Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
There was a pause before Knuckles shook his head and took a breath. “Never hurts to have all the information.” He nodded to Knight. “Follow Data’s instructions. Let him put you in touch with Rocket. Were you able to find this guy before he took out the third attacker?”
“No.” Knight didn’t look happy about that either. “Not even a shadow.”
“Fog?”
Knight shrugged. “Maybe. Or the guy’s just that good.”
Knuckles looked at me. “I want your girl to see this guy. And I want to be there when you show her.”
That got my attention. “She’s not my girl, Knuckles. I just met her. Same as you.”
Knuckles snorted. “Right. She chose you and you let her. Now you’re stuck with her.” That got some chuckles all around.
“Look, I’ll protect her while she’s here. I’ll help her get on her feet or get somewhere she’s safe. I’ll even be her guard if you think it’s necessary. But I don’t think she’s a threat, Knuckles. She wants to feel safe, and I’m a big fucker.” I shrugged. “That’s why she chose me.”
“You ain’t as big as me.” Tiny grinned at me. “And I was standin’ pretty close to you, Hawk.”
“No one is as big as you, Tiny.” More chuckles.
“Look,” Knuckles continued over the ruckus. “I’m not telling you to hurt her, Hawk.” He gave me an exasperated look. “Make her feel safe. Let’s find out what happened to her. See if we can help her.”
“Hawk, in order to keep her safe, we need to figure out why a professional killer was tailing her. Seems like a hell of a coincidence that three random thugs attack her and a ghost appears to keep them from hurting her.” Torpedo’s voice was uncharacteristically soft, but I knew it was because the man was trying to manage me. To get me to do what he wanted. Truth was, I hadn’t considered Carrie might still be in danger. “You think she’s being followed?”
“I think it’s worth finding out,” Knuckles replied. “Because if she’s got trouble on her tail, I want to know what kind before it lands on our doorstep.”
I nodded, understanding his concern. This wasn’t just about helping a woman in distress anymore. If someone was after Carrie, it could mean trouble for the club. “I’ll talk to her,” I promised. “After she’s had time to clean up and rest.” I kept my face neutral, despite the fact that my brethren were eyeing me with varying levels of amusement.
“Get back to her. Make sure she’s comfortable. If she’s homeless like she indicated, she’s probably in need of a meal and some actual rest.” Knuckles gripped my shoulder. “Also, I’m pretty sure she is your woman.”
“Knuckles --” I stopped myself. There was no point in arguing, especially when I wasn’t entirely sure he was wrong. Something about that girl had gotten under my skin immediately. I couldn’t explain it, and I didn’t like it. I also wasn’t entirely sure I could fight it. “I’ll get her settled and find out what I can.”
Gunnar laughed. “Man, you should see your face right now. Like you swallowed something sour.”
“Fuck off,” I muttered, which only made him laugh harder.
Knight tapped the tablet again. “I’ll update you when I hear from Rocket. In the meantime, maybe we should increase security around the compound. Just in case this ghost decides to pay us a visit.”
“We have to be careful here.” Bohannon glanced at Torpedo. “I’ve already doubled the prospects on guard, but this place isn’t secret. Every parole officer in the state knows about this place.”
“The local authorities seemed to like that we’re keeping to ourselves.” Noose shuffled uncomfortably. “No one else wants us and no one from here has ever been rearrested.”
“I’ll keep a lid on everything,” Knight offered. “Main thing is to keep the noise down and control the camera feeds. I’ll keep an ear out on the dispatch center. If anyone is headed our way, I’ll know about it in plenty of time.”
“Go take care of your girl, Hawk. Get as much as you can before she goes to bed. Maybe while she’s eating.” I could tell Knuckles didn’t like having someone interrogate a woman who’d been hurt, but the fact was he had a whole club of people to worry about.
“I’ll get anything important from her, and I’ll be careful doing it.”
Knuckles gripped my shoulder. “Come with me.” Odd, but I followed him inside. Where the party had been in full swing before, now the place had quieted and all the club whores had gone to the basement of this building to the panic room. All the security, the compound, all the shit we had for Kiss of Death and ourselves -- all of it -- was because of Knuckles. Even from prison he protected us as best he could. The club had taken a dark turn those first few years, but Knuckles came through for us.