Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 75450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75450 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 377(@200wpm)___ 302(@250wpm)___ 252(@300wpm)
She scooted in closer, arms wrapping tight.
Only then did I turn over the bike and slowly drive off.
Her whole body tightened at first, then relaxed around me as we rode from the hotel back to her neighborhood.
Chip was mowing the lawn as we drove up, offering us a distracted wave, but keeping with his task.
“Wow, those windows look great,” Carmen said as we made our way to her porch.
“They should help with your electric bills too. The old ones were drafty as fuck.”
“Thanks for handling that.”
“I put window alarms on them too. So you might want to make sure you flick those off before you open a window, or you’re gonna alert the whole neighborhood.”
“Good to know.”
“You want me to do a sweep?”
“No. It seems like everything is fine now.” She paused on the top step, turning to face me, and sucked in a deep breath. “Really, thanks for everything the past few days. I know you didn’t owe me anything after the whole trying to kill you thing. But it was really nice not to have to handle everything myself for a couple of days.”
“Don’t have anything to thank me for.”
We both stood there awkwardly for a second, clearly each having something to say, but not finding the words.
“You better go get to the Chicken Lady’s house. Can’t keep Paulatry waiting.”
“Right,” she said with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “Well, um, see you around.”
But we both knew she wouldn’t.
There would be no accidental bump-ins at a local bar. No ‘I was just in the neighborhood’ drop-ins.
We were never going to see each other again.
And that realization had my damn legs feeling heavy as I turned and started back down the path.
“Where’s the little one?” Chip called, making me look over.
“She’ll be back later. She’s hanging with a friend. How have things been around here?”
“Quiet.”
“Did the cops do anything about those brothers?”
“No. But I came across ‘em in the food store last night. And the oldest one actually seemed kinda offended that I thought they would possibly shoot up two women and their dog just to get revenge on me. Starting to think maybe it was random. Or the wrong house.”
“I don’t know if I feel better or worse about that.”
“I’ll keep an eye when you’re not around.”
I didn’t have the heart to tell him I wouldn’t be around again.
“I appreciate that.”
We shared a nod, then I made my way back to my bike on lead feet. I thought maybe the sensation would loosen up as I got further away, or as I drove back into Navesink Bank. But there was still a heaviness weighing me down as I climbed off my bike, grabbed the laundry out of the saddlebags, and made my way inside.
To a complete and utter disaster.
If I had to venture a guess, I figured maybe Fallon and Brooks hadn’t been by in a few days, because there was no way they would have let the prospects get away with the clubhouse becoming a complete disaster area.
It was one thing for there to be remnants of a party: cups, empty bottles, maybe some plates lying around. It was a complete other for it to look like a natural disaster had blown through the space.
Clothes were scattered in the common room. Days’ worth of dishes were on the coffee and end tables, the countertops, and overflowing the sink. Everything looked dull and in desperate need of a vacuum.
I found myself thankful for the distraction as I tossed my laundry in the wash, then started working my way around the clubhouse with the cleaning cart from the garage, tossing empties, piling recyclables to be washed and put in the bin, picking up random bras and underwear that went right into the trash since I had no idea who they belonged to.
No one came stumbling out until almost noon, when I was elbow-deep in the dishes that didn’t fit in the dishwasher.
“We were gonna get to that,” Croft said, making me turn to find him still pulling on a shirt, but not before I noticed a bruise over his ribs.
“The fuck happened to you?”
To that, he rolled his eyes. “Vas.”
“Vas? Vas bruised your ribs?” I mean, our younger brother was a little shit like all the other younger guys—bullheaded, impulsive, kind of reckless—but he’d never picked a fight with one of us before.
“I got between him and some chick’s ex-boyfriend who showed up, all jealous and shit.”
“And started shit with Vas?”
“Not at first. Vas was just sitting next to the pool where the girls were hanging out. The ex showed up, stormed over, and dragged his ex-girl out of the pool by her hair. Vas went fucking feral. Never seen him like that before.”
“How come you got caught up?”
“Because if I didn’t pull him off, I was pretty sure he was going to beat the bastard’s head in… in front of all the witnesses. Had to do something. Caught an elbow to the ribs in the process. Spike and Cain had to pull him off and drag him inside. Pretty sure they ended up locking him in the basement while we made sure the bastard got out of here and the girl got somewhere safe.”