Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 88080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 440(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“Give me that,” Cal growls, yanking it from my grip.
He shoves the barrel into Wes’s mouth and I’m dizzied by the fact that one of the Hoodlums is once again about to kill on my behalf. I cry out, yanking on Cal’s arm, but he’s too strong.
Click.
Nothing happens.
Cal yanks the gun out. He removes the magazine and roars. “It’s not even fucking loaded!” He throws the magazine and then hits Wes a few times with the gun. “Fucking rapist sick sonofabitch!”
“Cal,” I shriek. “Stop. You’re going to kill him!”
“That’s the fucking point, Roux!”
I cling to his back, pulling him away from Wes’s groaning body. Cal eventually lets sense flood in and allows me to put distance between them. He’s breathing heavily, still infused with rage.
“I need to get the boys down here so we can drag his ass down to the river,” Cal growls.
“No,” I snap. “You can’t. Jordy will kill him and go to prison again. You’ll go to prison. I can’t fucking have that. Understand?”
“I don’t fucking care,” Cal snarls. “He tried to fucking rape you!”
I sit beside Cal and take his sticky hands in my shaking ones. His are covered in Wes’s blood. Squeezing, I meet his enraged eyes.
“Listen. You absolutely cannot breathe a word of this to anyone. It’ll ruin everything. Trust me, Cal. Please trust me. There are too many eyes and ears on us. Just let Wes go. I think he got the message loud and clear.”
“Roan will skin him alive once he finds out,” Cal says, turning his head to spit. “I’ll fucking help him too.”
“You can’t tell Roan. Jesus, Cal, listen to me. Roan is trying to get his kid. Don’t do this to him. Please.”
He frowns as he thinks. “I keep forgetting about that shit. A kid. I can’t believe it.”
“Believe it. And Roan wants him so bad. If you tell him about this, he’ll go blind in his need to protect me. You already saved me,” I say softly. “You saved me and I can’t thank you enough. I’ll do whatever I can to repay you for that. But he can’t find out.”
“Hoodlums don’t keep secrets from each other with outsiders.”
“I’m a Hoodlum too,” I remind him. “We’re protecting them. You know as well as I do that Jordy will murder him for this.”
He cocks his head to the side, assessing me. “Jordy loves you.”
I smile. “I love him too.”
“Does Roan know that?”
“No, and we’ll deal with that later.”
“This sucks,” Cal grumbles. “I hate this motherfucker for touching you.”
“Me too,” I murmur. “One day, we can go about this in a legal way, and I swear I’ll be there ready to make that happen. Trust me that it’s not the right time.”
He sighs. “When did you grow up, Little Hoodlum?”
“Same time you guys did. When life made us.”
“All right. Let’s get you back to camp. Then I’ll make sure this asshole goes home.”
“You won’t kill him?”
“Not yet.” He flashes me a sinister smile. “I’ll find a way to make his life a living hell. That much is a fucking promise.”
I stand on my toes and hug his neck. “Thank you, Cal.”
“Anytime, kiddo.”
By the time I’ve pulled myself together, over an hour has passed. I pace on the edge of the woods watching Kayden get drunker and drunker. He stumbles over to a chair and crashes into it. Once I’m sure he’s asleep, I hunt down Jordy.
I need to see him.
I need his comfort. I just need him.
He’s by his tent when I approach. Sensing my mood, he unzips the tent, looks around, and then nods. I bolt inside the tent and lie down. Tears drip from my eyes as I desperately try to hold it together. He zips it back up and then curls his large body around mine, keeping me locked in his safe embrace.
“Shh, baby,” he murmurs. “Don’t cry. Tell me what’s wrong.”
But I can’t.
I have to keep my lips sealed shut in order to protect him.
It reminds me of the way he pressed his lips together in the courtroom that day, refusing to tell the truth of what happened that night when he shot four men, in an effort to keep me and Roan safe. I’d hated him for that, but I understand it now, because I’m doing the same for him.
Love is strong like that.
“I just want all this to be over,” I sob. It’s the truth. Jordy deserves truth. “I want to be with you always.”
He brushes my hair away from my neck and kisses me there. When his hand caresses along my thigh, I don’t shiver from fear like I did with Wes. Instead, I let out a breath of relief. In Jordy’s arms is where I belong. Gently, he urges my dress up and slides his hand into my panties.
“You’re here with me now,” he murmurs. “You’re mine. Don’t forget that, Roux. When all feels fucking overwhelming, remember us.”