Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61746 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“It doesn’t matter. There are seven of us. I don’t care if we need to have eyes on her and Chloe 24/7. We’ll protect them,” Marcus replied as he shook his head, his jaw tensing in determination.
Taj stepped closer to me and placed his hand on my back.
“He’s right. I know he makes you nervous, but we’re here for you now. You don’t have to face him alone anymore,” he pointed out.
“I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you guys,” I said as my chest grew tight. What if everything fell apart? What if Michael picked away at everything good in my life until there was nothing left?
Ti moved to stand in front of me, his hands resting on my upper arms.
“Don’t worry about us. We’ve faced worse threats,” he replied in a steady voice that made me feel like I could breathe again.
I looked around at the others, who seemed to share Ti’s opinion. They were tough guys who had faced all sorts of demons. If they believed they could help me push back against Michael, I believed them too. There was no one else I wanted to turn to but them.
“Just be careful. He’s capable of more than you think,” I told them, needing them to heed my warning. Michael was sneaky and would hit them in a way they would least expect it, and I was sure he had some cards up his sleeve to play. We had to be ready. We had to be smarter.
“We’ll be careful,” Gus assured me with his arms crossed over his chest.
I let out a long exhale, trying to keep myself from spiraling. Keeping calm and having a clear head would help me out more than overthinking and panicking. I checked the time on my phone and sighed.
“I promised Aisling I’d meet up with her for coffee before picking up Chloe. I’ll be back soon,” I promised them, saying goodbye to each of them with an embrace, a kiss, or a hand squeeze. I could tell they were wary to have me leave, but they knew when to give me some space.
I headed out of the tattoo shop with sharp eyes, checking every corner and behind my back until I got in my car.
I hated living this way, fearing for my life, the men I was falling for, and my daughter. I just wanted this nightmare to be over, but something told me that it had only just begun.
Chapter 19
Marlo
After Madison left, the guys and I busied ourselves with cleaning up the tattoo shop, silence ringing throughout the building besides the scraping of chairs across the floor or the light spraying sound of cleaner.
There was no easy approach to the situation at hand, and I probably mindlessly sorted through my box of old records five times because I kept trying to come up with solutions. I was sure the others were trapped in their own busy minds as well.
We wanted to do everything in our power to protect Madison and Chloe. Within the bounds of the law. We couldn’t allow ourselves to stray back into that dangerous territory, but we were also willing to do anything for Madison and Chloe if it came down to it in the moment. That was the issue. We truly didn’t know what to expect.
When I heard the door of the tattoo shop swing open, the heavy feeling in my chest lightened as I turned, expecting to see Madison and Chloe walking inside.
But that wasn’t the case. At all.
The guys and I had looked up Madison’s ex enough to know what he looked like. Every feature.
The cold eyes. The smug smile. The casual posture under his expensive blazer, button-down shirt, and khaki pants. There were also two uniformed officers behind him as they strode into the store.
“You have a lot of nerve coming in here,” Baker nearly barked out the words as he let his bottle of cleaner hit the ground.
Me and the others quickly intercepted him, keeping him from getting too close to Michael and the two officers, who had their hands resting on the grips of their handguns. I put my arm out, making the others stand back with a firm look on my face. I turned to face Michael and the officers, feeling anger rattle up my spine.
“What do you want?” I demanded with narrowed eyes. I knew it wasn’t anything good.
“Where is Madison?” Michael asked with an even voice.
I glanced between the two officers, unable to believe that they were in on this twisted scheme. Did they not have any integrity? How could they be corrupted so easily?
“It’s none of your business,” I stated, feeling glad that Madison wasn’t here right now.
“Are you sure you want that to be your answer?” Michael replied as an agitated look filled his face.
I held his gaze, refusing to back down and let this evil son of a bitch intimidate me. I didn’t care what he tried to pull. I was taking him down in the end.