Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57726 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 289(@200wpm)___ 231(@250wpm)___ 192(@300wpm)
“Settle down. I’ll have you in the truck soon. Next time, wear shoes you can walk in.”
“I can walk in those heels!”
“Hey, Scythe. I hear we’re going with you,” a rough voice said from in front of them.
Winnie pushed against his waist as she scrambled to lever herself up to see the man waiting for them.
“Whoa!” Scythe warned. To protect himself from her flailing feet, which got way too close to his privates in her quest, he sighed and tugged her into his arms in front of him.
“Better?”
“Thank you,” she answered pertly and waved at the three men waiting for them.
“Right. This is Street, Hellcat, and Vex. This is Winnifred Bradley.” He introduced her to the crew.
“Winnie,” she interrupted.
“Winnie,” he corrected himself and tried to ignore the grins on his MC brothers’ faces. “Vex, you drive. Get one of the delivery vans.”
As his MC brother jogged away, Scythe waited quietly with the others at the entrance of the warehouse. That silence lasted exactly sixty-seven seconds. He knew because he’d started counting immediately.
“So, what do you do in there? Does the business have anything to do with guns? Are you all illegal gun runners?” Winnie pelted them with inquiries.
“What the hell?” Street asked, staring incredulously at the woman in Scythe’s arms.
“She’s okay. I must have dangled her upside down too long,” Scythe created an excuse for the woman who didn’t seem to have a filter.
“Am I not supposed to ask those questions?” Winnie checked with Scythe in a too loud whisper that reached everyone’s ears.
“No, Chipmunk. Never ask questions like that.”
“Because they’re true or false?” she persisted.
“Oh, look! Vex is pulling the truck up.” Scythe didn’t answer her. This woman had less self-awareness than the baby goats he’d raised on his parents’ farm years ago. And talked more too.
Street and Hellcat let themselves into the back of the delivery vehicle as Scythe lifted Winnie into the cab and crowded in after her. He grabbed the middle seatbelt and tugged it around her before securing his own. When she scooted closer to him, Scythe pretended not to celebrate that she preferred sitting plastered against him instead of Vex. He lifted his arm from between them and wrapped it around her shoulders, allowing her to shift over a bit more.
“Where to, Scythe?”
“Winnifred, can you tell him your address?”
“Winnie. Of course.” She recited it slowly and clearly, as if speaking to a child.
When Vex looked at Scythe in disbelief, Scythe shook his head and asked Winnie, “What grade do you teach?”
“Second. It’s my favorite. The kids love to learn.”
Vex exchanged a glance with Scythe before nodding thoughtfully. “My elementary teachers didn’t dress like that.”
“Keep your eyes to yourself, Vex. She wore this to make it into Inferno.”
“Can you believe they turned me away twice? I overheard something that sounded like ‘too churchy’, so I borrowed this dress,” Winnie explained as they merged into traffic.
“And got in,” Vex said. “She made it upstairs to talk to Lucien?”
“Winnifred is extremely determined,” Scythe said.
“A problem solver,” Winnie corrected. “And it’s Winnie. Should I add that to the notes I’m going to write out for you?”
“Notes?” Vex asked, obviously amused by the situation.
“Scythe wishes to improve his kissing technique. I promised to jot down some notes for him,” Winnie shared.
“His… kissing technique?” Vex choked, repeating that phrase.
“You tell anyone else this, and I’ll slash your tires for the next year. Every. Single. Day,” Scythe assured him, meeting his gaze directly.
“That’s not nice. Vex isn’t the reason you can’t kiss,” Winnie chirped before she turned to stare at Scythe with her mouth open in shock. “Or is he? You’re gay, aren’t you? That’s why you didn’t kiss a girl well.”
While Vex practically hyperventilated with laughter, Scythe corrected her false assumption. “No, Chipmunk. I’m not gay.”
“Okay…,” she answered, drawing out her response as if she weren’t too positive he was telling the truth.
“Two years.” Scythe corrected himself, glaring pointedly at Vex.
His phone buzzed with a message. Since he only had the MC’s chat notify him of updates, Scythe pulled out his device to see what had happened. “You’re a dead man, Street.”
“At least I’m a good kisser.” The answer came from the back. Of course, Street and Hellcat were listening through the vent into the storage area of the vehicle.
“Have you had that confirmed?” Winnie asked. Silence followed that question, making Scythe grin.
The rest of the trip was quiet as they entered a middle-class, suburban neighborhood. Vex stopped in front of a house surrounded by the proverbial white picket fence.
“Is this it?” he asked.
“Yep. This is my mom’s house. Let me go inside and tell her what’s happening.” She pushed at Scythe’s torso, and he unfastened their seat belts before he slid from the truck.
Scythe lifted her out and set her on the smooth driveway. He followed her as she rushed to the front door and opened the obviously unlocked door. As he stood in the doorway, Winnie darted forward to turn on a small lamp. A hospital bed became visible in the middle of what had been a living room previously. The couch and chairs hugged the walls.