Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
“He betrayed the club at the best. Killed an innocent at worst. Somewhere in there, he got Emmanuell pregnant and left her defenseless on her own.”
“Allegedly.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know Beaner’s lying. Right?”
Thorn shrugged. “Don’t know. Not looked into his eyes yet. Nor have I talked to your Emmanuell. Though I intend to remedy that immediately.” As he spoke, Kitty and Lucy came down the hall accompanied by Kitty’s husband, Tobias, and Vicious. Tobias was the VP of Bane. Vicious wasn’t a doctor, but he was kind of the moral compass and counselor for the club. He made sure everyone was in a good place. When they weren’t, he did everything in his power to make it right. “Thanks for bringing the girls, Vicious.”
“No trouble at all. What’s going on? Lucy said Ripper picked up a new girl outside the gate?”
“Yeah,” I said. “Claims to be Emmanuell Stanton.”
Vicious whistled low. “The heiress? She vanished months ago. She wantin’ someone to help her get her daddy’s fortune? Because that seems more like Wrath’s department, I mean, if you wanted to bring Black Reign into this.”
“Justice and Mae would be just as suited. Mae has a mean drive when she gets her teeth into something.” Thorn grinned, his obvious affection for the younger woman showing. “Justice can guide her through any legal loopholes she encounters.”
“Agreed, but she’s not mentioned anything about money other than needing her bank card. Can’t imagine a standard checking account has millions in it. I don’t know what her agenda is beyond getting her purse and suitcase back from Beaner.” I scrubbed my hand over my face. “She’s holding her own, but she’s traumatized. She’s not admitting it openly, but anyone in her position would have to be.”
“The quicker we get this done, the quicker she can rest. Poor thing looked like she needed it.” Lucy was just as emphatic as Vicious. Just… softer around the edges. Lucy and Mariana would be integral to gaining Emmanuell’s trust in both the club and me.
I led everyone to Emmanuell’s room, knocking before letting myself in. Instead of finding her at the table finishing off her food, she was at the sink, washing the dishes. The leftovers were put away neatly in disposable containers sitting on the counter while she finished. As she looked over her shoulder, her eyes widened.
“I-I’m sorry,” she stammered, her movements becoming faster as she hurried to finish the plate she was washing. “I’m almost done.”
“What are you doing? You were supposed to be eating.” I knew I sounded too hard, but I couldn’t seem to help myself. The one thought that kept circling in my brain was to take care of her. She needed food and rest. I’d provided the food, but she’d refused to eat much of it. “It not good or somethin’?”
“No! It was wonderful! I -- I just… I -- It was a lot a-all at once.” She looked terrified, her breath coming in little gasps.
“Jesus, Ripper,” Vicious said, putting a hand on my shoulder. “Calm down. You’re scaring her.”
“Here,” Lucy said, stepping between me and Emmanuell, gaining her attention. “I’ll help you. No sense you doing it all yourself.”
Kitty was right beside her. “We can all do this in a third of the time.” She smiled warmly at Emmanuell.
I’d have preferred Emmanuell not cleaning up anything. She needed rest, not to worry about the fucking dishes. When I opened my mouth to say something, Vicious put a hand on my arm, shaking his head.
“Bring Emmanuell to the living room when you ladies are finished,” Tobias said.
“She don’t need to be cleanin’,” I muttered. “She needs to be restin’.”
“She will,” Thorn assured. “Doc will see to it. Right now, let her do this. Trust the girls.”
Sure enough, Kitty and Lucy engaged her in conversation while taking most of the work away from Emmanuell. There were only two plates and one glass to wash, but Emmanuell seemed to believe they had to be spotless. When she kept drying the glass, polishing it with aggressive rubs and growing increasingly agitated, Lucy put a hand on her shoulder, taking the glass from her gently.
“It’s fine, honey. Let’s go talk to the boys. They’ll get lonely in there without us.”
Emmanuell took a deep breath, nodding. Kitty put an arm around her shoulders and led her to us. I stood, taking Emmanuell’s hand and tugging her to sit beside me on the love seat. She sat next to me on the edge of her seat, her back straight. She didn’t let go of my hand but pulled it into her lap and covered it with her other hand. The sight and sensation filled me with so much satisfaction I actually puffed out my chest. Thorn smirked. I just met his gaze, raising one eyebrow.
“Why don’t you tell us what brought you here?” Vicious said kindly. “I know you told Ripper some of it, but tell me and Thorn.”