Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 75406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75406 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 251(@300wpm)
“I wanna hold the leash!” an adorable little boy shouts, bursting out the door, followed by a young girl who must be Izzy. She looks like a miniature version of her mother. They glance our way, but head straight to the house next door.
It looks so… normal.
From the outside, I would never in a million years have thought that this kind of scene was inside the walls of the Screaming Eagles compound. That there would be families here. Mothers and kids alongside ferocious looking bikers. The door to the next house opens up and a big boxer bursts out, dragging a young boy behind it.
“Jupe!” he yells. “Heel!”
The dog slows down but doesn’t stop, and it takes Izzy grabbing the leash as well to rein him in. Izzy’s younger brother thinks the whole thing is hilarious and is laughing his little head off.
Alessa shakes her head and looks away from the kids as I approach with Nitro behind me. She smiles, but there are dark circles under her eyes. “Any news?”
“No, not yet,” Nitro answers. “But we’ve got the best men on it. If anyone knows that, it’s you and Em.”
“Hi.” I say with a little, nervous wave. “I just… I wanted to say thank you for the things. I didn’t have anything when I got here, and it was really nice of you to think of me.”
At least her look at me is friendly. “It’s the least we can do. Trust me, I think most of us know what it’s like to end up here with nothing but the clothes on our backs. If you stick around long enough, you’ll probably hear some of the stories.” She looks over my shoulder at Nitro. “Miriam’s taking this pretty hard. She’s been spending a lot of time over at Emily’s”
He puts his hand on my shoulder. “We’ll get Eagle-eye back. We’ll get them all back.”
A lean man with short black hair that has a bright green streak through it steps out of the neighboring house. I like the color. He’s carrying a little girl who looks about the same age as Alessa’s toddler. “Alessa? Can you watch Chloe for a bit?”
She nods. “Sure. I’ll take them over to Summer’s and see how she’s doing.”
He jogs over and puts the little girl down. She stands for a bit and then drops to her butt on the cold ground, poking chubby little fingers at the dry winter grass. “Thanks. It’s a fucking mad house over there and I’ve got shit to do. Kaylee, right? I’m Wild Child.” His eyes are green, matching his streak, and nearly as nice as Nitro’s, but not quite.
“Nice to meet you,” I answer automatically, holding out my hand.
He shakes it with a laugh. “So polite. Em was like that when we met her, too.”
Two more men come out of Alessa’s house. Bear and Viking I think, unless I’ve gotten names mixed up. Bear kisses both Alessa and the baby with such tenderness that it makes me smile.
And then Viking does the same. What the heck?
Viking looks at Nitro. “The lawyers are on their way. They’ve got no fucking reason to hold Prez and the others but we think it would be a good idea if you, Wraith and Tank move Kaylee off compound for a bit. We don’t want to give even a fucking hint that we had anything to do with what went down last night. We’ll call you when it’s clear.”
Nitro smirks mischievously. “I’m sure we’ll find something to do.”
17
KAYLEE
A few minutes later, I'm on the back of Nitro’s bike with my arms wrapped around his waist as we glide through the streets towards Haunted Ink. Tank and Wraith are already there. Riding a motorcycle is a lot more fun when I’m not fleeing for my life or in shock from almost getting blown up. The steady vibration… well, it gives a girl thoughts. Especially after Tank and Wraith showed me just how good bad boys can be.
God, I can't believe I let them do that. Let them? Practically begged them.
I don’t believe Nitro when he says I’m a badass, but my world has definitely been turned on its head. The last time at Haunted Ink was only a few days ago, and I barely remember who I was when my biggest worry was that someone might break into my car.
RIP my car and the Christmas returns I still had in my trunk. I clutch Nitro harder and lean my head against his back.
These men aren’t mine. I'm not that naive, but despite being—let's face it—kidnapped by the Screaming Eagles, it actually feels like they care. Like they really do want to keep me safe, and not just because I can testify that they didn’t do what the cops are accusing them of.
I might as well have been abducted by aliens and dropped into a parallel universe, because I don’t know how to get back to the life I used to have from here. Or if I even want to. What's waiting for me out there? My parents, obviously. God, I want to tell them I'm safe. But Harris and the others know where I live. I can’t go home, not yet.