Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135792 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 679(@200wpm)___ 543(@250wpm)___ 453(@300wpm)
“We have a situation at the junkyard. And we need you. Right now.”
Chapter 26
Knox
Knox wanted to crawl into one of Jag’s hidden dens and never come out, because he had no idea how he was to face Liv tomorrow morning. And they only had one bed.
He wasn’t good enough for Liv. Not good enough to become special to him, and experiencing the proof of that fact felt worse than his mom saying he wasn’t worth the money spent on his meds, or his dad saying he’d never be good enough to be a professional kickboxer.
With Liv now speeding toward the junkyard, so they could respond to the distress call, Knox should be thinking about the trouble ahead. Instead, all he could focus on was the pain twisting his insides.
‘We’re not a couple,’ resonated in his skull time and time again, making him question his own sanity. What had he been thinking? How could he have been stupid enough to believe that a womanizer like Liv could be his boyfriend? Believing it had been some kind of madness, because the incredulous look in Liv’s eyes when he’d uncovered his cards told Knox everything he needed to know about Liv’s feelings.
Knowing Liv, he probably thought he was doing his buddy a favor by providing a safe way to explore his sexuality, and of course get himself through a dry spell in the process. Easy. Simple.
Only it had never been that to Knox, who’d give his hand for a chance to hold Liv’s attention. But to what end? It wasn’t as though they’d settle down in a house with a picket fence and get a dog. How silly of him to think Liv would be fine staying true to one person—a man at that.
Knox had jumped in headfirst, so he should have expected to end up with his neck broken. And he only had himself to blame, because no matter how long he searched his mind, he couldn’t remember one time Liv committed to being more than friends and having sex.
Once the initial explosion of anger and hurt was over, his mind swallowed him whole and chewed on him until a dull sensation in his numb chest was all that was left. He was all out of fire.
As they sprinted past trees and bushes on their way to deal with whatever shit was happening at the junkyard, a voice at the back of his mind informed him that he should be stressed, but the worst had already happened, so he stayed still, looking out of the window while Liv spoke.
“We’ll get back to this. Let’s just see what’s up and survive this night.”
A part of Knox didn’t want to survive it at all, but he wasn’t about to be a drama queen and say it. Maybe he’d just disappear. Be out of Liv’s hair and let him live his life without the ball and chain he’d saddled himself with.
“We don’t have to get back to anything.” He crossed his arms on his chest, actually looking forward to a chance at breaking someone’s nose. “I hope there’s blood to spill,” he said grimly.
“Yeah, we fucking do,” Liv muttered as the metal gate of the junkyard loomed ahead. “You will not run from this conversation.”
Watch me, Knox thought, pointing to the left. “Shane’s home is that way, we can use the next gate, it will be quicker.”
“This one’s closer to the flagpole,” Liv replied and hit the brakes a bit too fast, stopping in front of the entrance. “Get it open?”
Knox didn’t have to be asked twice to get out of this car steaming with bad vibes. He jogged over to the gate, entered the code, and waited for Liv to pass.
He wished he could stay on the other side of the gate and keep walking into oblivion, but they owed Frank, so he got back in the passenger seat.
Neither of them said a thing as they progressed through the labyrinthine web of tracks crisscrossing the scrapyard. They couldn’t see any signs of foul play yet, but this place was vast and full of metal heaps that kept sound from traveling freely.
The night was bright enough for them to see the faded animal skin Jag had mounted on a rusty flagpole even before their headlights revealed Frank standing in front of it like a monster lurking in the dark.
He urged them to park with a quick gesture, and Liv didn’t waste time.
Knox started talking as soon as he was out. “Sorry, we had a problem with—”
“Doesn’t matter,” Frank said. “Shane’s been attacked in his home, and he’s being held there. It’s some buddies of the people we disposed of two weeks back. But instead of dealing with the MC, the cowards came here. They think they can get hush money out of us and they’re holding Shane hostage.”