Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36353 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 182(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
And it had brought Callum into my life.
I leaned back to look up at him—this gorgeous but dangerous man who made me feel seen—and something inside me settled.
I wasn’t alone. Maybe I never would be again.
Feeling a little lighter, I gestured toward the mess surrounding us and asked, “What about all this?”
He smirked. “One of the best parts of being an Iron Rogue…someone is always around to help clean up when shit goes down.”
11
HAWK
The second I saw the state of Gemma’s studio, I’d felt something split wide open inside me. The beast pacing just beneath the surface had surged forward.
My knuckles tightened around my phone as I stepped away from Gemma to call Maverick. She stood frozen beside me, her fingers trembling as she wrapped her arms around herself.
“You good?” Maverick asked when he picked up. He’d known where we were, so he probably assumed I wouldn’t have a reason to call unless there was a problem.
“I need help with cleanup at Gemma’s studio.” My voice was low and even despite my pulse thundering in my veins. “Front’s been tagged, lights smashed, and the yard is a fucking mess. They even gouged the door.”
“You check the security footage?”
“No cameras caught it. Bastard knew we’d upgrade the system, avoided detection outside, and didn’t step foot in the studio.”
“Fucking hell. Okay, I’ll get a few prospects out there and a couple of patches to supervise.”
“Thanks. See if Stone is around. Going to need help keeping the police outta this shit.”
“Done.”
I hung up and stared at the vulgar streaks on the siding again, imagining how it would feel to slam the man responsible face-first into the concrete.
Gemma let out a shaky breath and stepped a little closer to me. I turned and pulled her back into my arms, inhaling deep to calm the heat boiling in my blood. Her eyes darted around, her mouth opening as if to say something, but nothing came out. She just buried her face in my shirt and took several deep breaths. But her attempts to calm herself didn’t work, and when I heard her sniffle, I decided whoever had done this would suffer before he met his end.
Before we could say anything else, Stone pulled up on his hog. He dismounted slowly, like he had all the time in the world, but I knew better. Stone moved deliberately when he was sizing up a situation. Especially when he wanted the person responsible to sweat.
He took one look at the door, then glanced toward Gemma. “You call this in?”
“What do you think, asshole?” I snarked in a bone-dry voice.
Stone shrugged. “Just checking. Getting a feel for what I’m dealing with. I’ll file a police report for the paper trail and insurance.”
Gemma looked up at me. “I—should I have reported it?”
Before Stone could respond, I dropped my head so our faces were inches apart, forcing her to meet my eyes. “You don’t call the cops, Gemma. You call me. And I was already here.”
She blinked up at me, swallowing hard.
“I’ll handle it. Always.”
Stone made a sound like a dry chuckle. “You’re his now, sweetheart. That makes you one of us.”
Her breath hitched, her cheeks turning a soft rose. “I—I’m not—”
“Yes,” I cut in, voice flat. Final. “You are.”
She stared at me, lips parted, hope flickering in her eyes.
“You’re mine, baby.”
When I finally raised my head, Stone was smirking at me. “Better knock her up. Lock that shit down.”
“Working on it.”
Gemma flushed scarlet, the color flooding her from her ears down to her collarbone.
I grinned, but before I could say anything else, the rumble of bikes echoed off the buildings. Wrecker pulled up first, followed by Racer and a pair of fresh-faced prospects. They dismounted, eyes sharp as they took in the mess.
Gemma instinctively burrowed into my side, and I curled my arm tighter around her.
She knew they’d never hurt her, but they were still intimidating motherfuckers.
Wrecker sauntered over to us and caught her eye, giving her a rare smile. “Don’t worry, darlin’. We’ve seen worse. This is nothing. Don’t even have any blood to clean up.”
Gemma stiffened, and I glared daggers at my brother.
“Appreciate you coming out,” I said before he could say anything else stupid and force me to shut him up with my fist. Or my Glock. I was on the fence about that.
“No problem,” he murmured, his humor dissipating as his attention turned to the destruction. “Told Mav we’d make it look like it never happened.”
We got to work, and it helped keep me from losing my shit, but the fire in my gut was growing by the second.
I was dumping a load of trash into her bin when my phone rang.
Not bothering to check who was calling, I answered, “Yeah.”
“I found it,” Deviant announced.
“Found what?”
There was a short pause before he responded, and I knew that meant it was bad.