Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 127390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127390 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 637(@200wpm)___ 510(@250wpm)___ 425(@300wpm)
He didn’t say anything as I just stood there, staring. He was patiently waiting. For me to either move forward or run back into the house. Run back into the past.
Every part of me wanted to do that. It was safer. Didn’t come with all the internal dilemmas and real-life consequences.
Kace wouldn’t say anything if I fled. Wouldn’t judge me for it. Because that’s the kind of person he was. This was the first time he’d pushed me toward something I hadn’t guided us to first. Our secret was pretty much the worst kept secret in the Sons of Templar, although Ashley still held the title for the best.
Most of the women in my group knew, and were madly ecstatic about it, but refrained from talking about it since they knew how uncomfortable it made me. I assumed that they’d told their husbands, though, I’d promised them to secrecy. Not because they had big mouths or anything, but because that’s what you did with your husband. You shared secrets knowing that they wouldn’t go anywhere. You shared everything, and it was safe.
None of the men had said anything, of course. But Lucky grinned far too widely whenever Kace and I arrived somewhere together. I made sure not to act like we were in any way together, but that was for me and my delusions more than anyone else.
Getting on the back of his bike was a sure way to shatter those delusions.
I didn’t make the conscious choice to move toward the bike, but it happened anyway.
Kace didn’t say anything. But when I got to the bike, he grabbed the helmet that was sitting on the seat, snatched me by the back of my neck and kissed me hard. Branding me.
Then, I got on the back of his bike.
Chapter 17
Although Kace didn’t like it, it had been almost a month of nothing, so I was no longer being tailed by the Sons of Templar. He did check my car daily now, before I drove it. Which I was totally fine with. I wasn’t taking any risks with the kids and wasn’t really in the mood for another concussion. Plus, I really didn’t need my premiums to go up. Money was still somewhat of a worry even though my buffer had suddenly grown healthier these past two months. My monthly cut from the Sons of Templar was considerably more than I used to get.
I’d tried to take this up with Cade who shrugged, saying that the club was earning a lot more due to Kace and his investments.
Though I didn’t doubt that Kace was bringing in a profit, I suspected that he had something to do with the increased size of the envelope I was getting. He’d said the exact same thing as Cade when I tried to talk to him about it, plus he hadn’t mentioned my job search or my money situation. As much as it pissed me off and felt like charity, it helped. Gave me a little more breathing room.
Not that I was any closer to figuring out what I wanted to do with my life. Sure, I could’ve gone back to school, giving me some more options in the job market. But in addition to school being expensive and having two kids to look after, I didn’t know what the fuck I’d even go to school for. Nothing interested me enough. I was in a luxurious position, being so picky about all of this instead of having to wait tables for nothing plus tips.
There was only so much time I could stay like this, though. I had kids to feed. Groceries to buy.
It was only a matter of time before I bumped into Edmond. In a town like Amber, there was no avoiding people. Though I had tried my best. Despite Kace’s very real warning that he turn if he ever saw me on the street, I figured Edmond’s arrogance would trump any sense of self-preservation he had. Beyond that, he probably didn’t truly believe that Kace would really do anything.
He hadn’t been in Amber long enough to truly understand the Sons of Templar. In his mind, they were low-life criminals, and he was a man with the expensive suit and haircut. The family money. Fancy degree. No doubt he thought all of those things worked as some kind of bulletproof vest to misfortune and violence.
So when I saw him while walking to my car in the grocery store parking lot, it wasn’t surprising that he didn’t walk the other way. Instead, when his eyes landed on me, he changed directions and walked directly toward me.
“Fuck,” I muttered under my breath.
I was halfway through loading my groceries into the car. I wasn’t about to leave any of it all; our finances weren’t really conducive to me abandoning a week’s worth of groceries just because of some asshole who didn’t like to be rejected.