Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
I needed to know why some invisible hand had pointed me in their direction at the worst time of my life.
If I looked hard enough, I could see the reflections of my life—my lie—playing out in the finger-smudged glass. For the first time in weeks, I didn’t push away thoughts of my father. He’d been the best dad a girl could ask for, and I didn’t realize it until it was too late to tell him so. Because of my parents’ lies, I didn’t know just how lucky I’d been.
“I’m never going back because there is nothing left for me in Ossella.” Turning away from the window, I met both of their gazes’ head-on. “My dad died.”
“Who let this bitch in here?”
I was screwing the oil cap back on a customer’s blue Acura when I looked up and saw the last person I expected to see standing next to me.
Nipsey’s “Mr. Untouchable” blasted from the workshop’s speakers, but my voice still carried over the music. I watched the technicians—Tony, Shawn, Isaac, and Will—look at each other before gaping at me. They already knew what time I was on.
“Really, Rowdy?” Stiletto heels clacked the pavement as the bitch I’d been fucking on a semi-regular basis came to pose in front of me. Savannah was this semi-famous biracial Instagram model with good pussy and even better head. That was about as much as I cared to know about her. “I need to talk to you,” she said. She’d been messaging me that bullshit all week. “You can’t avoid me forever.”
I didn’t bother responding since Isaac and Shawn were now pointing at Tony.
It had to be the new guy.
Hudson was already on my back about employee retention after I put Tony’s predecessor in a coma. I knew I’d hear his mouth once it reached his ears that he’d have to find yet another technician.
Now ask me if I gave a damn.
It was hard to find good help these days. Having employees was like having kids without the pleasure of busting a nut first. They wanted you to hold their hands for every little fucking thing, so I treated them accordingly.
Seven years ago, Roc, Golden, Joren, and I had pooled our ill-gotten funds together to buy and restore this old factory, and Pride of Kings was born. Going legit had its ups and downs, but it beat being carried by six or judged by twelve.
“Can you read?” I asked the moment I stood so close to Tony I could smell the coffee on his breath. He raised his hand, but only after realizing he’d already been snitched on.
The new guy was a good size, but he didn’t come close to my six-foot-six, and unlike most guys my height, I wasn’t all skin and bones. I had muscle. It was rare I came across someone bigger or stronger, but even if I were five-foot-three and a hundred pounds soaking wet, it wouldn’t make a difference. I’d been born with the heart of a lion.
“C-can I—”
“Can you read?” I snapped since he seemed to be deaf too.
“Yes, boss. I can read.”
Without breaking eye contact, I pointed to the blue metal door separating us from the lobby and waiting room. The lounge was super lux, thanks to Hudson, the general manager we hired since none of us cared for the business responsibilities that came with owning the shop. The couches were plush, the Wi-Fi was free, and we even had a minibar stocked with free snacks and drinks. “What does the sign on the door say?”
“The door, boss?”
“I hate repeating myself, Tony.”
“Oh. Sorry. It, uhh, um… Well, it says… Employees Only.”
“Does she look like an employee, Tony?”
“N-no, b-but she said she was your girlfriend.”
My eyebrows rose at that. Oh, Savannah was a bold one.
I’d never had a girlfriend—ever. I definitely wasn’t claiming someone who had my dick down her throat within five minutes of meeting me. It wasn’t even how fast Savannah let me use her body that turned me off. I didn’t play games, so I admired a confident woman who went for what she wanted. It was how little respect she’d been willing to accept from me in return.
I’d met Savannah on one of the rare nights I had time to kick back and actually enjoy my life. The Instagram model had walked right up to me and introduced herself. I liked what I saw, so I told her that her name wasn’t as important as how fast she could make me come. Two minutes later, she was on her knees for me in one of the bathrooms. One subpar nut later, I had her bent over the sink. She’d been blowing me up like she was my bitch ever since.
“Oh, did she?”
Tony eagerly nodded. He probably thought throwing a helpless female under the bus would take the heat off him, but it just made me want to beat his ass that much more.