Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 52851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52851 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
“She’s filled with hurt,” I said, my voice measured. “And she’s putting herself into insanely dangerous positions just to avoid thinking, just to avoid feeling. She’s diving headfirst into situations that could get her killed—because of this.” I let that sink in before delivering the final blow. “You know what I’m talking about, Preacher. I told you what she told me about her mom. You know what this is doing to her. You know how much of a cancer it is, eating away at her from the inside.”
His jaw locked. He knew, and he wasn’t stopping it.
I leaned in, lowering my voice, making sure my next words hit their mark. “It’s the same cancer eating away at you.”
Preacher flinched. His head turned sharply, gaze snapping away from me.
Bingo.
“You might be able to live with that, but I can’t,” I continued, my tone dropping into something cold and totally unforgiving. “I won’t keep this much longer. She trusts me, and I care about her, so I’m not about to fuck that up.” I took a step back, straightening. “Either you tell her…” I let it hang there, waiting, making sure he was really listening. “…or I will.”
And then I walked away, leaving him standing there alone. Forced to absorb every damn thing I had just said.
But this? This wasn’t just a warning.
It was a promise.
Chapter 7
Kyle
Dragon and his men had a building set aside for guests at the back of their compound, separate from the main clubhouse. It was private, quiet and the ideal place to think.
After my one-on-one with Store, I’d joined the rest of the Ghosts and the newly formed Valiant MC, settling into the familiar rhythm of strategy and conversation.
Hunter had been through hell. The mission that ended his career in the Marines had nearly broken him, but he was here now and healing. It was still surreal seeing him as a dad, though. The man who had spent years running from his own demons had somehow found his way back to Piper, and now, he had a family.
I wasn’t surprised that he’d gone after her, though. We’d had plenty of deep and meaningful talks about Piper over the years, so when he got her back, it had just felt inevitable. Like something written in stone long before either of them had ever realized it.
But right now, the hell he was going through waiting for Bo to call with an update on Piper’s location was brutal—and it was written all over his men’s faces who were all feeling it for him.
We would get her back. There was absolutely no question about that.
After a couple of drinks and going over possible strategies, I felt the weight of everything pressing down on me. The shit Store had spat at me still clung to my skin like filth I couldn’t wash off. Normally, I’d deal with it by beating the shit out of one of the guys or taking my rifle apart piece by piece until my hands stopped shaking.
But tonight, I needed something else. Something that wouldn’t leave blood on my knuckles or keep my mind tangled in the past. I made my way to the room I’d been given, shrugging off the tension as best as I could. I didn’t doubt that in the next few days, I’d get to work my stress out the way I always did—with a mission, with my rifle, with controlled violence.
Right now, though, I needed a moment where I could just switch off.
I had barely stepped into the shower, letting the hot water pour over me, when a warm body pressed up behind mine. I didn’t flinch. I’d heard him come in minutes earlier, and I’d known he’d follow.
His arms wrapped around me, his head burying itself in the crook of my neck, his breath warm against my wet skin.
“You okay, baby?” Jagger’s voice was low, soothing, like he knew the answer already.
Something inside me that had been wound too tight for too long loosened just a little, and I let my body sink back into his.
The way his arms tightened around me in response told me he felt the shift—that he appreciated the way I had allowed it.
I sighed, my head resting against his shoulder. “Yes and no.” I hesitated, trying to find the right words, but it wasn’t easy. Sharing wasn’t something that came naturally to me. “She was the reason so much happened, Jagger. Now, where do I focus that shit?”
Store was out of the picture. And seeing her defeated should have given me satisfaction. To be fair, it did, in a way. But there was nowhere for the emotions I had carried for so long to go. No direction for the anger, no enemy left standing to focus them on.
I still had Preacher, but even that was now a tangled mess. For years, I had hated him for abandoning me when I needed him. For years, I had resented the way my mother had taken it all out on me. For years, I had lived with the image of walking into that room, the walls splattered with blood, the gun still clutched in her lifeless hand.