Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 75754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75754 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 379(@200wpm)___ 303(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
My heart broke.
Literally broke into a million tiny pieces for her.
I moved around her until I could see her face.
And it didn’t look very good; she wasn’t a pretty crier.
Her mascara was dripping down her face as the tears flowed steadily.
Her face was blotchy, and her chest was flushed red and getting redder by the second.
“Someone pushed you?” I asked for clarification.
She nodded.
“I-in the back,” she said. “I didn’t see anybody, though.”
My face solidified to stone.
“Come on,” I said, grabbing her by the hand.
“W-wait!” she cried, but I held strong to her protesting yanks and pulled her along with me.
We made it inside in time for Silas and Sebastian to make it through the kitchen door.
“I need to see the feed for the bar,” I told them.
They both nodded and turned to go into the office that Silas had off the kitchen.
Silas went straight to the computer, and Sebastian went around to stand at his back.
“What part of the room?” Silas asked, looking up to stare straight at Ruthie.
Ruthie hiccupped and said, “The back quarter section.”
Silas nodded and turned back to the computer, punching numbers into the computer before he said, “There.”
Sebastian leaned down and pressed a few buttons, pulling it up on the TV screen directly beside us.
We watched as Ruthie passed once, twice, and then on her third pass with two glasses of beer a woman wearing a red dress got up from her chair and shoved Ruthie violently.
The rest happened as if in slow motion.
Ruthie fell forward.
The woman sat back down, laughing.
The man got his front and crotch drenched, and reflexively he sat up and clutched Ruthie by the hand.
Ruthie apologized profusely, but the man kept yelling at her.
“Who’s that woman?” I snapped, watching as Silas rewound.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Sebastian.”
Sebastian didn’t need telling, he slipped from the room without another word.
“Ruthie,” Silas said.
My arm wrapped around her and I pulled her into my side when she still wouldn’t look up.
“Ruthie,” I said softly. “You did nothing wrong.”
She finally looked up at me, and as I took in her eyes filled with tears, I fell in love.
Hard and deep.
I’d known from the first time I met her months ago.
I’d just gotten home, literally just rode in from the base.
I’d pulled into the driveway of the clubhouse, surprised as hell to find that there was a welcome home party for me.
It’d been great, but the highlight of the night had been meeting Ruthie with her long strawberry blonde hair and beautiful dark gray eyes.
She had these beautiful cheery red lips that just begged to be kissed, and a pair of breasts that would fit perfectly into my hands.
The absolute best thing about her, though, was the way she acted.
I’d heard, within an hour of being there, all about Ruthie.
How she was in prison for killing her husband.
But it was how Ruthie told me within twenty minutes of knowing her that she killed her ex that made me the most happy.
She didn’t hide anything.
And she told it like it was.
This sad Ruthie, however, was new.
She’d always been a fighter, ever since I’d met her.
Seeing her crying didn’t make me happy.
In fact, it made me homicidal.
“Ruthie,” Silas said again.
Ruthie finally looked to him.
“I fucked up,” Silas said without preamble.
Ruthie’s eyes widened and I smiled down at my feet.
“You heard him right,” I whispered to her under my breath.
She squeezed my hand tightly as Silas continued.
“It’s my job to keep my employees safe, and I didn’t do that with you. I’m sorry, Ruthie. Please accept my apology,” Silas told her.
Ruthie didn’t say anything for a long time, I thought she wasn’t going to, but obviously with the next words out of her mouth, she was just trying to collect her thoughts.
“This is my every day, Silas. I expect it…and accept it. What I don’t like, though, is when it affects my tips. And lately that’s been happening a lot. That woman right there,” she said pointing at the screen. “Is the same that told the table next to her last week about the fact that I killed my husband. And they wrote a tip on a piece of paper saying that I should ‘turn myself in.’ My question to you, though, is what do you want me to do about it? I don’t want to affect your business. And I feel that it is.”
Silas sat back until his arms were crossed across his chest. “What makes you think that I give a fuck what everyone else thinks? This is about me and mine, not them and theirs. And you’re mine…because you’re Sawyer’s. That’s the end of it. You ever need anything, I’m here. No questions asked. Not to mention that I trust you. Honesty is important to me, and you’ve never given me anything but that.”
Ruthie closed her eyes.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Silas stood and walked around his desk, stopping when he was a few feet in front of her.
“Don’t think I don’t notice how you still protect my wife. Something I’ve seen firsthand multiple times now. Trust me when I say that it’s the least I can do,” Silas rumbled.
Ruthie was clutching onto my arm, not that I thought she noticed what she was doing.
She was too busy staring into Silas’ pale blue eyes.
“She got hassled at the grocery store today. Enough to scare her,” Ruthie whispered.
Silas’ eyes narrowed. “That woman sure doesn’t know how to tell me shit when it comes to her safety.”
Ruthie smiled, the first genuine one I’d seen all night.
“If she felt like your life or her child’s life was in danger, she’d tell you. But if it only affects her, you’ll have to pry it out of her before she tells you willingly,” Ruthie informed him.
Silas winked. “That I know.”
Then he stepped back and turned just as a woman was led into the room by Sebastian.
He had a grip on her arm, right below her armpit.
He wasn’t having to force her, but the moment she saw Silas and Ruthie, she started to turn to leave.
“Let go of me,” she ordered, pulling her arm to no avail.