Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 137310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137310 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
This didn’t surprise Hugger at all.
Larry kept talking.
“She jumped into this, and after I got over my shock she did, it took everything I had not to strong-arm her right out. But Di’s got no support from her family. Her mother’s a flake and doesn’t live close. Her grandmother is a nice woman, but she doesn’t have much of a backbone. We got years in with taking Di’s back because there wasn’t anyone else to do it with any strength behind it. Suffice it to say, we didn’t like this situation, but the way things are for her, we didn’t fight her on it.”
“I get you,” Pete muttered.
“Why are you asking after Suzette?” Larry questioned.
Pete drew in a breath, like he was stalling for time to figure out how to say what he had to say. He let it out and said it.
“Lived some years, man. And I think there’s more happenin’ here than the lowdown and dirty shit that was done to that woman,” he replied, which made Hugger’s neck get tighter.
So he asked curtly, “Like what?”
Big Petey shook his head. “Like I don’t know, unless we can get that girl to talk. And I don’t see that happenin’ anytime soon.”
“Me either,” Larry mumbled.
“Appreciate you showin’ your feeling for Diana and Suzette,” Pete said to Larry. “And I get your concern. Our Club’s got some worries about Babić. We got no beef with the man, no dealings with him at all, so we’re tryin’ to figure out why he’s messin’ with some of our women. Nothin’ as bad as what he did to Suzette, but he’s playin’ with their heads and diggin’ into our business, and we just don’t get why. We’re here to find out. In the meantime, since we got the manpower, thought we’d put it in front of those girls. They’re safe with us. That’s a promise. You give me your contact info, I’ll be glad to keep you informed. Was a dad once, I get what you need.”
Larry’s head jerked at Pete’s last words, and he asked suspiciously, “Was a dad once?”
“My baby girl died of cancer a while ago,” Pete told him.
Larry winced then said quietly, “Still a dad, my friend.”
“Yeah,” Pete muttered, and Hugger’s eyes narrowed on the man.
He knew about Pete’s girl. Everyone did.
He just really didn’t like how Pete described what he felt he’d become after her loss.
Larry was studying him closely too, but he stopped to peer over his shoulder inside, clearly feeling his wife’s attention on him, because it was.
He turned back to Hugger and Pete. “Best get inside. We good?”
Big Petey nodded.
Larry went inside.
Hugger and Pete stayed on the balcony.
Hugger didn’t fuck around with starting it.
“What are you thinking?”
Big Petey shook his head and shrugged at the same time. “Got a bad feeling, son.”
“What kind of bad feeling?”
“There’s more to that girl,” Pete said. “I can understand she’s terrified after what happened. I can understand she’s shrinkin’ into herself for the same reason. But there’s something deeper. Darker.”
“Like what?”
Pete looked him right in the eyes. “Like she thinks she’s already dead. She just happens to still be breathin’ for a while.”
“Stands to reason, since it’s been made plain Babić isn’t gonna let her take him down,” Hugger bit out, with a tilt of his head indicating the courtyard that didn’t have Babić’s lackeys in it now, but they both knew they’d be back.
“Yeah. Maybe.” Pete didn’t sound convinced.
“Diana’s dad withdrew as Babić’s counsel,” Hugger told him.
Pete’s bushy gray brows shot up. “No shit?”
“She asked him to. He’s making moves to sort what’s broken between them. And it seems the man isn’t afraid of grand gestures,” Hugger said. “I gotta talk to Eight and wanna call Rush. Diana’s freaked because she thinks Babić is gonna be pissed and he might do something about it. We need men on Nolan Armitage.”
Pete dipped his chin sharply in assent. “Agreed. Aces got a business to run. They can cycle men through, but if we need more, could put the pinch on ’em. We’ll get on that and get some more asses down here as reinforcements.”
“Can you take Eight aside?” Hugger asked. “I’ll call Rush while I’m out here.”
“Got you on Eight and you do that with Rush. Then you call Tack,” Big Petey ordered.
Hugger’s brows inched together. “Tack? Why?”
“’Cause, son, you don’t know what hit you yesterday. Years ago, the same thing hit him. Took him a while to get his head out of his ass to see it, and it pissed her off so bad, she was dead set against him. He had to scramble to get back in there. You talk to him, he can give you the wisdom so you won’t make the same mistake.”
“What are you—?”
Big Petey lifted a hand. “Don’t bullshit me, Hug. I don’t give two shits Nolan Armitage stood up for a rapist and all-around piece of shit and got his ass in a sling extricating himself from that relationship. But you do. Because she does. And we’re gonna cover him. For you. And for her. Because she’s yours. And you know how that goes. She’s yours, means she’s ours.”