Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52932 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 265(@200wpm)___ 212(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say as I pour the hot water into a mug and stir in the shitty coffee granules.
“Don’t fucking lie to me, Harley,” Gordon grits, and without having to look at him, I can picture his teeth clenched and jaw ticking with annoyance.
Swallowing back my fear, I turn to face the bastard. “Like I said, I don’t know. Perhaps you should be more focused on your job than listening to rumours.”
He glares at me for a long moment before shaking his head. “I’ve looked into the so-called issues you brought to me, and we’re doing our job. Whatever is being stolen is being taken after the items leave our warehouses.”
He looks at me like he always does, as if I’m an idiot, but my gut is telling me Gordon is lying. If all this shite going down has been bad enough to bring Hadrian and his brother here, then it means there must be more to the story than Gordon is letting on.
“Whatever you say,” I throw back in frustration.
“Just watch what you tell people. We don’t want outsiders involved in our business.” He turns and leaves me in the kitchen, and when I glance down at my hands, they’re trembling.
Fuck.
I can’t afford to mess this up, and with Hadrian here, I know there’s a risk I’ll lose focus. He still holds my fucking heart.
SIX
REV
Feck.
Hades watches me, his eyes never leaving my movements as I pace the room. The hotel we’re staying in lies on the outskirts of town.
“Does she still look shaggable?” Hades asks, causing me to stop and pin him with a glare that has him holding up his hands in surrender. “I’m just feckin’ asking.”
“She says she’s running the Hunt organisation now,” I tell my brother.
“What?” Both Hades and Racer blurt out in unison.
“How old is this wee thing?” Racer asks.
“She must be about twenty-nine, from what I remember.”
“So, she’s old enough fer ye now,” Hades throws my way.
I halt my footsteps, and for a moment, I consider punching my brother and then claiming that beautiful mouth of hers.
Feck. What I wouldn’t give to kiss her.
“She’s still off limits,” I bite out, frustration racing through my veins.
Harley used to watch me and follow me around, but the posters she had on her bedroom walls were of pretty boys in bands, not of men who killed for a living. But then again, there was that day when she told me I was cute.
“Why?” Racer challenges as I turn to face him and Hadrian. “Lookin’ at ye now, it’s clear as day she’s still got a hold on ye.”
It seems my feelings are written all over my fecking face. Hades knows my mind is a mess after seeing her again. I managed to fight the desire I felt for the daughter of the man who took us in, but there was always a pull between Harley and me, even back then.
“She was off limits when she was sixteen, and she’s still off limits now.”
“Are ye sure about that?” my brother asks me as he pins me with a stare.
Being twins has its advantages, but it also has its disadvantages. Whenever I try to hide something from him, it never works. He can always see right through me.
“Aye,” I tell him.
“But she’s old enough for you now,” Racer continues to poke at me with his words. “If ye like someone, ye gotta go fer it, or ye’ll end up an old, lonely bastard.”
“Aye, she’s old enough now, but I have to focus on the job. There’s no reason to get distracted.” My voice is tight with frustration, and my brother must be able to hear it because he lifts his hands in surrender. “Harley says she’s the one who knows what’s happenin’ in the organisation, but I’d still like to speak to Shaun to get his view. This fecker Gordon sounds like a right arsehole, and I get the impression Harley doesn’t trust him.”
There must be more to Harley’s story than meets the eye. She can’t be running all aspects of the business. It would mean she’s stepped into the dark world that my brother and I ran from. We left because we knew we’d end up in prison or dead if we stayed.
I was never comfortable with the violence and shite we had to do for Shaun Hunt. The guilt ate away at me, time and time again, and then there was Harley. I knew there wasn’t a future for us, and I needed to keep my distance. When I spoke to Hades about it, he suggested we leave South Shields. I didn’t think my brother would be willing to walk away, but he stuck by me, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.
Now Harley is almost thirty, she’s no longer an innocent, young girl. I used to admonish myself for wanting to kiss her and be the one to give her all her firsts, but now she’s a woman, and there are no barriers to claiming her as mine.