Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 232(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Ripper: I never expect to find a woman I wanted for my own. My life was about the club. The job. Then this little pixie showed up on the clubhouse doorstep looking for her baby daddy. Turns out, she’s heiress to a fortune, and the subject of a statewide search for a missing person. There’s no way Salvation’s Bane doesn’t end up in a world of hurt if she’s found here. There’s just one tiny problem. The second I see her, I know she’s mine. I’ll take over her care. I’ll take responsibility for her and the baby she carries. And I will reign down hell on the man who left her homeless and on her own. I just hope I’m up for the task because this is one pregnancy that doesn’t go as planned.
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Chapter One
Ripper
August in Florida was damned miserable. The party at Salvation’s Bane had migrated outside the second the sun started to set, and I just wanted to be inside where I could fucking breathe. I’d only followed everyone away from the paradise that is blessed air conditioning because I was on first watch tonight -- eight PM to midnight. My job was to monitor the party and make sure it didn’t get too out of hand. There were several visitors, and while everyone was there to have a good time, sometimes newbies couldn’t handle their alcohol. Or whatever drug they’d chosen to imbibe. As such, I had to stay sober and babysit. Which meant no women for me, either.
Honestly, I didn’t mind that last bit. The club girls, while a pleasant distraction, weren’t my thing anymore. Sure, I fucked one occasionally, but it had been so long since I’d had a good time doing it, I just didn’t bother much. If I needed relief, well. One of my legs might have been left back in Afghanistan, but I had two perfectly good hands.
Nursing the Coke in my hand, I looked out over the party. Everyone was having a great time and generally behaving themselves. The club girls only had one altercation over a guy but that had been settled when the guy in question had fucked both of them. Problem solved.
“Ripper, we got a problem.” The voice came from behind me. I turned to see one of the prospects, Slash, approaching me, concern on his face. “You’re needed at the front gate.”
“Ain’t Dazz on guard duty?”
“He is, but he says this needs a patched member, and you’re in charge of the party.”
“That ain’t part of the party.”
“Dude, you’re the ranking member here. Everyone else is either deployed or gone to the Black Reign thing with El Segador’s woman. Takin’ all the kids to Disney World.”
“Shit. I forgot about that.” With a sigh, I drained the last of my Coke. “Stay here,” I said. “Keep an eye on things. Text me if there’s a problem.”
Slash nodded and leaned against the wall, his eyes automatically sweeping the area. Confident everything was under control here, I hopped on my bike and headed to the front gate.
The property was fenced off, the acreage growing every year. We’d started building a small community inside the fence, offering housing outside the main clubhouse for the members with families. Currently, we were four houses ahead with room for several more. Which was good because all the brothers with ol’ ladies had started having or expanding their families.
The ride wasn’t long, but I welcomed even short spurts on the bike. Besides, it was urgent or Dazz wouldn’t have sent Slash for me. When I approached the gate, I wasn’t certain what I was seeing.
A small woman, obviously pregnant, was arguing with Dazz. It wasn’t a violent argument or even a loud one. She just seemed to be trying to get her point across. I couldn’t hear what was going on until I shut down the bike.
“I just want to talk to Devan and maybe get a bottle of water,” she said. “It’s not like I’m going to hurt anyone. If you want payment for the water, I can’t right now, but I’m good for it. I’ll pay you back once I get a job. Or look around the water fountain in town. There’s always change in city fountains.” Spoken like a girl who’d gone looking in those public fountains a time or two.
Dazz just looked at her, his arms crossed, not saying a word. A muscle in his jaw ticked like he was pissed off in the extreme and trying not to take it out on the poor girl.
“What’s going on?” I asked, walking over to stand by Dazz. The woman, who obviously just wanted a bottle of water and to talk to Devan -- whoever that was -- looked like a vagabond. She was clean… ish… but her clothes looked like they were falling apart and were stretched over her belly where she’d obviously outgrown them and hadn’t bought maternity clothing. And she was heartbreakingly beautiful. A mane of nut-brown hair, pale skin slightly burned from the sun, and a delicate frame were only a few of the things that drew me to her. I got the feeling she was way more than she appeared, yet there was no artifice about her.
“Nothing,” the woman said, backing away, her eyes going wide as I approached. “I -- I was just leaving.” She looked disgruntled but afraid. I couldn’t blame her. Both me and Dazz were big men and I was scarred, my face sporting the remnants of burns and shrapnel on one side. A woman alone in obviously advanced pregnancy would never have been in our presence unless she knew us. This one didn’t look like she was in much shape to fight us. She looked like she was fucking dead on her feet.