Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 115186 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 576(@200wpm)___ 461(@250wpm)___ 384(@300wpm)
He’d been handy to get the job done. But once that task was over, she walked away.
Or more like it, she did the walk of shame.
Luckily, no one saw her stumble out of Romeo’s RV with her clothes wrinkled and her hair a tangled mess. And if they did, they kept it quiet.
If any of the Fury members had known she was in Romeo’s RV that weekend losing her virginity, most likely a war would’ve broken out between at least two of the clubs, if not all three.
She had no doubt that Romeo would’ve been dragged right out of his rented Winnebago and made an example. Whether by the Fury president Trip or by Shade. Then she would’ve been the cause of that chaos, along with possibly destroying the club alliance.
All because she had been selfish and wanted to take care of a problem that she now knew was never a problem in the first place. At the time, she’d been foolish enough to think she’d been “missing” out. That she should be embarrassed being a college graduate who never went “all the way.”
Even so, causing chaos was the last thing she wanted during the celebration of Easy and Tess’s wedding, so, afterward, she walked away from that RV and avoided Romeo for the rest of the weekend.
Despite him trying to catch her attention on numerous occasions.
She didn’t want anyone getting suspicious and asking questions.
Digging deeper on why she hadn’t slept in her own bed all night.
Wanting to know why she snuck into the house before sunrise not quite looking the same as she left it the day before despite wearing the same outfit.
Or asking the biggest question of all…
Why Romeo?
Chapter Three
“How come you moved down here?” Romeo’s question drew Maddie back to the present.
“It was strongly suggested that I live and work in one of the MC alliance’s areas.” Since the “alliance” consisted of three MCs, the Blood Fury—the club to which her stepfather belonged—the Dirty Angels and the Dark Knights—Romeo’s club—it gave her practically all of western Pennsylvania to live.
She picked up her burger and took another bite. While it was no longer hot, it still remained tasty, and it would be a tragedy to waste a Bangin’ Burger.
“If that’s true, you coulda reached the fuck out and told me you were down here.”
“That wasn’t a requirement,” she answered after swallowing the mouthful. And, truly, if she had complained enough, they would’ve let her move anywhere.
Let her.
She mentally sighed. Like she needed anyone to “let her” do anything. At twenty-seven, she was an adult, made her own money and was quite capable of making good decisions.
Luckily, she loved Pittsburgh, and the sports teams tied to the city, so the location happened to align with what she wanted. She only let them think she was going along with Shade’s and her mother’s demands since it made them happy and not stress over her moving away from Manning Grove.
And away from Shade’s eagle eyes.
She understood why they worried. After years of dealing with the crazy people up on the mountain, aka Hillbilly Hill, the Fury was overly cautious. However, the thorn in the Fury’s side, the cult known as the Shirleys, was now gone and the club no longer had any enemies.
For now, anyway.
“You blame your pop for makin’ you stay in the alliance’s area?”
Did he forget? Or did he just not care enough to pay attention? “Shade’s not my father. My father died while serving in the Army.”
“Might not’ve been his seed that was planted, but your mama’s ol’ man stepped in to help raise you.”
Well, there it was. Proof he hadn’t paid attention. “You might’ve missed the part where I was already twenty when he came into our lives.”
“Age don’t mean shit. Family’s family, no matter the age. You don’t like him?”
“I love Shade, but he’s not my pop, as you called him.” Even though he acted like both Maddie and Josie, her younger sister, came from his loins.
He was actually more protective than most biological fathers, but he had a reason to be that way that had nothing to do with being a member of the Fury. He’d been abducted as a young child and sold into sexual slavery. Because of that, Shade and her mother also “adopted” Jude, who Maddie now considered her younger brother, after Shade found him down in a basement locked in a cage, waiting to be auctioned off.
Her heart raced simply thinking about that dangerous situation and how much more damaged Jude would be right now if Shade hadn’t rescued him when he did. It was bad enough that her brother still suffered through a lot of dark moments and thoughts caused from that experience, amplified by the loss of his mother.
All because of sick sexual perverts.
“Goddamn semantics, girl.”
What? Damn, she needed to stay focused.