Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 78024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78024 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Are they carrying, too? In the span of a few songs, my whole evening has been turned on its head.
“Easy,” Heath says under his breath when he sees my panic rising. “Nobody’s looking for trouble here tonight. To answer your question, Q, no. For a time I went looking for meaning, and it was nice to think there was some greater fucking plan that I couldn’t see. The more fucked up things got, the harder I looked, but at the end of the day I decided I don’t give a shit.”
“What do you mean?”
“If there’s someone out there pulling our strings, they can go ahead and fucking do it. Heath was the hand I was dealt. Priest is the life I made for myself. If this is all we get, I’m not going to waste my time worshiping the fucker just to stay on their good side.”
“That’s what I’m fucking saying,” Sinner agrees.
“One more round?” Colt asks.
Heath—no, Priest—looks down at me with a question in his eyes. If I tell him to leave, they’ll walk out the door and I don’t think I’ll ever see him again.
My mother’s voice is in my head, telling me to listen to her and not to be stupid. Men are distractions, and these aren’t the type of people I want my brand associated with. But it’s just one night, and who would even pay attention? I bet everyone else assumes they’re part of the cast for the party just like I did. Nobody will notice me hanging out with a few extras.
“Stay.”
2
Chapter 2 - Priest
Quinn’s eyes are bright and her cheeks are flushed. “I can’t believe you stalked me!”
I haven’t felt like this in years and I’m not sure I like it. This unsettling sensation of being seen. Last time we spoke was the day we put Axel’s ashes in the ground, and I was a very different person back then. Barely eighteen. An adult in theory and by necessity, but without the experience to back it up.
She must’ve been about twelve. The only family member that gave a shit that Axel was dead. So fucking small standing next to the grave while her bitch of a mother waited in the car.
No father to be seen, but his mom was there crying big fat fucking crocodile tears to ham it up for the people she was milking with the fundraiser for his funeral. Like she hadn’t walked out on him five years before.
It was my first real taste of death, but not my last.
“Because I didn’t stalk you.” I hide my scowl behind my beer.
Sinner tips his head towards Quinn. “I have to agree with the lady. You kind of did.”
I’m a grown-ass man. A criminal on a good day. A murderer on a bad one. “I know for a fucking fact you keep an eye on your sister’s posts sometimes. How is that so different?”
“She’s not your sister,” Colt points out.
Fucking traitor.
“Might as well be.”
I look to Quinn for backup, but the little demon has the fucking nerve to show off her bare shoulder with a shrug. God damn it. I’m not blind. When I saw her face start showing up occasionally on commercials, yeah I looked her up. It started as guilt from running away after Axel died instead of sticking around to keep an eye on her for my best friend. But she seemed to be doing okay, and it turned into curiosity. Checking her socials a couple times a year and watching her turn from a scrawny teenager with freckles and a mane of fiery hair, into the woman across from me dressed in skintight leather nursing a margarita.
Sinner scents blood in the water. “So you think of this guy as your brother, Quinn?”
She catches her lower lip between her teeth and glances away before answering with a question of her own. “I had a crush on you back then, did you know? I thought I was being really cool about it, but I bet you both could tell.”
“Ax told me. He threatened to kick my ass if I made you cry.” I grin at the memory and Quinn laughs.
“That sounds like him. God, I think about him all the time but I haven’t talked about him out loud in years. Mom hates it when I do, so I learned to keep it to myself.”
“He was a good guy. Deserved a lot fucking better than he got.” I lift my beer in a toast before taking a long drag.
Colt and Sinner do the same. “To Axel.” They didn’t know the guy, but loyalty in an MC runs deep. If he’s important to me, he’s important to them. That’s how this shit works.
Quinn looks between the three of us and raises her glass. “To the best brother I could’ve asked for!” Then she takes a sip and nearly spills when she puts it back down. “Sheesh. They’re pouring them strong tonight. Or maybe I’m just a lightweight.”