Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77198 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 386(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 257(@300wpm)
She was close to Kiersten’s age, and she was covered in bruises. One of her eyes was nearly swollen shut, and she was clutching a whimpering infant against her chest. The poor girl looked absolutely horrified as she pleaded, “Please don’t hurt us.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. We’re not here for you.” I did my best to keep my voice low and calm as I asked, “Can you tell us who you are?”
“I’m Angela DeLuca. I’m Antonio’s wife,” she answered in a whisper. “And these are my children.”
“Is he the one who did this to you?”
She nodded nervously but didn’t speak.
“Do you want to be here?”
Tears streamed down her bruised face as she shook her head.
“Any idea where he is?”
The words had barely left my mouth when her eyes skirted over to the closet. I didn’t hesitate. I immediately stood and rushed across the room. As soon as I opened the door, I was greeted with a hard punch to the gut, followed by a quick blow to the jaw. My head jerked to the side, but I quickly recovered and charged toward my assailant.
I rammed my shoulder into his gut and barreled forward, trying with all my might to get the guy to the ground, but the asshole barely budged. He lifted his elbow and slammed it into my shoulder, forcing me to release my grip around his waist. Noting my struggle, Viper asked, “You need a hand over there, brother?”
“No, I’ve got this.”
Viper didn’t have to say anything. I knew he and the others were behind me, watching the scene as it unfolded, and if need be, I had no doubt that they’d step in. But that wasn’t going to be necessary.
I wasn’t about to let this asshole get the best of me.
I reared my hand back, and then I took all the anger that had been building up in me and slammed my fist right into the guy’s throat. His knees immediately buckled, and he started gasping for breath as he dropped to the floor. That’s when I realized that the sonofabitch I’d been fighting was none other than Antonio DeLuca. “You gotta be fucking kidding me! You’ve been in here the whole fucking time?”
He didn’t answer.
He couldn’t.
He was still trying his damnedest to catch his fucking breath.
I used the moment to turn to Viper and say, “Get the wife and kids out of here. They don’t need to see this.”
Viper nodded, then gave Hawk the go-ahead to remove them from the room. Once they’d been escorted out, I stepped over to Antonio and towered over him as I snarled, “You’re nothing but a fucking coward! In here hiding like a goddamn pussy while your men are out there fighting your fight.”
“They’re... doing what... they were hired... to do,” Antonio gasped. “Something you didn’t do.”
“No, I simply refused to finish a job you started.” I leaned down and picked up my gun from the floor, then aimed it at DeLuca’s head. “You should’ve just let her go and cut your losses. You shouldn’t have tried to kill her, and you really shouldn’t have fucked with my daughter. You got greedy. And greed kills.”
Without giving him a chance to respond, I pulled the trigger and put an end to Antonio DeLuca once and for all.
EVERLEIGH
“He had a lot of guards,” Kiersten muttered.
“Yeah, he did,” Country answered. “But they’re no match for the brothers.”
After sharing a heartfelt reunion, Country and Kiersten followed Davies, Matteo, and me back out to Billy’s truck. On the way out, we’d seen one of the guards who’d been shot, and I couldn’t stop envisioning it being Billy, who was sprawled out on the ground with blood pooling around him. It was a thought that led me to ask Country, “So, you think they’ll be okay?”
“Absolutely,” Country answered as he sped toward the clubhouse. “Gotta remember, this ain’t our first rodeo.”
“Yeah, but this is the first time my dad has been involved.” Kiersten sounded just as worried as me as she told him, “At least, like this.”
“Billy’s gonna be fine,” Country scoffed. “You got nothing to worry about there.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“I still don’t get it.” Taking his eyes off the road for just a moment, Country glanced up at the rearview mirror as he asked, “Why the hell would you go to Antonio’s place without telling someone? You had to know we were going to handle it.”
“That’s exactly why I went,” I explained. “I didn’t want you to have to handle it.”
“But that wasn’t up to you.”
“Maybe not, but it wasn’t right that you guys were being forced to put your lives in danger when it was me that Antonio wanted.”
“First, no one forces the Sinners to do anything,” Country snapped. “And second, that asshole kidnapped my ol’ lady. Didn’t matter why he took her. There was no way in hell we were gonna let him get away with that shit.”