Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 40128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40128 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 201(@200wpm)___ 161(@250wpm)___ 134(@300wpm)
I’m grateful there’s a gym on the second floor because my temper needs an outlet. My first hit to the punching bag nearly sent it off the hooks, but by the fourth shot, I demolished it. That bit of steam seems to cool me off enough to be around people again and not hunt down that piece of shit Damon.
When I come out, she’s gone and the men have long sent Damon from the clubhouse and soon, he’ll be run out of town. Although the party is partially for me, I don’t feel like celebrating. I need to go for a ride. I wish I’d brought my damn bike. My father and cousin Connor are the first to meet me and my dad presses his hand to my chest. “I need to go for a ride.”
“Are you sober enough?” my pops asks, staring into my eyes, reading them.
“Of course. I wouldn’t dare jeopardize my life just because I’m pissed off.”
“Another reason to cool down,” my cousin adds. He’s way more levelheaded than me, but that’s because he’s no obsessed yet.
“That’s why I want to ride.”
“Don’t go doing anything stupid.”
“I’m not. If I stay here any longer, I might hunt that fucker down and kill him. Does anyone else know how long he’s been after my woman?” I question, looking at my father who has several of the elder Riders around him. They are all like uncles to me and have taught me so much, but right now, my guts are tied in knots and I want to fight someone.
“No. I doubt he would have made his plans known to any of us.”
“Beast fucking knew,” I say.
“Yeah, and he shut that shit down.”
“True, but that doesn’t mean much because he didn’t tell me anything.” My father’s phone rings a moment later.
“What’s going on, Beast?” He listens to whatever Melanie’s father says and then ends the call. “So, it seems your woman saw Chrissy clinging all over you at the salon and then ran into Damon and agreed to a date out of hurt.”
I nod. “Yeah, that’s kind of what Beth said without mentioning the date,” I say, biting back my anger. She left that key fucking detail out, but I’m sure that was intentional.
“Beast showed her the footage from inside the salon.”
“There are cameras inside the salon?” I
“Yeah. You remember when your mother went in there and there were some fuckers flirting with her and they dared to touch her?” I growled, remembering the fuckers that had the nerve to put their hands on her.
“Max kicked them out and the fucker dared to challenge him, but those fools had no idea that Law wouldn’t call you.”
“Yes, and I was on them in a heartbeat, ready to bash their heads in for trying to intimidate my wife.” I chuckled because my father wasn’t the kind of man who allowed anyone to mess with his wife.
And I was just like him. Thinking about Damon putting his hands on Melanie riled me up again. “I need to get out of here for a bit.”
“Take my bike. It’s just been retreaded and tuned up,” my pops says.
“Okay. I’ll be back in just an hour.”
“Give her time,” a soft voice comes from the doorway, and it’s Melanie’s mother. “She loves you, so whatever happened, I’m sure it will work itself out.” I press my lips together, nod and leave, needing to clear my head.
Strolling out to the back of the yard where the bikes are set up, I grab my father’s and climb on. I need an hour or so to clear my mind and get the tension to roll off my neck. Every muscle in my body is tight and ready for war. Speeding around toward the front and away from the party, I head toward the gate where the prospects monitoring it open it up.
The wind hits my face as I speed through Steeleville, and I decide to ride around the perimeter instead of driving through town. There’s just no way I want to run into anyone. The one thing I do is avoid driving past the Brandon home because I’ll be tempted to tear down that door and claim my woman, giving no fucks about the problems between us or the hours before she turns eighteen.
I’m a little more than an hour into my ride before I get my temper under control. Once I ride into the Riders yard, the party is fully underway and everyone is cheering when they see me. Several of my cousins are waiting for me as I park my father’s bike, but first my father stops me and pulls me aside.
He grips my shoulders and stares deep into my eyes. “Are you good?”
“Yeah. I calmed down, but I can’t wait until the morning.”
“Just have some fun here. Then you’ll see your future wife, and everything will be okay.”