Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 63496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63496 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 317(@200wpm)___ 254(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Pez?”
I pull myself away from my thoughts as I look down at the woman in question.
“You can call me Eli.”
“Eli?” she asks, her cheeks coloring slightly.
“My name. Pez is my club name. I’m not club when it comes to you. I’m just a man.”
“Is that a distinction you always make with the people in your life?”
“I don’t know.”
She laughs slightly. “How do you not know?”
I watch as Cammie starts talking to a little girl whose mom just put her in the little bus with her. The mom keeps staring at me, but I ignore her. “I haven’t really had anyone that wasn't part of the club in my life. Well, other than your brother. They used my road name in the army, too. So …” I trail off with a shrug.
“Eli,” she says quietly, and I swear my dick gets harder. “Is it short for Elijah?”
“It is, but don’t spread that around,” I joke. As the bus stops rocking, I take Cammie into my arms again and we walk towards the miniature, porcelain, Ferris wheel. I buckle her in as she talks excitedly to her mom.
“You’re good with kids. Do you have any of your own?” Daphne questions.
She has no idea the kind of pain her question brings me. I do my best to swallow it down and ignore the sting, but I know it bleeds through just the same. “Let’s just say your situation isn’t unique, only in my case it was my woman who screwed one of my brothers,” I respond with a shrug, trying to act like I’m not bothered by the past at all. In truth, I am. It’s not because I still care about the bitch. It has more to do with this feeling that I wasn’t enough for her. Suddenly, I feel Daphne’s hand on mine. I look down to see her hand over mine. The heat from her touch zings through my system, firing through my veins like a runaway train and centering in my fucking heart—which is skipping beats as I listen to her sweet voice.
“I’m sorry that happened to you, Pe—Eli.”
I look at her. “I’m sorry it happened to you too, Daphne.” She smiles at me and my damn heart lurches again.
What the hell is this woman doing to me?
Chapter 7
Daphne
Four Months Later
Things have changed a lot since my brother returned to California. We still talk every night, and I’ve started living my life again slowly. I loved having him here, but I knew it was only temporary. My brother refused to leave until he and Eli made sure to mow all the grass and cut the weeds at my place. They fixed my roof with the help of a couple of guys from Eli’s club. Eli even brought a new swing set to replace the old rusty one that had been in the yard. I tried to object every time they did something. They ignored me. I couldn’t argue that it felt good to have those things done. It was also stuff that I didn’t have time to do, nor the money to pay for it to be done. I hated being dependent, but I knew that pride didn’t have a place in my life right now. So, I chose to be grateful that I had Drew and Eli in my life. Honestly, with the exception of my father, it felt like the whole club had my back.
My brother stayed two weeks with me. Before he left, he tried to take me to a car dealer and buy me a car. I flat out refused that. Drew finally relented, but only because my new lawyer told him that anything bought before the divorce was final could be deemed as marital property.
That was the biggest change, the fact that I have a new lawyer. He’s a lawyer that has worked with Pez’s club for years. He doesn’t do a lot of domestic cases, but he knows the law and as far as I could tell, he’s doing much better than my previous attorney—who had too many clients and not enough time. I would have fought the whole lawyer change harder, but the truth is I’m terrified that my husband will try and take Cammie from me. For a while, I believed he wouldn’t because Serena was pregnant, and Dane didn’t truly like kids. They cramped his lifestyle. He only wanted to look like the devoted family man to his firm—not be one. Still, one thing has become clear. Dane would do anything to hurt me. So, with that in mind, I knew I needed all the help I could get. I can’t allow my daughter to be alone with those two evil people. They have no care in the world for how they tear people who love them into pieces. I don’t want them to get their hands on my innocent daughter. I want to say that Dane would never use my daughter or harm her to get to me—but I’m not sure I believe that anymore.