Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 25339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 25339 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 127(@200wpm)___ 101(@250wpm)___ 84(@300wpm)
Thankfully, things look okay. I’m just about to leave when I see an old manila envelope on the desk, some papers sticking out of it. I’ve been in this office countless times and have never seen it, or anything like it, before.
I should just leave it alone. It’s probably related to my dad’s business, but if that’s the case, why does it look so alien? Like it doesn’t belong here?
I glance over my shoulder and see Dad lifting one of the Harleys up off its side, cursing when he sees the damage. I turn back to the desk and pick up the envelope and reach inside.
And that’s when I see it.
An old photograph, worn and faded, buried beneath a bunch of old letters. Slowly, I pull it out, and as my eyes move across the people in frame, my stomach plummets.
A group of men standing outside a clubhouse not that different than the one The Heartless Bastards own. Leather jackets, bikes, and devilish smiles on their faces like they own the world.
Above them hangs a banner: Smoke and Skulls.
And right in the middle of the group, standing with his arms crossed and his dirty blond hair hanging in his face, is Slate.
He’s younger, a teenager probably, but it’s definitely him.
All the breath rushes from my lungs, and my knees go weak. I brace myself against my dad’s desk as panic hits me.
Slate was one of them.
The same men who just busted up my dad’s shop.
The same men who tried to take me away when I was a child.
The same men who destroyed my family.
And now, because of him, they are back. Ready to finish what they started years ago.
“Now you know,” my father sighs behind me. I turn, tears welling in my eyes. “Haven’t looked at it in years. Opened it up after the shop was hit. Saw him standing there.”
I can’t even find the words to speak.
“I warned you about biker guys, Ivy. They talk a big game, tell you what you wanna hear, but in the end? They’re nothing but trouble.”
My eyes burn, threatening to fall down my cheeks. But I don’t let them. I don’t have the whole truth yet. And I just can’t believe that Slate would knowingly do anything to hurt me or my family.
But there is one thing I’m sure about.
Slate lied to me.
And I’m going to find out why.
My knuckles go white as I grip my phone and dial Slate’s number. He doesn’t answer. My dad just watches as I grab the keys to his truck and head for the door.
“Where the hell are you going?” he barks.
“You know,” I reply as I step outside. I hear his voice calling out as the door swings shut behind me.
“You’re playing with fire! You know what happens when you do that, right?”
8
IVY
I know I shouldn’t be doing this.
Every instinct I have is screaming at me to stop and turn back. Just forget about Slate and figure out a way to deal with the threat to my dad’s shop.
But I can’t.
My body is now an engine fueled by pure betrayal and anger, and there’s no stopping me until I find out the truth.
I’ve spent my whole life being my dad’s sweet, innocent daughter. I was off-limits. The workshop was my life, and I lived by his rules. But I’m done playing it safe. Right now, my world is unraveling, and I’m the only one who can grab the threads and pull them back together.
I pull up to the Heartless Bastards’ clubhouse lot like a madwoman, kicking up dust as I slam on the brakes, nearly killing a couple of guys standing outside smoking. They’re about to cuss me out as I leap down into the dirt, but when they see who I am, they back off. Being Frank Calloway’s daughter has its advantages.
It may be morning, but you’d never know that from what’s going on inside. Smoke, booze, girls hanging over grinning men, rock music blaring. I catch people looking at me as I stride over to Saxon, who is sitting at the bar with a pretty woman sitting happily in his lap.
“Ivy!” He smiles. “Have you met my wife, Tammy? Tammy, this is Ivy. Her dad’s our mechanic–”
“Where is he?” I interrupt. I don’t have time for niceties.
Saxon frowns. His beautiful wife glances back at him. She seems like someone I’d like to know in the future. If I somehow manage to salvage this crazy situation.
“What’s going on?” he asks.
“I just…need to find him,” I reply. I’m honestly shocked Slate’s not here rallying the troops to defend my dad’s shop. But then again, he’s not a Heartless Bastard anymore.
“You should go home, Ivy,” Saxon sighs. “This situation…is not great.”
“Tell me,” I snap.
He groans, shaking his head. “He’s with them.”
My stomach twists. My blood turns to slush. “With who?”