Total pages in book: 37
Estimated words: 34282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34282 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
“Same time?”
“Every time.”
“So, if they get this group off before we’re ready to confront them, there will be another group within… what? Hours?”
“Yes.” Shotgun crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t like this, El Diablo. We’re not going to be ready to be able to help this group, which likely has Jerrica in it.”
“Does Giovanni know the full situation?” El Diablo was all business, his accent clipped and his deep voice commanding the room.
“He does. He’s sweating as much as we are, though he won’t admit it. Pulled Merrily in to help him from what Alexi said.” Shotgun shook his head. “Even he doesn’t think we have time to pull this off. But he’s got the whole fuckin’ city hacked. He’ll know where they go and who they’re with. We’ll get them all back. Just not today.”
“You have to!” I couldn’t stay silent any longer. “Jerrica’s already been through enough! All of them have! It’s been three months! They’ve probably already hurt the kids they took. You can’t let these people… sell my sister!”
“I know you’re upset.” El Diablo stood and crossed the room toward me. He wasn’t at all threatening about it, but I still backed up a step. Right into Sting.
He wasn’t from Black Reign, but he was the man tasked with getting my sister. I gasped and turned to face him, knowing I was trapped between him and El Diablo. For some stupid reason, my hands landed squarely on his T-shirt-covered chest. Muscles rippled beneath my touch, and I gasped at the unexpected pleasure those sensations caused. Sting just looked down at me, tilting his head and narrowing his gaze, studying me like he might an insect. Right before he squashed it.
I tried to snatch my hands away from him, but Sting stepped back into my space, trapping my hands against him. “You let me worry about getting your sister back. It’s what my club does.” His thumb feathered back and forth over my hand before he glanced down at where we touched.
My fantasies about Sting hadn’t decreased despite my pep talk to myself. If anything, I craved his attention even more. What woman wouldn’t? He was dangerous. Anyone could tell by looking at him. There wasn’t anything he missed, and he kept a tight rein on his club.
There were several men who’d come in a day after I arrived here so distraught and looking for help. Though Sting’s men spoke with various members of Black Reign occasionally, they mostly kept to themselves. Sting had them going over blueprints and maps all day, every day as they discussed the layout of the city and its various problems. And they trained. Hard. I noticed several of the girls in the club approached the newcomers, but none of the men seemed to care. They kept about their business and never mixed business with pleasure. All of them were big, powerful men. But Sting was the one who caught my eye. This was the first time he’d ever so much as looked my way.
Sting dropped his hands, and I snatched my own away as he addressed El Diablo. “I’ll get all the info from Shadow Demons and be ready before they bring the next bunch of kids to the warehouse. We’ll get rid of whoever is still there. When they show up with the new group of children, we’ll take them out. By that time, Giovanni should have everything we need to rescue the group they’re getting ready to offload.” He sounded so calm. So sure of himself. I wanted to believe, but this was Jerrica. If there was any way to prevent her from being sold in the first place, I was going to figure it out. By myself if I had to.
“I promise you, Iris,” El Diablo assured. “We’ll get your sister back as quickly as possible.”
I said nothing, afraid I’d sound ungrateful or irritated. Years of living in a group home had taught me when to keep my mouth shut. This was one of those times.
The discussion continued, but I was done listening. I knew where Jerrica was being held. I knew it was guarded. I knew they were getting ready to move her. I might not be able to take out the men in the warehouse, but I could rescue Jerrica. If I could get anyone else out, I would, but Jerrica would be my first priority. With that thought in mind, I slipped out of the meeting and out of the clubhouse. I’d make a plan on the way.
Chapter Three
Sting
That girl. That fucking girl.
Iris.
I got it now. I understood how my dad could give up his club for a woman. And the woman he’d allowed to betray us wasn’t even the woman he ended up with. If what he felt for Bev had been even half of what I just experienced with Iris, I could understand everything he’d done. Which meant that he wouldn’t just kill anyone who threatened his wife, Hope. He’d annihilate them. I knew this because the second Iris’s hands landed on my chest, whoever had taken her sister wasn’t going to die the quick, painless death we usually brought to human traffickers. Oh, no. They were going to die hard and slow. Over days. Weeks. Why? Because they’d hurt Jerrica and, by extension, Iris. No one would ever hurt that girl again as long as I lived and breathed. It didn’t matter if drawing it out risked getting caught. I would get justice for this woman. No matter the cost.