Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 77505 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77505 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
We didn’t know what they would be doing after. Dylan told me that almost none of the girls had any family. It was how it was so easy for Roach to keep them under his thumb. There was no support system for them after they were sober.
Except Dylan.
And through her, me.
I made good money.
I could help the girls rent a house or something while they looked for work, got an education, figured their future out.
We weren’t going to leave them on their own.
“Alright,” Saint said, walking in, waving his phone. “I got you a place to stay near L.A. Not in it. That was wishful thinking.”
I didn’t even know he was doing that.
It was on my list after I finished cleaning.
“Where?”
“Found a rental house that was fine with a service lab and two Rotties. Got a yard and everything. Asked that you clean up after the dogs, but that was the only stipulation. Also found you a vet. Got appointments for the day after tomorrow. One after another. Said you found two strays and you think one might be pregnant and you wanted to get ‘em checked out.”
For some reason, my gaze slid to Slash, finding him watching Saint with pinched brows, something intense in his eyes.
But Slash wasn’t the kind of leader to tell you what he was thinking. So I had no idea where his head was at.
“Thanks, man,” I said, nodding.
“This place is a hole, man,” Rook said, looking around as he leaned against a clean wall to take a break.
“I’ve seen worse clubhouses,” Slash said. “But it’s not some place I’d want to call home. Shocked so many women did for so long.”
“From what it sounds like, none of these women had anywhere else to go,” I explained. “It was a ragtag group of orphans and outcasts who just needed somewhere to crash. Dylan said they were making plans to revamp it before Roach took it from her. They were talking about painting it in shades of pink and purple as the ultimate fuck-you to her dead father and the sexist club he ran.”
“Shame they never got to do that,” Sway said. “And the lighter colors would have made it easier to see all this blood,” he added, plunging the mop into the bucket again. “Would it have killed you to off these guys in a cleaner way?” he grumbled.
As the day wore on, we all got more and more grumpy about the mess. Especially as it dried and got more and more difficult to remove.
But, eventually, we had most of it done.
I walked outside, trying to get some fresh air after breathing in bleach for hours. I automatically found myself reaching for my phone and calling Dylan.
“Everything okay?” she asked, voice tight.
“Yeah, just wanted to hear your voice. Been listening to a lot of bitching and moaning about the blood all day. Been doing some of it myself.”
“God, you’re still working on it?” she asked. Then, under her breath, “Men.”
“Hey, we all had to learn to clean when we prospected,” I said. “There was just significantly less blood then.”
“Fair enough. How is it going?”
“We’re mostly done. We have a lot of packing to do, but aside from that…”
“It sounds like you’re not coming back tonight.”
“It’s not seeming likely. Are you okay? The girls?”
“They’re starting to detox,” Dylan told me.
“How’s that going? Don’t know much about meth detox.”
“It seems to start almost like depression. Everyone is just really tired. But other than that, they all seem to be reacting differently. Diana is down. Megan is irritable. And Emma is really anxious. We’re just trying to keep them calm. And fed.”
“How might tomorrow look?”
“A lot like this. Just amplified. And layered with a lot of body aches, paranoia, and just bad cravings. I’m hoping we can find them placement tomorrow. I’ve mostly been doing research. Some of these places are real hellholes. They’ve had enough of that. I mean, I’m going to have to scrounge up some money to—”
“Got some good news on that front,” I cut her off. “Roach had a decent stash in a safe in his room.”
“How decent?”
“Enough to cover their treatment. Maybe some new clothes and shit after they get out. We’ll help ‘em with the housing situation.”
“We,” she repeated.
“Yeah, we.”
There was a slight pause. “I like that.”
“I like it too. How are you? You’re remembering to take care of yourself too, right?”
“Yeah, I’m alright. Just tired. It’s been a long twenty-four hours.”
“Let Morgaine and Vienna take a shift. Get a good nap in. Tomorrow’s not gonna be any shorter of a day. But Saint got a house rented for us that will allow all three dogs. And he set up vet visits.”
“Oh, wow. That’s great. I mean, I’m a little nervous about introducing Sugar and the Rotties. But I’m hoping they get along. It will make things so much easier. How are they?”