Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 42479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
A few minutes later, we were in the garage. I looked at my Mustang, his truck, and then back at his Harley.
“You sure you don’t want to take something else?” I asked. “It’s late.”
Ryot shook his head, swinging his leg over the bike. “No. I want to make a statement. Riding through the gate with you on the back of my bike sends a message nobody will miss. You’re mine.”
He handed me my helmet, and I climbed on behind him, wrapping my arms tight around his waist. The engine roared to life beneath us, and we pulled out into the night.
The ride to the compound was quiet except for the rumble of the Harley and the wind whipping past us. I pressed against his back, letting the steady beat of his heart calm my nerves.
Whatever happened next, I wasn’t facing it alone.
The prospect watching the gate waved us in, and Ryot parked in front of the clubhouse. My nerves kicked into high gear, but he stayed right beside me, one hand on my lower back as we walked inside.
“They’re waiting for us in Kane’s office.”
I’d never been in there before, and my stomach twisted into knots as he led me straight there. The club president was behind his big walnut desk, Raze across from him in one of the leather captain’s chairs. Edge stood off to the side, his arms crossed over his chest. Jax and Apex were at the conference table next to the bar.
Ryot guided me to the open chair in front of the desk, but instead of letting me sit there, he dropped into it himself and pulled me onto his lap. The open claim in front of all of his club brothers gave me a much-needed burst of courage.
Kane leaned back in his chair, studying me. “You came to Crossbend with trouble on your heels.”
I nodded. “Yes.”
Edge’s eyes narrowed. “You didn’t tell Gauge what was going on.”
Ryot stiffened beneath me, a low growl building in his chest as he glared at his VP. I squeezed his shoulder, calming him.
“I’ve got this,” I murmured. Then I looked at Edge. “I realize now that I should have said something sooner. I was scared. I was on the run from a mess I didn’t know how to handle, and finding Ryot was so unexpected. I’ve never fallen in love before.”
The harshness in Edge’s eyes softened. He dipped his chin. “Yeah. It can fuck with your head when you’re going through it.”
Kane’s gaze flicked between us. “And now?”
I looked up at Ryot and smiled. “Now I know I can trust him with anything.”
His arm tightened around me. “Which means you fuckers need to stop grilling my woman and make it clear you’ve got her back the same way you have mine.”
Kane nodded without hesitation. “Damn straight.”
Raze leaned forward, all business. “We need to know exactly what went down that led to that arrest warrant.”
I gave them the quickest version I could. When I finished, Ryot reached into the pocket of his cut and pulled out the USB drive.
Jax’s eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas. “Fuck yeah.”
He crossed the room, snagged the drive from Ryot, and dipped his chin at me. “Good job bringing me shit I can work with. You saved me some time.”
While Jax moved back to the table and started downloading everything, Raze explained, “Tim Fleming is the one who pressed charges.”
My shoulders slumped. “He was my boss, the owner of the garage. Shawn’s dad.”
“I figured.” Raze raked his fingers through his hair. “Embezzlement of $100,000 or more is a first-degree felony. Carries up to thirty years in prison, same for probation, and a ten-thousand-dollar fine.”
I reached for Ryot’s hand and gripped it hard.
Kane rubbed his jaw. “The asshole must’ve thrown you under the bus the second his old man realized how much was missing.”
Raze nodded. “It’s the only thing that explains how long it took for the warrant to come through.”
Apex cracked his knuckles. “We should just take the two-and-a-half-hour ride to Jacksonville and beat some sense into Shawn.”
Kane shook his head. “Not yet.”
“With the cops involved, we need to be smart,” Raze agreed. “We dig into Shawn and his connections, work on clearing your name, then I’ll handle getting the warrant lifted.”
Ryot grumbled, “And once that’s all done, we will be taking that drive.”
The room filled with grim, approving nods. And I knew Ryot had been right about having the support of the whole club.
15
GAUGE
The following day, I stepped out of Kane’s office at the clubhouse, tension knotting the muscles in my shoulders and burning like acid beneath my skin. Kane and I had just finished laying out a plan for dealing with Shawn. One that involved diplomacy at first, or at least as close as we ever came to that.
The club had decided it was necessary to give the asshole one chance to settle things quietly before we resorted to more aggressive methods. My gut clenched as I walked toward my bike, the conversation with Kane replaying in my head. I had to fight to keep my temper from boiling over before we even reached our destination.