Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 38973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 38973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 195(@200wpm)___ 156(@250wpm)___ 130(@300wpm)
“You can go fuck yourself,” I sneered. “I don’t want your fucking help. I’m fine. I’ve been fine for the past several goddamn years. You left me without a backward glance. You abandoned me. So, go back to whatever fucking hole you crawled out of and leave me alone.”
I spun on my heel, marching toward the road. Konrad gripped my arm, and I swung around, jabbing my elbow into his gut and yanking my arm from his grasp. He bit back a wince, rubbing his stomach. “Don’t fucking touch me,” I snarled, sweat breaking out across my skin. “I don’t like being touched, you got me?”
Pain flashed through Konrad’s eyes. “Okay. I won’t touch you,” he promised me. “But please, just listen to us. We…” He sighed. “Shaw and I never meant to make you feel abandoned. I swear, we didn’t. We just…”
“We had to get the fuck out of here,” Shaw finished for him. “We needed to escape. Yeah, we went about it wrong, but we’re here now. I know that doesn’t fix things, but we want to try to make this right. We can’t erase the past, but we can do something about the future.”
I wrapped my arms around myself, suddenly feeling small and alone and hurt. “Everyone left,” I whispered. “And the only person who stuck around was locked in a fucking prison cell and wouldn’t let me see him.”
“I know, kid,” Konrad said quietly. “I know. And we’re sorry. We’re so fucking sorry, Ace.”
“Will you come home with us?” Shaw asked gently. “We’ve got a place. Starting a motorcycle club.” A tentative smile tilted his lips. “You’ll have your own room. Food in your stomach every single day. Freedom to be who you want. And you’ll never have to worry about someone hurting you again.” When I hesitated, the promises he was making seeming too good to be true, he added, “Jax is coming home. And we’re working on tracking down Cameron and Arlo. It’s time for us to be a family again, Ace.”
I swallowed thickly, then jerkily nodded my head. “Okay,” I said quietly. “I just need to get my things—”
“No need, unless there’s something you really want,” Konrad told me, he and Shaw heading toward the parking lot. I silently fell into step, our shoes crunching along the asphalt. “We’re going to get you all new things.”
“I want my letters from Jax,” I told them, my shoulders rigid. “I won’t budge on that.”
“Okay,” Shaw said simply. “Then, we’ll go get them.”
“And I’m going in with you,” Konrad told me.
I just nodded. Maybe with Konrad there, no one would start shit with me while I got my letters.
I refused to leave those behind.
Jax was sitting outside what was to be the clubhouse on a five-gallon bucket, a blunt between his lips when we rolled up. He stood up as I jumped down from the truck, my bag clutched in my hand. With his thumb and pointer finger, he put out the blunt and set it down on the picnic table beside him, watching me with flat eyes.
Jax had always been like that. Sort of detached. Didn’t ever really give a fuck about anything. But I knew he was a bit softer for me. He always had been.
“Hey, kid,” he rasped.
“Don’t hey me,” I sneered, furious now that I was seeing his face. “You fucking told them? I told you that in confidence. You—”
He held up his hand, and I snapped my jaw shut. “I can’t get custody of you, Ace. I’m a fucking felon. So, I did what I could to keep you close. You can hate me for that all you want, but what’s done is done, and even if I could do it all over, I wouldn’t. Because you’re here. You’re safe now. And you’re with me.”
My throat closed up unexpectedly, and surprising both of us, especially since Jax knew I couldn’t stand being touched, I dropped my bag and rushed forward, crashing into him and wrapping him in a tight hug. He folded his arms around me, squeezing me to him.
And that was that. Jax and I were okay. As long as he was with me, I could handle everything else. Because he hadn’t abandoned me.
Everyone else? Well… they could kiss my fucking ass.
CHAPTER ONE
Ace
Aknock sounded on my door, jerking me out of my headspace. Sighing, I dropped my Apple pencil onto the mattress, turning my head to look toward the door. “What?” I called, annoyed. I’d finally gotten in the zone to finish this damn complicated piece of artwork one of Shaw’s clients wanted tattooed, and not even fifteen minutes into drawing, someone was yanking me out of my zone.
This was why I did most of my work at InkLore, Shaw’s tattoo parlor. No one bothered me there because Shaw didn’t allow it. But I’d gotten up too late to ride with anyone, and I was too damn lazy to drive myself.