Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 65671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 328(@200wpm)___ 263(@250wpm)___ 219(@300wpm)
I sat up, instantly alert. Something was wrong. Something bad.
“What? Why?”
Cain’s face was grim.
“There’s been another killing.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Cain
Fury, sorrow, and fear waged a battle in my heart.
Johnson was dead. He wasn’t an active member these days, but he had been once. And he’d served under me in the Corps. I’d known the man for a decade.
And I knew his family.
He was family. A brother. And because of some batshit Hell Raiser who worshipped at Dante’s dead feet, he had been horrifically murdered. And so had his family.
His wife and his mother-in-law. I knew them both. A nice woman and a sweet old lady who used to send us cookies when we were in the Corps. She’d always send enough for all the guys. She even knew all our names, long before we’d met her.
Thank God his kids had been out of the house. It was the one thing to be grateful for. I shuddered mentally and started making a mental list of what we could do to help them. His kids were now the responsibility of the club. Yeah, his sister was taking them in, across the country where it would be safe, thank God. But the club was going to make sure they had enough money for college and beyond. Sports uniforms. Whatever the fuck they needed.
Their dad had been cut down in the prime of his life. For no reason. I had an ugly suspicion forming in the back of my mind. I was starting to think the killer’s targets had something to do with me.
I knew being club President put a target on my back. But it was more than that. There was bad blood going back to the moment I took the helm and started changing things.
Dante and I had locked horns at every turn. I actually preferred Shane, even though he was totally unpredictable. The guy was bat shit crazy, reckless, and had no respect for the rules. Not even MC rules. But he wasn’t a complete fucking sadist like Dante.
For a long time, I’d thought he was cut from the same cloth. He’d been my number-one suspect after Dante was executed. But Shane was not who I thought he was. He was unpredictable, yes, but also seemed to have a moral compass that Dante had been lacking.
I’d finally crossed Shane off my list after one of my guys saw him rescue a puppy from some of his club guys who were messing with it. He’d taken it home with him and could be seen walking it early in the morning and late at night. Apparently, he didn’t want to be seen with a dog, especially such a little one.
I never would have believed it if I hadn’t seen the surveillance photos. I’d had him followed for months after Dante’s murder. I was actually beginning to think Shane might be the one who killed him. But if he was, I owed him.
I shook my head, momentarily bemused by the Raiser’s new President. The guy was bad to the bone on the surface, but apparently, he was more like Mase. An animal lover.
A Goddamn puppy.
I’d have to reach out to Shane too. Find out what he knew. Find out if any of us had a Goddamn clue about what was happening.
“Fuck me.”
“What is it?”
Kelly was beside me, riding in my Hummer. Mine was military issue and the safest, biggest thing you could drive. But it also attracted attention.
At this point, I was pretty sure it didn’t matter. I had a feeling the sick fuck already knew who she was. From here on out, I was escorting her everywhere.
I was even going to college with her.
When Connor and I decided to let her out of the house again, that is.
“Things are about to get complicated.”
“I don’t understand.”
“This guy—the killer—he’s getting more brazen. Just by being with me, you have a huge target on your back. I should have stayed away from you.”
“Don’t say that! We can’t let this guy control us. I want to be with you, Cain.”
“I want to be with you too, baby girl. But this . . . it’s not good.”
I swallowed past the huge lump in my throat.
“From now on, you don’t go anywhere alone. You always have an armed escort. I’m going to lay down some ground rules and I need you to follow them to a T.”
“Armed? That’s crazy! Are you carrying right now?”
“Yes.” I nodded curtly. Then I gave her a quick glance to see how she was taking it. She looked alarmed, as she should be. “I can’t let anything happen to you, Princess.”
“Okay.”
I raised an eyebrow, casting her a sideways glance.
“That’s it? Okay? You aren’t going to fight me on this?”
She sighed loudly.
“I’m used to bossy. You have met my brother, right?”
I grunted in agreement. Her brother Con was an FBI agent, but he reminded me of my Corps buddies. He wasn’t a bad guy. In fact, he was a Goddamn Boy Scout. It was just that bikers and FBI did not mix. Plus, he had hassled the club more than a few times in the past. Not that I blamed him.