Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 104329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104329 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 522(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 348(@300wpm)
“You’re worried about my ass?” he asked.
“Get over yourself. I’m worried about the club being framed for your murder. Trust me, that would be a giant pain in the ass for us.”
“But you would still miss me when I’m gone,” he said.
She shook her head. “No, I probably wouldn’t miss you at all.”
He quickly placed a hand on his chest. “You hurt me.”
“Put both hands on the steering wheel,” Raven said.
Carlos immediately let go of the wheel. “No hands.”
“Are you insane? Drive carefully.”
He chuckled but did as she asked. They were nearly at the mall. “I thought you liked living on the wild side.”
“I do like living on the wild side, but there is taking risks and then there is being plain stupid. Do you want to know which one you were being?”
“I was hoping for risky and charming.”
“I don’t get you. You’re nothing like Drago or Garofalo.”
“Stereotyping?” Carlos asked.
“I know your type,” Raven said. “You’re all reserved as fuck with giant sticks up your asses.”
Carlos was more than happy to keep having this conversation, but he pulled into the parking lot of the mall. There were not many spaces left, so it was going to be packed. Not that he minded. More reason to keep Raven by his side.
She didn’t wait for him to open her car door.
He stepped out of the car and watched as Raven ran fingers through her long hair, pushing it out of the way.
“Let’s do this.”
She stepped toward him, and even with the heeled boots she wore, he was taller than her.
They walked side by side toward the main doors, and he stepped forward, opening one for her. “My lady.”
Raven chuckled but stepped through.
As he predicted, there were people everywhere.
He had no choice but to grab Raven’s hand.
Carlos was even more surprised when she didn’t try to push him away.
Chapter Five
Raven loved to shop, especially when it came to clothes. She had a love of different outfits. Her closet was already bursting, and she would need to have a clear-out if she purchased anything today. She could donate many of the clothes. Nothing that Abriana had gotten for her, the dresses she would never wear would always remain in her possession. In fact, anything that anyone ever got for her as a gift, she kept.
The mall was busy, people everywhere.
She didn’t mind.
With so many people around, it was a lot easier to blend in and for them to be able to do their own thing. At least they didn’t seem to stand out. Apart from her being in her leather cut, but at the mall, that wasn’t such a surprise.
Carlos holding her hand was … different. She had never been the kind of woman to hold hands.
With how many people were around, she had no choice but to allow the contact to happen. Carlos didn’t have any men with him to protect him, and there was no way she was going to allow him to die on her watch. There would be a guaranteed war between the Hell’s Bastards and the Santiago mafia. She wouldn’t allow that to happen. Carlos still needed time to prove himself.
Instead, she took the lead, marching Carlos into one store after another, and much to her surprise, he actually followed her. The clothes she picked out for him, he tried on. Some of the jeans were just awful, and she wrinkled her nose.
Gathering a variety of jeans, shirts, dress pants, and crisp shirts, she got him to try each and every single item.
It wasn’t long before they sat at one of the lunch tables in the main hall of the mall, enjoying yet again another burger and fries.
Carlos had ordered some new clothes, not a lot, but he had arranged to have them packed up so they could pick them up on their way out.
“Now that I have tried on some clothes, I think it is only fair that you have a turn,” Carlos said.
“That is up to you. If you want to spend your money on clothes, I’m not going to disappoint you. We do need to go to the costume shop.”
“If I’m the one spending money, I get to pick what outfits you try?” he asked.
Raven sighed. She wanted to argue but didn’t see the point. “Fine, you get to pick.” She didn’t have to wear any of the clothes he purchased. They finished their lunch, and once again, Carlos grabbed her hand. This time, they went into female boutiques.
Raven saw the prices on the tags, and she wasn’t happy with him spending so much money.
Carlos insisted though. He started off easy with some linen or cotton pants. She was more of a jeans and leather pants girl. Along with the more conservative pants, he went with pastel colored shirts as well.
Raven figured he was having a joke at her expense, and seeing as it was passing the time, she didn’t argue. She didn’t have to find a reason to make her escape so Ava didn’t see her.