Total pages in book: 48
Estimated words: 44435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44435 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Yes, you do, I silently told him, squeezing my eyes shut. But I don’t have you.
5
Tango
Isipped at my coffee, letting the heat scald my tongue. Gabriel had gotten up with me this morning, not wanting to be alone, and he’d made me this cup of hella good coffee, handing it to me before I came into the chapel. Thankfully, Sophia was here since we were all gathered around the table for church, so Gabriel wasn’t alone.
Gabriel hadn’t been the same since he found out his father and the Russians were actively looking for me. And while I hoped he knew I would never let a fucking thing happen to him, I knew it didn’t make the knowledge easier to bear. Gabriel was terrified of his father and that club. They had traumatized him. Brutalized him.
I didn’t want him alone to drown in his head. Because he would. He would dwell on the past, the memories, and all of the what-ifs.
So, Sophia had swept Gabriel up into talking about the latest book he was reading, which I was grateful for. She understood how he felt; she knew how dark his thoughts could get after what he’d been through.
We’d all seen the aftermath of what happened to her. Chase was extremely overprotective of her because of it.
Ever since Sophia had reopened after being attacked and raped, Chase hadn’t allowed her to be at the store by herself, which I one-hundred percent agreed with. As long as she was there, he and one other club member were always with her. Everyone being here meant she had to open late today, and the customers who frequented her store were just going to have to deal with it.
Life was full of compromises, and hers and Chase’s certainly were.
“We need to discuss safety plans,” Scorpion began. He looked at Chase. “I know Sophia is going to give you a hard as fuck time about this, but she needs to find someone else to run the store for a while—at least on the front lines. I don’t want manpower away from the clubhouse right now.”
Chase nodded once. “I’ll take care of it.”
Halo snorted and raised his coffee mug in Chase’s direction. “I wish you the best of luck, brother.”
Yeah… Sophia was going to rip his fucking head off. I only wished I could witness it. Watching him bow down to her was funny as hell. Even when he got his way, he still somehow let her be in control.
I didn’t know how he did it.
Chase chuckled. “Thanks, brother. I’m gonna need it for fuckin’ sure.”
Sophia was a spitfire of a woman, and she hated being told what to do, especially when it came to her store. She’d worked her ass off to be where she was now. Having the club call the shots on her life was going to go about as well as throwing water on a grease fire.
I wished Chase the best of luck with her.
Scorpion looked at me next. I bit back a sigh. And him telling me what to do with Gabriel, which I knew was coming, was going to go about as well as Chase trying to tell Sophia what to do with her business and her life.
“I think it would be best if you took Gabriel to one of the safe houses,” Scorpion told me.
I shook my head. “Nope.” I sipped at my coffee again. I would not be budging on this. He was my boy, and I would decide what to do with him and how to keep him safe. No one fucking else.
Scorpion sighed. “Tango, don’t be a pain in my ass today,” he pleaded. “I’m trying to help you protect him.”
I hummed, arching a brow at him. “And you think the first place they won’t look is a safe house in Johnston’s name? On top of that, Gabriel doesn’t fuckin’ do good with change, Prez. His mental health is already fragile right now with the stress of the past few days.”
Scorpion gritted his teeth, growing annoyed with me. He hated it when we fought against him, but Gabriel was one thing I would not budge on. “Tango—”
“Don’t,” I warned him, narrowing my eyes in his direction. “My boy. My decision.” I jabbed my finger into the table. “That’s fuckin’ final, Prez.”
He blew out a harsh breath and shook his head, but he dropped the subject. “The Texas Charter of the Savage Crows will be riding into town in a few days,” he announced. I settled back in my chair. “They’re gonna help us in case shit hits the fan.”
“Grim’s a fucking ass,” Mark muttered, talking about the president of the Savage Crows MC Texas Charter. “We really got to deal with him?”
“Yes because Alex can’t come,” Scorpion said, referring to Grim’s vice president. Alex was a lot easier to deal with. He was more even-tempered. Quiet but always in charge. Steady and sure. He wasn’t one to grow angry quickly. But Grim? He was exactly what his name suggested—deadly. A weapon made of human flesh.