Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76812 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 384(@200wpm)___ 307(@250wpm)___ 256(@300wpm)
It's her turn to narrow her eyes, but my spine is straight, my chin lifted, a sneer curling the corner of my mouth.
"We can't keep you in Ohio. You know that," she says.
"Good," I reply, knowing even Antarctica wouldn't be far enough away.
Chapter 1
Newton
Goals in life have always been a must for success. Looking back, second-guessing my actions will only put me in a headspace I don't want to be in, but I'm finding it more difficult right now than I normally do.
I look down at my arm and the sling clinging to it. I hate myself for being so careless on my last job with Cerberus. I've only been with the organization for a little over a year, and I've already been sidelined due to my carelessness and stupidity.
If I hadn't gotten hurt, I could be in Santa Fe right now, helping Oracle and the other guys as they look for Beth.
The woman in question left to go back home to Texas, possibly realizing that marrying a man she didn't know was a mistake, and somehow she ended up disappearing.
Max, our IT specialist, along with Wren, a Blackbridge Security employee and the most talented person who has ever sat down at a computer, has managed to track her phone and its location.
That's another thing I learned quickly about Cerberus MC. There's always some sort of drama. There's always something going on that prevents us from doing the job we signed up to do.
I don't fault Beth for what’s happened. It's not her fault there are evil people in the world who think they can just snatch others from their lives and do with them what they want. I'm sure there are precautions the woman could've taken to minimize her risks, but I'm also not the type of guy who will sit here and mentally blame a victim.
Just the idea of it is disgusting to me. It hits much too close to home and the events of my own life.
"Eat a bag of dicks!"
"One more time," Wren growls in warning, his voice coming through on speaker phone as he chastises his foul-mouthed African gray parrot.
The first time I was exposed to Puff Daddy, I was honestly a little shocked. Cerberus has rules, and being aware of who you're cussing around is one of them. The feathered creature doesn't give a damn about who’s around when he starts spitting that sort of language. There's a level of freedom in it that has more than once made me wish to be a bird on occasion.
"Sorry about that," Wren mutters. "I should leave his ass at home."
"Do it and see what happens," the bird squawks, his threat making Max smile as his fingers fly over his keyboard.
The large, mounted television flashes with information too complicated and too quickly for my non-technical brain to analyze. I'm just glad the men working know what they're seeing.
"I hate how long facial recognition takes," Max mutters, garnering a quick grunt of agreement from Wren.
"Operator error," Puff screams, making Max's jaw flex in annoyance.
"He's an idiot," Wren says in apology.
"Your momma!" the bird returns.
My cheek twitches, but I'm able to get myself under control before a huff of laughter escapes.
I don't find the situation funny at all. Beth has been missing for hours, and that's enough time to get her out of the country and into the hands of some very bad people. But I've also learned to take the comic relief when I can. I honestly think I'd go insane if I just let all the bad shit simmer and swirl around inside of me all the time.
Beth didn't get back on the bus in Santa Fe when it made a stop for gas and to pick up the other riders. There was also another man who was on the bus with her that didn't get back on either. Max and Wren are looking at all angles of what could have happened, but they're fairly certain that guy is somehow involved in her disappearance. They've been working on tracing his steps back in order to get a better picture of his face.
"Holy shit," Max mutters when a ding echoes around the room.
"Who is it?" I ask, sitting up straighter in the chair I'm occupying at the conference table.
"Xan Adair."
My blood runs cold at the man's name.
We were all given a dossier on him as well as his piece-of-shit father, Nathan Adair, over a year ago, not long after I joined Cerberus.
I feel like a complete fool. I could easily make excuses for my own oversight, but that doesn't solve anything. I could reason that we see so many damned bad guys that it's easy to forget a few along the way, but that won't help this situation.
Pictures of the man flash on the screen, many of them the same ones that were included in the dossier we were provided. It isn't until the last one locks on the screen that I'm certain of my mistake.