Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80902 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 405(@200wpm)___ 324(@250wpm)___ 270(@300wpm)
I lean into Havoc, who closes his arms around me and holds me close until I’m sure I won’t break down. I’ve lived with what happened that night for long enough that it doesn’t hit as hard as it used to, but there’s still this horrible guilt inside me for bringing that to them. For getting Dan killed, and then the years after that Mom and I spent in a tiny apartment, hiding from Dodger.
Because nothing ever happened to him. Nobody was arrested.
Not until a couple years later when the Screaming Eagles wiped them out and Dodger finally ended up behind bars.
Phoenix looks at me, and I can see a sick sort answering guilt in his eyes. “I might’ve been there that night.”
“What do you mean?”
He wipes his hands over his face and takes a shaky breath. “Before I say anything else, you gotta know that I was fucked up when we went in there. I haven’t touched a drop of anything stronger than beer since I left that place, but back then? It took a lot to get through the day, you get me? We were out causing trouble more nights than we weren’t, but I remember when Dodger rounded a bunch of us up to go send a message. He said someone had been disrespecting the club. I thought we were just gonna smash a few things, rough up a couple of people, set some records straight. Except we got there and right away I could tell he was full of shit. If that couple had disrespected him, it was probably just yelling at him in traffic.”
I blink. “Or maybe just had the wrong daughter.”
Phoenix winces.
“What happened?”
“You know.”
“Tell me what happened,” I bite out through clenched teeth.
Snark puts a hand on Phoenix’s arm. He throws it off. Both Sledge and Havoc look conflicted, but they're letting us talk it out. I'm not sure if that's a good idea or not. If they knew part of this, the fact that they have been letting me fall in love with them—no, making me fall in love with them, and nobody told me, feels like a slap to the face.
“I remember breaking their door in, and seeing this older couple on the couch watching TV. The guy told the woman to run, and Dodger started screaming. I wish I could tell you what he was saying, but there were eight or nine of us and it was pure fucking chaos. We started smashing shit up, but I had a bad fucking feeling about it right from the start. I’d learned to listen to my instincts by then. I went to check on the woman, make sure nobody was fucking with her, and then some idiot started shooting. As soon as I heard that, I knew we had to get the fuck out of there.”
“Do you know who it was?”
He shakes his head, looking me in the eyes like he knows what I’m really asking. Did Mia’s father kill Dan? “If I knew? I’d tell you. All I know is it wasn’t me. I didn’t have my iron out. Could’ve been Dodger. Could’ve been Grinder who—motherfucker!”
The fact that Dodger might have been the one who killed my step-dad isn’t a new idea to me, but in some ways I’m glad I might never know for sure. “Who’s Grinder?”
“Your fucking neighbor. Another one of Dodger’s old buddies and the asshole who ran me off the road and I was too stupid to even realize when he told me.”
“What?” Sledge looks confused. “Why would he tell you?”
“He didn't fucking mean to, but he saw me checking his truck and came out all pissed off. We recognized each other and got into an argument. I told him someone had taken a shot at me and he straight out said that he didn't run me off the road. I was so fucking pissed at him that it didn't fucking register. Goddamn, I'm a fucking idiot. Even if it wasn’t that truck that hit me, I bet he’s got a second car, or he fucking knows exactly what happened.”
Havoc's brows furrow. “But the Sons took credit, didn’t they? And it's not like he woulda fucking known you were gonna be there. Running you off the road had to be an impulse, not something planned.”
Sledge looks at me, his beautiful hazel eyes hard like gemstones and his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Starting to be an awful lot of things centering around you, honey, and I don't fucking believe in coincidences. Not this many.”
“Want one more coincidence?” Snark asks. “Do any of you recognize this guy? Because the cameras caught him walking away from the Roost right before things started going boom.”
We all turn back to the screen, where Ginger is walking in slow motion back to her car. She waits there for a minute before a motorcycle drives up next to her. She rolls down her window and nods. They talk for a moment before both leave.