Total pages in book: 43
Estimated words: 40859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40859 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 204(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 136(@300wpm)
Everything inside of me screams that anyone who will lose blood for her is me. Benny saved her life, I don’t know what I think of that.
Hopping up, I guide her to the tub and hold her hand as she climbs in. Once she slides down into the water, I begin massaging her neck and shoulders.
“Close your eyes, Michele,” I whisper.
“I don’t think I can.” At least she’s being honest with herself.
“Know you think that’s all you’re gonna see, but need you to trust me.”
As her eyes close, I feel my chest tighten in a way I haven’t felt in a really long time.
“You gotta work through this. I know it’s hard. Saw a lot of shit today. Learned things that I’m sure shook you up. Gotta work through it.”
She blinks, but closes her eyes once again. I begin to wash her with the wash cloth and some shower gel. Moving around the tub, I do the best I can in the small space.
“Face the scars now so they don’t cut deeper long term, baby. Not gonna be easy, but avoiding it will make it claw at you.”
She trembles under me but keeps her eyes closed.
“What did Benny say?” I speak softly.
The tear falls from her right eye first before the rest come down in streams from both eyes equally. “He told me,” her voice cracks, “to be free.”
I massage her neck once more as I lean in close to her ear and whisper, “then find that freedom he wants for you, buttercup.”
“Jennings,” she whispers. “Do you think Benny really is okay with letting me go?”
“What do you mean?”
“I want to live life free from my past. My life here in Creekdale, I actually love it. I’m the happiest I’ve ever been at my little flower shop. I don’t want things to change. I don’t want to look over my shoulder wondering if Benny is really letting me go. And now, I wonder if any of his associates will come after me. Something I never considered before today.”
“What did Benny say to you in the warehouse?” I repeat my question.
“He told me to be free and find happiness.” The words come out without a crack now.
I pause washing her, she blinks her eyes open meeting my stare. “Then yes, buttercup, Benny is letting you go. He set you free with those words, but baby, I have a feeling the man set you free when you made the choice to leave his world. He is not dumb. He knew why and knew it was for the best.”
“How can you be so sure?”
“Probably not the best time to say this, but I sense you have a type, buttercup. Benny and I aren’t so different. If I thought my world wouldn’t be safe for you, I would let you go and hope you found a man strong enough to love you the way you deserve, gentle enough to know when to let you lead, and loving enough to accept your past has many layers.”
“Is your world safe for me, Jennings?”
“As safe as it can be.” I tell her the truth. “Unfortunately, buttercup, even in a world following the laws of man, bad shit still happens. I couldn’t keep my wife safe from drinking and that meant I didn’t keep my daughter safe from her. Dominiks death is as much my fault as Ayla’s. I knew Ayla was struggling and I didn’t save her from herself. I have to live with that. And that has zero to do with my life in the club. I can’t make you promises. I can tell you I’ll do everything I can though to keep you safe and give you the happiness you deserve.”
Blinking, she studies me for a moment. Whispering, she shares what I thought was weighing on her mind, “how do I know no one else will come for me like Diaz?”
“Because Diaz found his end in coming after you. Between Bianchi and our contact to another cartel to absorb Diaz’s territory and people, if anyone even breathes your name it will get back to the Kings. I will move mountains to keep you safe. Nothing from Benny’s world touches you again.”
“You have cartel contacts?”
I laugh, “I’m not best friends with them, no. But I do know someone who has ties to a group of Nomad bikers we have an affiliation to.”
“Do bikers do that? Have affiliations with other clubs?”
“Not gonna lie to you, Michele. Sometimes we have agreements and affiliations that benefits both clubs, sometimes we got problems with other clubs, and other times we stay in our place and thousands of other clubs that exist stay in their own spots.”
“And you trust these men tied to this cartel?”
“Cut from the same cloth, yeah I do. Devil’s Due MC Nomads. They don’t stay in one place, but have been to Bama and Creekdale more than once as one of their ol’ ladies has a tattoo shop and shit north of here. Another one of their brother’s, his ol’ lady caught herself a tie to Javier Almanza. That man is determined to get as much of North America under his control as possible. The man respects the life of a motorcycle club and we give him respect in return. He will get Diaz’s organization in line and not one of them will even dare speak your name again.”