Total pages in book: 128
Estimated words: 119011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119011 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 595(@200wpm)___ 476(@250wpm)___ 397(@300wpm)
Leo huffed and looked down at the money in frustration. “What am I supposed to do?”
Dad patted his back. “Go to Reno, check out girls at a titty bar. Go enjoy yourself. Oh. I know, if you’re going to Reno, pop in to Zolt’s. He’s got some new merch for us to look at. We might need the extra firepower with those Jackal fuckers sniffing around Hawk Springs.”
Leo’s mouth went dry, but he stuffed the money into his pocket anyway. He wasn’t sure how he felt about visiting Zolt’s pawn shop. Tonight had been tough enough.
Then again… it wasn’t as if he had any use for the engagement ring anymore, and Zolt might offer him some honest cash for it.
Such a bad idea, though.
Because Zolt Andorai was the one person on the planet who never failed to shower Leo with more attention than he could take.
Chapter 2 - Leo
The hour-long drive to Zolt’s pawn shop on the outskirts of Reno did nothing to soothe Leo’s disappointment. He couldn’t believe that the woman he’d courted and considered marrying only wanted him for a few thrilling fucks. He bet she’d end up with some accountant, or even her boss at the car dealership. That would have been a fitting end to the wild life of Miss Amanda Burke.
But hey, that wasn’t any of his business anymore, so he might as well pawn the damn ring, get the guns and pay a stripper for a lap dance before drinking himself into a stupor. Who knows? If his older brother Jack could marry a stripper, maybe tonight Leo would meet the love of his life at Reno’s Diamond Girls.
It was a pleasantly cool night, so he took his time driving through the desert landscape. The flat valley between two sets of hills was peppered with shrubs and grasses, but it appeared monotonous in the dark, and the outskirts of Reno provided a bit of color with its billboards and neons. He left the highway, drove between shops that had already closed for the night, and past the Vietnamese restaurant. The hills were a dark backdrop to a congregation of stores, workshops, and other small businesses where he was headed.
The sight of the single storey Santa Fe-style building surrounded by an empty parking lot was a relief. A few years back, before Zoltan opened shop, this place used to house a burrito place Leo liked to eat at whenever he visited Reno. The structure itself hadn’t changed much since. One of the fake wooden beams sticking out below the flat roof had chipped, but the flashy signs and posters attached to the facade negated any pretense the building might have originally had to pueblo revival architecture. So late into the night, all the neons had been switched off, and with the windows covered with heavy duty shutters, it looked as if the pawn shop had been abandoned. But no, Zoltan’s Harley was under the roofing in the back, and the pickup was parked there as well, so he couldn’t be out.
Leo stopped to admire the handsome bike so unlike his modest, matt black Triumph. Zolt’s chopper had an emerald and sapphire finish, and he somehow managed to keep its steel elements from dulling despite Nevada’s dust. Leo ran his fingers over the dark blue leather seat and wondered whether Zolt would ever lend him the bike for a ride. Who knew, maybe he wasn’t as possessive of his machine as guys at Leo’s MC? Then again, with Zolt everything came at a price, and Leo wasn’t exactly made of cash.
He left his bike and approached the back of the pawn shop. The cool breeze was a relief after the scorching heat of the day, but when it brought the odor of trash, Leo’s face twisted in disgust, and he approached the door.
It was hardly the first time he or one of his brothers had come by here unannounced, and while business outside of normal working hours didn’t come cheap, Zolt was always ready to strike a bargain. Leo absent-mindedly touched the jewelry box in his pocket and rang the bell.
There was another reason why he didn’t hesitate to do this—Zolt liked him. Or at least that was how Leo understood it, because the alternative of Zolt flirting with him made Leo far too anxious to consider it.
He rang again, even though this was the last place he should have come to heal his bruised ego. Fishing for compliments from a gay guy—was this how low he’d fallen?
And yet, not only was he standing in front of said gay guy’s door so late, but he’d changed into a fresh T-shirt and used an extra splash of cologne.
Ants sped down his back as locks clicked one after another, and when the door finally opened, his spine became a highway of shivers.