Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 72122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72122 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 361(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
But no answers were forthcoming.
Sighing and standing up to start packing, I busied myself with folding clothes and rearranging Truth’s sword collection in his closet so I didn’t have to think about matters of the heart.
***
“He even quoted my favorite song!” I yelled, clapping my hands twice to get the ladies attention back.
“That’s ground for divorce,” Tally said. “You should serve him papers.”
I snorted.
“I’m just kidding,” Tally sighed and picked up her own suitcase, hefting it into the back of Imogen’s SUV before shutting the hatch.
“Do you think they’ll leave us once we get to the city line?” Imogen asked, eyeing the four prospects who were idling on their bikes behind us.
“Probably not,” I muttered. “Because if they leave us, then I’m unprotected.”
“Don’t feel special. Aaron still has them follow me around periodically, too. If I don’t answer my phone fast enough, the first thing he does is send one of them in my direction, if he doesn’t come himself.” She smiled. “They’re overprotective. You’re just going to have to learn to live with it.”
I shrugged.
“I will. It’s just tough, because I’m not used to having someone shadow my every move. They’re with me at the grocery store. They followed me into the feminine hygiene product aisle two days ago. They even tried to come into the bathroom with me. When I opened it and showed them it was a single stall without a window, they reluctantly backed off. Though I’m sure if I’d have let them come in they would have.”
Imogen snickered.
Tally, however, turned in the front seat and looked at me.
“Tommy told me a little bit about this Elais Beckett guy.”
I swallowed, and then nodded. “Yeah?”
She twisted her fingers as she explained.
“Tommy said that Truth was in a bad place when he got home from his last mission. Shut himself in his house or his workshop, and stayed there for close to a month. It wasn’t until Stone…”
I held up my hand to stop her. “Who is Stone?”
Her face fell a little bit more. “Stone was the Dixie Warden’s old president. The cop who was killed by the gang member nearly a year ago.”
My heart fell.
“I never knew he was involved with the MC,” I whispered. “I was gone the week it happened for a wedding in New Hampshire. I heard about it on Fox News, though. I couldn’t believe something like that happened in our small town.”
Tally licked her lips then continued. “Stone forced him to think straight again. Apparently, when he found him, Truth was a mess. He’d built eight swords in a one-week span, and you know how long those take him to get done.”
Months. He had to stay up night and day to get even one done. For him to get that many done in such a short time span was likely not conducive with Truth’s health.
I started to feel worse.
“Vengeance was his answer, though, to pulling his head out of his ass. He was in a dark place, and Tommy said he was kind of scary while he was doing whatever he did during the time he was working with Elais Beckett.”
Doing whatever he was doing meant killing people.
I shuddered.
I didn’t judge the man. I knew he was just doing his job, something he believed in and thought was right. He didn’t know that Elais Beckett was giving him inaccurate information to manipulate him into doing his bidding.
“Hey, how about we go to eat?”
My head swung up, and I realized we’d left my driveway, and had gone as far as the city limits. The city limits where the fire station sat, with hundreds of cars parked around the station.
“Yes,” I said instantly. “I vote yes.”
Tally and Imogen laughed, and then Imogen swung her car into the only available spot, which, luckily enough, happened to be very close to the building.
The four bikers that were following us pulled directly in behind us and idled, wondering what we were going to do.
When we got out and started heading for the front door, and the mass of people, they jumped off their bikes and headed toward us.
“I bet we’re giving them minor heart attacks right now,” Imogen murmured quietly just before the four of them showed up at our sides.
I, of course, had two. One on each side of me.
The one on my right was on the smaller side, and he had a quick smile, especially when he saw me looking.
“What’s your name?” I asked.
“Fender.”
I blinked.
“Your real name is Fender, or your ‘road name’ is Fender?”
He had a really great smile.
“My road name is Fender. I was two days into pledging as a prospect when I fell and hit my head on the fender of a car. I got this exciting little scar to commemorate it. The members haven’t let me live it down yet,” he chuckled to himself.