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 shake my head, but I think I already know.
“Take care of my girls, he said. Soon as you get out, make sure they’re safe. You might not believe it yet, but I’m a model fucking citizen when I want to be, and it costs a lot to keep people locked up. Soon as I got out, I looked you up. Was going to take it nice and slow, but then Badger got in touch and everything kind of fell into place.” He smiles at me like I’m supposed to be thrilled with how neatly everything has worked out for him. “You see it, right? This is perfect. We’re rebuilding this club and you don't have to go it alone anymore. You’ve got me now. I'll help you raise the little girl, just like Dodger woulda wanted. Took you long enough to understand, but I get it. Women can be difficult.”
Oh my God. He's totally loopy.
We reach the end of a corridor and he throws open the doors. Inside is what used to be the gym, though now it’s been broken into lots of separate areas like a cubicle farm. And there, right in front of us at a table, playing dejectedly with crayons, is my favorite little girl. She looks up and sees us.
“Mommy! You came!”
35
PHOENIX
“Think we can trust them?” Sledge asks in my ear as we watch the Outlaw Sons that are supposedly on our side ride up to the front gate. We've got cover behind a nearby house that looks like it was condemned years ago. Not as close as I'd like, but we can watch from here without being observed. I hope.
“As far as I can throw them, but I trust that Eagle-eye’s intel must be good enough for him to risk it. And what choice do we have? They have Mia.” Maybe we're just setting ourselves up for a trap. I don't fucking know, but I don’t have much to lose and a lot to gain.
Sledge grunts in agreement. “Shelby’s going to be fucking pissed we claimed her and Mia.”
“She’s pissed already. Probably best to do it now.”
“If she forgives us,” Havoc adds.
“She’ll forgive you. You were her fucking superhero, remember?” Am I bitter? Fuck yeah.
Me? I know I can never make up for what I did back then, but if I can get Mia outta here and back to Shel, at least I'll have done something good for her. Something besides being a lying asshole and accessory to her stepdad's murder.
I unholster my iron, ready for fucking action. The longer Mia's with them, the harder it’s getting to wait for the signal.
There's a discussion by the gate. An argument. Sounds like the door guard doesn't wanna let our allies in. That's a bad sign. Real fucking bad, even if it means that they might actually be telling the damn truth.
Angry voices carry. Havoc and I share a glance. He's got his piece out too. “Think it's gonna work?”
“Doesn't sound real good.”
“I don't like the idea of a frontal assault, either. Gives them too much time to fortify.”
Sledge snorts. “They can surround themselves with a fucking nuclear bunker for all I care. We're coming in, and we're taking Mia back out with us.”
“Wait. They're opening the gate,” Havoc hisses.
We all watch as the big iron doors are pulled open and Hellfire and his boys ride inside. I guess this is where we figure out if we put our money on the right horse.
They ride right up to the front of the fucking church they've got for a clubhouse. I kinda like it, not gonna lie. Not our style, but it's got flair, if you're into big, dark and gothic. Don't mean we won't take it down, stone for stone, if we have to.
As the Outlaw Sons dismount, a couple of the guys come strolling back towards the gate guards. I hold my breath, waiting for the guards to notice that something’s off, but maybe it never occurs to them that someone might double cross them the same way they double crossed the club.
We get our answer when we hear two loud pops, and both gate guards collapse where they stood.
Good, but I don’t fucking envy the job Hellfire and his side have in front of them. I can’t imagine having to do what they’re doing to some of the brothers they thought were their own. Even when this is over, there’s going to be a long, bloody road ahead of them.
King turns to face the rest of the club, everyone who came with us. “Gentlemen? The gates are open. We fucking ride.”
The sound of that many bikes firing up and revving as we pull out, is like a herd of lions roaring at once.
Hold on, Mia, we're fucking coming for ya.
36
SHELBY
“Mommy, when are Mr. Phoenix and his friends coming to get us?” Mia's next to me, sitting at an old school desk they must have dug out of storage. She's been doodling since I got here, pictures of bikes, the clubhouse and Mr. Bear.