Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 56628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 56628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 283(@200wpm)___ 227(@250wpm)___ 189(@300wpm)
Oh, God, he was so fucking perfect.
He released me and walked over to the door, quickly unlocking it and swinging it open as I grabbed the bottle of vodka from the table and tipped it back to hopefully calm my body down because fuck, we’d been getting hot and heavy quick. We had almost gotten caught, and I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if River got a bullet between his eyes because of me.
“River, we’ve got a problem,” Wren said. “We’re a bar of coke short for the shipment tomorrow.”
“Fucking hell,” River growled, running a hand down his face. “I’ll ride out there. I need you to tail me.”
Wren nodded, walking away. River pointed at me. “You’re with me.”
I rolled my eyes at him. He didn’t have to drag me with him on this ride just because of Tristan’s orders. Someone else could easily babysit me to appease the mother fucking president. “I’m not going to run the fuck away, River.”
He smirked at me, and every nerve ending in my body curled, making me want him just as badly as I had last night. “Oh, I know, darlin’. I just want you on the back of my bike.” My heart tripped in my chest. “Now, bring your cute ass on so we can hit the road. Time’s wasting.”
I was shocked to see Tristan, Jesup, and Tank at the warehouse when we got there, but I hadn’t expected to see Joey there, too. My eyes widened, and I sucked in a sharp breath at the sight of the beautiful man. The moment he spotted me on the back of River’s bike, he moved away from the desk, heading toward us while River parked. River gave my hand a subtle squeeze as he looked at me over his shoulder, understanding in the depths of his mesmerizing eyes. Tears threatened because Tristan would never understand the bond I had with Joey, yet River did. And he wasn’t even jealous.
I slid off the back, taking my helmet off and handing it to River. Then, I dashed forward, jumping on Joey. He caught me easily, his arms wrapping around me as I locked my arms around his neck and my legs around his waist.
“Hey, pretty girl,” he whispered as he pressed a tender kiss to my temple. My bottom lip trembled, and I sniffled as tears burned in my eyes. “Easy,” Joey soothed as he ran his hand over my hair, his other arm holding me just a little bit tighter.
“I’ll close the doors to give you guys some privacy. Tristan will understand,” River quietly spoke up as he passed us. I doubted Tristan would actually understand, but I figured River would make him.
I looked at him over Joey’s shoulder. His lips tilted up the slightest bit, and I gave him a watery one in return. He nodded once at me. My heart squeezed in my chest.
“Fuck, pretty girl, I’ve had people searching for you everywhere,” Joey rasped. I closed my eyes and buried my face in the crook of his neck. “I was so fucking terrified that you were dead somewhere.”
“River took me to the hospital that night,” I quietly told him, my voice muffled by his neck.
Joey took a seat on his bike, keeping me wrapped around him. He gently pulled my head off of his shoulder so he could properly look at me. His eyebrows pulled together in confusion as he brushed a tear off of my cheek that I hadn’t realized had fallen. “What do you mean?”
“I called him,” I confessed. Pain flashed in Joey’s eyes for a moment before he smothered it. I swallowed thickly, my hands trembling on his back. “He asked me to live for him.” Joey’s eyes widened in shock. “So, I did. Vin found me pretty quickly, and he threatened to hurt all of you if I didn’t find a way out of that hospital.” I sniffled. “I wanted to die, Joey, but I lived because River asked me to.”
Joey smiled at me. “Remember that one I told you about?” he softly asked me. I frowned, my heart squeezing painfully in my chest. He reached up and cupped my cheek in his hand, his smile now sad. “It’s time to let me go, pretty girl.”
I shook my head at him, panic clawing at my throat. “I’m not ready,” I choked out.
He brushed the pad of his thumb over my bottom lip. “You can still hold me with you,” he promised. A tear slipped down my cheek. “But this thing between us? You need to let it go, pretty girl. You’ve got a good man in there. I saw the way he looked at you. It’s the way he’s looked at you since Tristan took you back to his clubhouse a year ago. He’s the one for you, Adelaide.”