Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
“Yum. Delicious.”
“Oh, did I have some leftover tiramisu on my mouth?” she asked. How embarrassing.
“Nope. That taste was all you.”
Dear Lord.
That was so sweet.
After closing her door, he moved around to the driver’s side and climbed in. As he drove them home, she frowned as they slowed down to pass a police car that had pulled over a familiar-looking car.
The driver was being cuffed as they moved past. He seemed to be screaming at the officer.
“Not a happy guy,” Hack commented.
“I feel like I’ve seen him before.” Then it clicked. “He looks like the guy that was yelling at me yesterday. When Bonnie and Titus rescued me.”
“Really?” Hack turned to glance back. “Fuck, if he wasn’t being arrested . . . I’d teach him a fucking lesson.”
The dark note in his voice made her shiver. Probably a good thing that the guy was being arrested. Or it might be Hack getting cuffed for killing the asshole.
Hack’s phone rang before she could reply and with a frown, he pulled over.
“Yeah? What? Okay, sure. I’ve got Greer with me. Sure.”
He ended the call and glanced over at her. “You mind if we make a stop?”
“Of course not. Why?”
“Some of the guys got caught up in some trouble and they need a bit of patching up. They’re at Reaper’s now. Idiots.”
“Trouble? What sort of trouble?”
He shook his head. “There’s been a lot of unrest in the city lately. Ever since the Devil’s Kingdom gang was taken down. It has left a vacuum and there have been other gangs sniffing around. For a fairly small place, Billings has a lot of shit happening.”
“The Devil’s Kingdom is completely gone, huh?” She knew that they’d basically been destroyed, although she still didn’t exactly understand how.
“You all right, baby girl?” he asked as he pulled up in front of an older building. There was a sign above the door that said Reaper’s.
“Yeah. Someone just ran over my grave.”
“I don’t think so.”
“What?” she asked, shocked by his dark tone.
“Because you are not dying, understand me?”
This was a bit out of the blue. What was wrong with him? It was just a saying and she hadn’t meant anything by it.
“Sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I wasn’t . . . I’m fine.”
Was he worried that she was thinking about hurting herself? Permanently?
“No, no. I’m sorry, baby.” He blew out a breath. “I’m getting very attached to you. Fast. And I can’t stand the idea of something happening to you. I feel like I’ve lost nearly everyone I love in my life, and even though I’ve tried to find someone to fill that hole inside me, I never have. Until you.”
She undid her seatbelt with hands that shook and then climbed over the console and into his lap, wrapping her arms around him. She always felt like she was the one falling apart. Like she was the one flayed raw and vulnerable and having to lean heavily on him.
But this time, it was the other way around. And she wanted to be there for him.
“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Fuck, I’m meant to be stronger than this.”
“You are strong.”
“Really? Not sure that I am. And that’s what I need to be for you. I’m the Dom. The man. Your Daddy. I’m meant to hold you up, not the other way around.”
“I might not know much about any of this, but I’m fairly certain that it’s a give and take on both sides. You can lean on me too. It’s all right. I won’t break.”
“You seem to constantly hurt yourself.”
“Yeah . . . well . . . that’s just my bad luck.”
“We need to arrange that good luck ceremony.”
She nodded and curled into him, holding him tight the way she always liked.
“My mom was always sick growing up. She fought cancer for a long time. I always used to worry that I’d come home one day and find her gone. She spent most of my childhood in the hospital or her bed resting. My dad worked a lot, so I took care of her.”
That explained a lot. He was caring and overly protective. Probably from years of taking care of his ill mom.
“I’m so sorry.”
“I guess that’s why I decided to become a doctor. To help other people. To take care of them like I had for my mom. I couldn’t work in oncology though. It was too much. So I went into surgery.”
“I get that. I still think you’re amazing and I bet your mom does too.”
“Yeah, I think she would have been.” He tightened his hold on her. “But nothing can happen to you, understand? If you have a sniffle, I want to know. Got me?”
“Yes. I understand. I promise that I will.”
“My good girl. Come on, let’s go see what the hell is going on in here.”