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)
My car!
It was a pile of junk, but it ran and it was mine. I don’t have the money to buy a new one, and even if my insurance covers gas station explosions, I’ll probably get pennies for it.
But I’m alive to worry about stupid things like cars.
I rest my head against Wraith’s chest as thoughts whirr through my scattered brain like popcorn. My sleeve has a big red stain. It’s blood from the man I tripped over. A man who’ll never worry about his car insurance again. His blank expression is burned into my memory.
The bike slows and I dare to look around. We’re deep in South Side and I don’t know the streets or where they’re taking me. How the heck am I going to get home?
They pull up to a bar called The Eagle’s Roost, where there is already a long line of motorcycles parked outside. Wraith passes me off to Tank who lifts me right off the bike like I weigh absolutely nothing. When he puts me down, he doesn’t take his hand off my shoulder. Is it for support, or so I don’t run away?
“What are we doing here? Shouldn’t we call the cops or something?” I ask as they guide me to the door.
A scary looking biker is watching it, his long hair tied back, revealing a vicious scar on his face. He nods in greeting. “Prez is down front waiting for you. Everything good?”
“Does she look like everything’s good?” Nitro fires back.
The guy shrugs. “She’s breathing and none of that blood looks like it’s yours. Coulda been a fun time for all I know.”
“Read the fucking room, Animal,” Tank growls. Animal laughs as the guys take me past and in through the door.
It’s the middle of the afternoon, and the bar is quiet, with classic rock and mostly male voices filling the space. A few people turn to look our way, but nobody seems overly shocked at the sight of the three of them surrounding a blood covered woman. It’s their lack of reaction that freaks me out more than anything. What kind of world did I stumble into where this is normal?
At the bar, Wraith nods to Tank. “We’ll go report, get her a drink and keep her out of trouble.”
“Sure thing.”
Wraith and Nitro head down into a lower section of the bar where there’s a stage with a topless woman in booty shorts dancing with another woman whose breasts are all but falling out of a tiny bikini top. A grizzled old biker sits with several other scary looking men. He looks up as Wraith and Nitro approach, and then his gaze slides over the space between us and lands right on me.
I freeze, unable to look away from the piercing stare of the man with one white eye. That has to be the man the guy at the door said was waiting. Prez is short for president, right? When he looks away, it’s like being dismissed.
“You want a beer or something?” Tank asks, gesturing to a couple free bar stools.
“Um, I’m not really a drinker.”
His eyebrows go up, but he shrugs. “Suit yourself. I’m sure they’ve got something back there for you. Hey, Badass! Get me a Bud, and my friend here wants…”
The bartender, a guy big enough to make Tank seem normal looks at me expectantly. Everything about this is so surreal. I left the house for an interview, nearly died in a shootout, almost got blown up, and now I’m sitting here in my wrecked clothes ordering a drink.
“Just… just a Coke, I guess.”
“Sure you don’t want anything stronger? Nothing personal, but you look like you could use it.”
I shake my head and then pause. “Um, could you put a couple maraschino cherries in there?”
“Coming right up.” He grins and turns away to get our drinks.
I spin on the stool, looking around. On the surface, this looks like a pretty normal bar, but these aren’t frat boys. They’re men, muscled and tattooed, filling the place with the tang of leather and musk that competes with the usual scent of beer and cigarettes. There’s a couple in a shadowy corner, and she’s straddling his lap facing away from me, but from what I can see, he has her shirt open and they’re getting real friendly.
Who does that in public? Not that anyone but me seems to notice. When her hands move towards his belt and start to do something, I spin back around before I can see anything more. This place is nuts!
Tank slides my Coke in front of me. “See something interesting?”
“Nope.”
“You sure? Nobody here would mind if you wanted to take the edge off after a rough morning.”
My jaw drops and I spin his way. “Are you insane?”
Tank leans closer, his striking blue eyes only inches from mine. “Don’t play innocent. I saw how you were looking at me earlier back at the shop. I promise I can give as good as I get. You aren’t even a little bit curious?”