Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 42863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
And now also Beck.
He’d been brave as hell for infiltrating that ring and trying to save her. As soon as we had names for them, Alejandro had background checks pulled, and I’d scrounged through both of their files just a little while ago.
Beck had been on track to play professional hockey. He already had offers on the fucking table. But he’d given it all up to hunt down his stepsister, the same girl he was no doubt in love with.
That took balls.
“I think we should offer both of them protection,” Sam spoke up, surprising the fuck out of me. He drummed his fingers on the table, the bulky, skull rings on his fingers glinting in the overhead lighting. “I’m sure people are on the hunt for Beck. His body won’t turn up when they scrounge through that building and identify their guards. And if their parents sold Clarke, then they’ll be on the hunt for her, too. Sending Beck back home might cost him his life.”
River looked around the table. “All in favor of offering Beck and Clarke protection?”
Everyone raised their hands, even me. River nodded once and looked at me. “Both of them are under your care, clear?” I nodded once. River looked at Alejandro. “We need a safe house.”
“Best place for those two is out of the country,” he said. “I have a safe house down in Mexico. I will have my men guard it.” He looked at me. “I assume you will be going with them?”
When I looked at River, he nodded once. “You go where they go,” he told me.
I looked back at Alejandro. He glanced at his watch. “Give me two hours to get a plan in place. Pack a bag. And anything the boy or girl needs, you can buy down there. My men will always be near, so it should be safe for them to be out and about, especially seeing as you will be pretty deep in the country.”
“Am I okay to release Beck now?” I asked, looking at River. His clubhouse—his call. Didn’t matter what I wanted. He had other people, especially kids, to worry about.
“Yeah.” He pushed back from the table. “Just keep an eye on him. I don’t want him trying to run with that girl. The safest place for them is here. Make him understand that.” He slammed his gavel on the table, ending church.
Alejandro looked at me. “I will be in touch,” he promised.
I inclined my head to him. Gin sidled up to me as I stood to my feet, arching a brow. “You sure you can handle taking care of two of them?” he asked.
I grunted in answer. “As long as they follow the rules I set, it should be a breeze.”
Gin snorted and patted my back before heading for the chapel doors. I sighed before following him out of the chapel. After grabbing my phone from the basket, I slipped it into my pocket and then headed for the basement.
Hopefully, Beck wouldn’t do something reckless. I’d hate to have to tie him back up again, but I would if I had to. His and Clarke’s safety were of the utmost importance now, even if that meant I had to save them from themselves.
6
Tank
This time when I went down to the basement, I was by myself since we now knew Beck was no longer a threat. Everything in that folder had only backed up what Beck had already told me. His loyalty to Clarke was admirable—a trait I knew every man in this club respected.
Beck had given up everything. His dreams. His potential career. Freedom. Fuck, he’d almost given up his life.
I wondered if Clarke knew what kind of man she had standing at her back. I wondered if she knew how much he loved her. The devotion he had to her was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of thing. She probably had no idea just how incredibly lucky she was to have a man like him loving her.
Beck opened his eyes when I emerged into the basement from the stairs. His eyes were bloodshot and tired, and that defeated look I hated still rested on his face—like he knew there was no saving Clarke, and it was gutting him.
“I can make that promise to you now,” I found myself blurting.
His shoulders raised a bit, his head tilting up. “You can?” he rasped before he cleared his throat. His throat was no doubt as dry as the Sahara. I’d be sure to get him a bottle of water once I got him out of the basement.
I nodded at him. “Yeah, I can. My club and I discussed it—did a background check on you—”
“That was fast,” he blurted, making me chuckle.
“Yeah, well, Alejandro works fast. A background check is simple as hell for him to get.” I moved forward and began working on the ties around his feet. “We’re offering you and Clarke protection here. The plan is for the three of us to get into Mexico. Alejandro has a home there we’ll be staying in while he works on dismantling the trafficking ring from the top.”