Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64362 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 322(@200wpm)___ 257(@250wpm)___ 215(@300wpm)
“Are you okay with that?” he asked me.
I swallowed and nodded. If I had to stay, then at least I was with him. I wasn’t ready to leave yet. Even if Pepper was right and I had a life—one where there was rent due and I had no job.
“What other things?” Pepper asked, sounding annoyed.
She really didn’t have to fight for me here. I was fine with this. I realized that I should want to leave, but that was how it was with Rome. He made everything else less important. He became the center of my thoughts. It was a dangerous road, and although I knew turning around and retreating was the smart choice, I’d already stepped onto it.
“That’s private, Pep,” Micah said. “Calm your shit, and let’s go get your things. I’m taking you back to your place.”
“Private?” Pepper sounded heated now.
“Yes.” Liam’s one word was said with an authority that made me suck in a breath.
I watched Pepper sigh in defeat.
“Doesn’t seem like she wants to leave,” Liam added with a smirk, then turned and walked back toward the building.
No one spoke until he was back inside.
“This is bullshit. Is Salem going to get to know this private information?” Pepper asked Micah.
He glared at his sister. “Let it go and come on. Jesus, I don’t have time for this shit today.”
“It will be explained to her,” Rome told Pepper.
She turned to him. “By who? You? Do you get to know?”
“Yes, he fucking gets to know,” Micah said. “You don’t. Now go get your shit!”
Her eyes narrowed as she cut them to her brother. “Watch your tone.”
“I will if you listen. This is for your safety. If you just understood that and obeyed, then I wouldn’t have to yell,” he replied in a less snarly voice.
“Come with me,” Rome said, releasing my neck and then holding his hand out for me to take.
I studied his callous palm for a moment before placing mine in it. His long, tanned fingers closed over mine, and the stark difference between my pale skin and his golden color was almost funny. But since my fair complexion was just another of my insecurities, I didn’t laugh.
As I stood up, he tugged me closer to his side.
I glanced back at Nina, who was drinking her beer with a pleased grin on her face. When she saw I’d caught her watching us, she waved her beer at me.
“Don’t mind me. Carry on,” she teased, then put her cigarette back in her mouth.
My cheeks heated instantly, and I shifted my attention back to Rome. The hard edge of his jawline wasn’t as tight as it had been when he arrived. He seemed more relaxed now. I was curious about what this private information was though. I was hoping that he was taking me to his room to share it with me.
4
Tex
It was a lie. One I had been ordered to tell her. I hated it. She was innocent, and Marlana Newbury had proven it. Liam said she’d be safer if she didn’t know, but I disagreed.
If this had been Liam’s order, then I’d break it. But it hadn’t come from him. It had come from Blaise Hughes, who still didn’t trust Salem and her connection to the Irish drug traffickers. Having Liam’s life in any kind of jeopardy wasn’t something Blaise Hughes would allow. If anything happened to Liam, then Blaise’s wife would be devastated, along with their sons. It wasn’t the club he cared about protecting. It was Liam. Even if Liam wasn’t here, they could easily trace him to Devil’s in Ocala.
The trackers hadn’t been destroyed. Blaise had ordered that they be taken to a location where four of his men met Liam, Micah, and me with Salem’s things. The four men were taking the items and hiding them in spots around the restaurant that the Landiagos owned. They used it as a front for the business they held in the back rooms. A couple of them lived there to oversee things, never leaving the place unattended.
If Brady Murphy came looking for his former sister-in-law and found her at the Landiagos’ headquarters, then it would likely end in gunfire until they killed each other off. It would end our issues with both, and Salem’s safety would be guaranteed. We’d be letting them clean up our mess for us. It was brilliant and possibly insane.
I should be able to tell Salem the fucking truth. She deserved to know she’d been lied to during her marriage. That she’d never truly known her husband.
There was also that desire to kill any love she might have for the man. I didn’t like thinking there was a part of her heart that I couldn’t have. She’d had mine for most of my life. I was jealous of a dead man, and there was a chance I would be until the day I died. If the past eighteen years had shown me anything, it was that it would take death to end this thing I felt for Salem. Maybe not even death. Hell, even my soul wanted her.