Total pages in book: 121
Estimated words: 113639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 568(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113639 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 568(@200wpm)___ 455(@250wpm)___ 379(@300wpm)
A bloodcurdling scream blasts around us and I know it’s Ox letting out his demons. Colors and heat: that’s what I feel. That and my ears are ringing, and for a moment, I’m confused as to where I am.
“Jesus Christ.” I turn to watch the billowing black smoke fill the sky. The massive amount of ashes causes me to move forward and my chest actually aches.
“I guess we’ll see how good our bribe money is. That’s a lot of smoke.” Axel rubs a hand through his sweaty hair.
“We stay until we’re sure everything is gone.”
“Or until we hear sirens.” Axel stares at me deadpan. His confidence in us getting out of this unscathed seems pretty negative.
I grin. “Or that.” The longer it burns, the lighter my chest gets, and I’m feeling better already.
“Should we do something about Ox?” George interrupts Axel and me.
“Nah, let him rage,” I say, barely glancing at the wild beast that is Ox. He’s doing donuts in the dirt with his Harley, which is impressive in itself. The amount of dust kicking up around us is somewhat welcome. Better dust than chemical smoke. I look down at my phone and calculate that if we’re lucky, the lab will explode again and we can get the fuck out of town.
“We head back to LA at night. Hopefully no one saw us when we came in this morning. Besides the junkies, we should be fine.” Axel nods.
“We’re fucked. I have no idea if Doc is in any condition to start over anytime soon.” My head is already pounding. “Round up the guys and bring them to the clubhouse.”
George nods and takes one more inhale, snuffing it out but putting it in his back pocket. “I’ll have them there.”
I don’t watch him leave. I stare at the shithole that made us rich burn to the ground. “Call it in, man, and let’s go to the clubhouse. I want to be back in LA tonight.” I start my bike and hear my brothers follow.
BLADE/JASON
I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted a shower as much as I do right now. We just pulled into LA and it’s two in the morning. The lights are on and the front door swings open. Pete and Edge stand and wait for us to enter. Axel says nothing and goes straight upstairs. Not that I blame him. After we called the fire in, it has been nothing but one fucked-up thing after another.
“I’m going to bed. I want all my officers here at ten a.m.,” I say gruffly to Edge who hands me a bottle of Jack. Grateful, I grab it and guzzle at once. For a split second, the spicy, stinging warmth actually gets rid of the chemical taste that no amount of water seems to remove. The stench seems attached to my throat, and I want to drink the whole bottle. Instead I take one more swig and decide to go to my room and let the shower and Eve rid me of the last twelve hours of hell.
“You need anything else, Prez?” Edge is on alert. I’m sure he’s heard everything.
“No, I’m going to bed. Don’t disturb me unless someone’s dead.”
Ryder enters along with Ox who promptly demands a woman and booze. I climb the stairs two at a time, turning at the top.
“Edge?”
“Yeah, Blade?”
“Everything go okay today?”
He nods. “Yeah, she spent a couple of hours at the pool then helped Amy in the kitchen.” I frown. For some reason I don’t like her working at all. Brushing aside my caveman thoughts, I nod at him and stand at my door. She’d know to lock it, right? I reach into my pocket for the key. It opens right up, and my hands clench. I’ll discuss this with her in the morning. Again, I don’t trust anyone but my brothers. Even with them, I would expect her to lock the door. Entering, I take in the darkness although she seems to like the curtains open and the moonlight spills inside. What the fuck? The first thing I do is shut them—I can’t stand them open—and force myself to walk past her. I stink and if I get too close, I’ll want to touch her.
I start the shower and besides my cut, I throw every single article of clothing away. When I enter my blue rock shower, I turn the water so hot it scorches my back and allows my tense muscles to relax. My mind replays the day; I can’t seem to turn it off. Closing my eyes, I see the faces of my members concerned about what exactly the loss of our lab means. I lower my head and let the water massage my neck as I go over the night. Half the guys were drunk and high or both and I’m sure some guys will show up at the LA compound tomorrow. Most of them have jobs and families in Hemet, so they’ll stay, but the younger ones couldn’t wait to pack up.