Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56651 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Somehow, she was centering me. Knowing that she was okay. She was here, safe, in my arms.
“You sure?”
She shrugged and my heart broke a little. She was being so brave. But I knew she was rattled.
“I think so… but I don’t feel safe there. I’m going to stay with Auntie for a while.”
“You can stay with me. Or one of my friends. Better security,” I added looking around.
“Thanks. I think I am okay here…” she trailed off. I squeezed her again. I wanted to ask a million questions. But I knew she wouldn’t like that. Still, I couldn’t hold back the question that was burning a hole in my mind.
“Did he touch you?”
“Drake…”
“Did. He. Touch. You,” I bit out, trying not to let the monster inside me out. I knew it would scare her away. But he needed to know.
I needed to know.
She looked at me nervously, bit her lip, then looked away. She was afraid to tell me. That knowledge hit my gut like a rock. Hell, it felt like a boulder.
“He pulled the covers down. I think that was what woke me. And my nightgown was….”
“Was what?” I finally asked when she didn’t finish. She took a deep breath and answered. But this time she wouldn’t look at me.
“My nightie was… pulled up.”
I controlled my breathing. I tried. But my hands curled into fists.
I let go of her abruptly and walked away. I counted to twenty. Then I walked back and pulled her against me again, squeezing her a little too tight. I finally released her and chucked her chin. She felt so sweet and perfect in my arms. Her skin was so soft. This was the most physical contact we’d ever had. But I was too furious to fully appreciate it.
“If you want to stay here I am going to have some guys keep an eye on the area.”
“Guys?”
“My brothers,” I said, just as the sound of motorcycles filled the air. Jersey Mike pulled up, with Tank, Donahue, and Moose right behind him. “In fact, here they are now.”
“Oh, um…” she said, trailing off. Her eyes were wide with uncertainty about being invaded by Devil’s Riders. She glanced at me nervously. Whatever she saw in my eyes must have made her realize that resistance was futile. She nodded. “I’ll go put on a pot of coffee.”
“That would be great,” I said, not remotely ready to let her go. I gave her a quick kiss and forced myself to step back, wanting more.
Always wanting more.
I turned to look at my brothers, reassured that they were there. I walked down the old herringbone brick path to meet them. That, at least, did not need to be completely replaced, only repaired in a few spots. But the rest of the place needed a little TLC, to say the least.
“Fuck. Any idea who it was?” Donahue asked after I gave a brief explanation of what had happened. He cracked his knuckles, clearly already ready to go to war. Anyone messing with a woman was in big trouble around our crew, but especially with Jack and Donnie. They’d both witnessed too much cruelty towards women and children in their lives to ever allow it to go down without getting involved. They were, um, pretty forceful when it came to putting a stop to that particular kind of fuckery.
“Not yet. But we will find him. And we will make sure he never does anything like this again.”
I looked each one of the guys in the eyes, making sure my point got across. They all nodded. Everyone was on the same page.
We would end this together, one way or the other.
CHAPTER NINE
Devlin
“Mother of God,” Drake roared. “Nothing? What did this creep do, disappear into thin air?”
He threw his phone across the bar, then put his head in his hands. A couple of guys looked at him from across the clubhouse. Drake might have a big mouth, but this was out of character, even for him.
“Cain didn’t find anything?” I asked, knowing the answer before I even asked. But the guy clearly needed to talk about it.
He shook his head forlornly, finally lifting it from the bar. He wasn’t drunk, or even drinking. As far as the guys could tell, he hadn’t had a sip of anything since meeting Dana.
Which was another thing that wildly out of character for him. He was among the booziest guys in the club. Back in the day he had tied with Callaway and Lucky for being perpetually drunk, high, and lying under a pile of club girls. Of course, those two were ex partiers these days and acted like monks when they weren’t around their old ladies. Being in love and turning into a family man will do that to you.
We all knew that Drake was next. Unless he blew it. And the way he was acting now could very well cause issues with Dana.