Total pages in book: 139
Estimated words: 132892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 532(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Instead Horse shrugged.
“I knew with Marie,” he said. “I mean, I didn’t know that she’d be my old lady, but I knew she was different. Wanted her, and not just under me. Never really saw you with a woman of your own, but if you’re into that and she’s the right woman, you’d be a fuckin’ moron not to give it a shot.”
“What he said, only smarter,” Ruger chimed in. “Fill in the blanks. I think you better call Pic, though. He’s expecting you to come straight to the hotel.”
“That’s it?” I asked, wary as hell.
“What else do you want?” Horse asked. “You need love poetry, go write it yourself.”
“You’re letting me off too easy.”
“You’re too pathetic to abuse right now,” Ruger said. “And if it’s like it was with me and Soph, you’re gonna be useless until you figure it out anyway. Now call the boss. If we’re changing plans, he needs to know.”
I nodded and finished gassing up the bike. Then I grabbed my phone and wandered off behind the station to give Pic a call.
“I’m gonna head over to Tinker’s first when we hit town,” I told him. “Gotta explain shit to her. It’s important.”
“You’ve been holding off for weeks,” he pointed out reasonably. “You sure it can’t wait one more night? We’ve got BB watching the house, just in case things go bad. She’s safe enough, but it’s tense here—we gotta get this resolved before Marsh makes bail.”
“I need to talk to her. I’ve been in Hallies Falls long enough to know how it works—Tinker’s probably heard ten different stories about me landing in jail, each one worse than the next. It’s not just about seeing her. I’ve got damage control to do.”
“How long do you think it’ll take?” Pic asked. “Because I get it. I really do. And as your brother I want you to be able to take care of your business. But remember—you went through everything so we could take these fuckers down, and now’s the time to do it. Don’t throw away what you’ve accomplished before we finish it off.”
“Don’t lecture me about doing my duty,” I snapped. “Last I checked, you were back home partying and getting laid while I ate Marsh Jackson’s shit. You owe me this.”
He didn’t respond for a minute. Probably pissed him off, but I didn’t regret my words. If I couldn’t be straight with my brother, then he wasn’t really my brother.
“Someone’s panties are in a twist,” he finally commented.
“Someone spent the night in jail while his woman got fed a load of shit.”
“Okay. Do what you gotta do.”
“That’s it?” I asked for the second time in ten minutes. Something was wrong here. Fucked up and wrong. My brothers were being nice, and that wasn’t really our way.
Pic snorted.
“Yeah, that’s it,” he said. “It’s obvious your mind is made up. Not gonna hold a gun to your head. Then I might have to shoot you, and blood’s a real bitch to get out of leather. Just don’t make it too long—maybe an hour or so? We really do need you out here, Gage,” he added, his voice growing more serious. “We have to go in tonight, and we can’t go in blind. But you’re right—you’ve made a hell of a sacrifice and I respect it. We all do.”
Thank fuck for that.
“I won’t take more time than I need to,” I told him. “But the more people who get to her, the harder this is gonna be. And it wasn’t like it was gonna be easy under the best of circumstances.”
“Well, that’s definitely the truth,” he said. “I’ve got one question for you, though—have you showered?”
“What do you think?”
“Okay, so you probably smell bad. Got any bruising? You feeling calm and laid-back?”
“Yeah, they gave me a spa card as a parting gift when I got out. So fuckin’ relaxed I can hardly stay awake. Where are you going with this, boss?”
“Don’t scare her,” he said seriously. “I know you want to do damage control. But sometimes when you go in too fast, you make things worse. Think it through, brother.”
“All due respect, fuck off.”
“Fine, do it your way. Good luck with that.”
I hung up—because fuck him—and walked back over to Horse and Ruger.
“When we get to Hallies Falls, you guys can head to the hotel. I’ll be joining you about an hour later. Pic knows the plan.”
“Okay,” Horse said. “You want me to come with you? Watch your back? There’s still Nighthawks that didn’t get arrested. We haven’t figured out what to do with them yet.”
“I can take care of myself. We’ll keep BB on Tinker, though, just until we know where Talia is. Got any idea what’s up with her?”
“They didn’t arrest any of the girls,” Ruger said, shrugging. “They all ran off after the fight. Nobody’s seen them since.”