Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 770(@200wpm)___ 616(@250wpm)___ 513(@300wpm)
Was I the only one who could read it? Feel it? Her desperation? The way she looked like she was a second from running to me and crawling right onto my lap?
I guessed the rest of my crew was too disconcerted themselves to notice it.
“No, we’re not letting this piece of shit get away,” Kane growled. “Going to hunt the fucker down and let him know exactly what happens when you mess with one of us. And you’re right, we need to go downstairs and see what we can find.”
I’d attempted to before they’d all gotten here, but Raven had refused to let me, telling me I had to sit until the doctor showed or she was going to be the one to make me bleed.
Fiery little vixen had come at me full force.
They all started for the door, and I flinched with the bite of pain that zinged down my leg when I stood.
“Fuck,” I grumbled.
“You stay,” Theo ordered.
I scoffed as I limped behind them. “No chance I’m sitting on my ass while you all go off defending my honor.”
“And what honor would that be?” Kane cracked, nudging my arm with his elbow.
I didn’t miss the way that Raven flinched at the insinuation, though she covered it as she got behind me like she was going to follow us.
“Want you to wait here,” I told her, nothing I could do against the wave of protectiveness that slammed me.
The way I wanted to lock her behind closed doors and keep her safe forever.
Even from behind, I could feel the roll of her eyes. “And what? You want me to sit on my ass? I don’t think so. I am perfectly capable of looking for clues. I’m part bloodhound. Charleigh lost her keys a couple weeks ago. She was searching everywhere…and guess who found them, lickity-split? This girl right here.”
“Don’t like you getting involved in Sanctum business, Raven,” River rumbled as he started downstairs, leading the pack.
Disbelief shot from her nose. “Do you think I haven’t been all along, River? You all think just because you don’t give me the details, it doesn’t affect me? This is my life, too, and I care about Otto every bit as much as the rest of you, so don’t ask me to stand aside and act like some helpless damsel who can’t help find the asshole who hurt someone I love, because I promise you, that is not going to happen.”
Her words struck me.
Arrows that impaled.
I tried to breathe around their impact while Kane let go of a low whistle. “Damn. Someone is telling it like it is.”
“Well, I’m tired of not telling it.”
A low laugh reverberated from Theo. “Girl said she was ready to stretch her wings. Just didn’t know they were going to be coming up against all of us.”
How everyone had gone light in the midst of this should have been impossible, but we’d seen enough shit in our lives that these types of situations weren’t exactly rare. They came far less once we’d parted from the MC, but trouble still seemed to manage to make its way to us.
But this one?
I was pretty sure it was on me, and my guts twisted when we got to the lower level.
The lights were on full blast, bright and stark as they illuminated the area. Shining over my collection of restored trucks and bikes. But it was the broken window on the opposite side that held my attention.
I strode that way, forgetting the pain as I got close enough to see what had busted the glass.
It was a rock about the size of a fist, but wrapped around it was a piece of paper that was held by a bunch of rubber bands.
I knelt to pick it up.
“You find something?” River asked from behind.
“Looks like someone might be sending me a message.”
I was likely outed. Right in front of my whole fuckin’ crew.
Guilty.
I wouldn’t deny it—what I’d been doing. What I had to do. The revenge I had to seek because those deranged bastards couldn’t go on living after what they had done.
Thing was, I knew down to my soul they would have gladly jumped on their bikes and rode with me to enact the punishment.
But this wasn’t about them, and this vengeance had to be committed by my own hands. Four of their deaths had already been stolen from me. I hadn’t been willing to give up any more of them.
A lump the size of Georgia filled my throat, making it nearly impossible to breathe as I pulled off the rubber bands and unfurled the paper from the rock. Setting it aside, I lifted the paper to see what the message read.
Then that ball of dread in my throat dropped to the pit of my stomach.
A stone sinking to the bottom of the sea when I saw the words scrawled in red across the paper.