and stretch out the muscles in my neck.
Both of them laugh, and I laugh in return.
“You and what fuckin’ army?” one of the assholes says.
“Step closer and find out, boy.” My hands clench into fists, and my eyes dart back and forth to see which of the little punks would leap first. Somehow we’re in the living room now.
The one with blue eyes lunges forward, leading with his fists, which are easy enough to duck since he projects the overhand hook from a mile away.
“Gotta move faster than that kid.”
He growls and overshoots an uppercut that almost hits him in the face.
“Fucker,” he groans and tries to duck my punch but instead leans into it with a sickening crunch. “Fuck! Sorry-ass motherfucker!”
The other one is ready for his close-up and comes at me as if I’m going to run away or duck. That’s not how I work, and he’s about to learn that lesson the hard way.
Seconds pass before the kid finally reaches me with his arms swinging, and I kick out my right foot to hit him dead center in his chest.
“Oh fuck.”
He falls down and smacks his head on the coffee table, but the kid is young and tries to get back to his feet.
My fists already ache, but I push through it, shaking my head at the fact they’re forcing me to do this. Two right jabs straight on and a left hook, and he’s tumbling backward.
“Just stay down, kid. I don’t want to have to fuck you up.”
The man with blue eyes grunts and gets to his feet. I turn and yank off the hat meant to hide his identity, and he really is just a kid. Still, he’s a threat to me and Gia, and I do what I must. I grab his long blond hair in one hand and pound his face with the other until he goes limp but not lifeless.
I turn to his friend and snatch his hat off, too, spotting an Iron Kings tattoo across his throat. “Hey, fucker. We just want the girl,” he says over and over like it’s a reasonable request.
“I already told you that you can’t have her.” I grab him by his throat and pull him up to his feet. “She’s mine, and if you want her, you have to go through me to get her. You ready to do that, son?”