Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83244 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83244 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 416(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
I walked into the bar, and just like earlier, the place was a ghost town. Even the hang-arounds were keeping themselves scarce, and that was fine with me. I needed a moment alone to clear my head. I grabbed a cold one from the cooler, sat down at the front counter, and as I tilted the bottle back, my mind drifted to the night before.
We both climbed into bed with a million thoughts on our minds, but the second Brooke curled up against me, everything went quiet. There were no thoughts of the club or the Coyotes or Ryan. It was just me and the woman I’d spent years trying to forget and the steady rhythm of her breath.
She was everything. Hell, one look from her could level me. One kiss could pull me from the darkness, and her touch could leave me breathless. I’d memorized every freckle and every scar on her body years ago.
It was funny how time could steal so much from a man, but not that.
I hadn’t forgotten that she hated the silence after we’d made love. She’d always filled it by telling me about the places she’d been growing up or stories about the kids from the shelter.
Somehow, every one of them became important to me because they were important to her. Brooke had a way of carrying other people’s burdens like they were her own. Not as some martyr, but as someone who wanted to find a way to make their lives better, even if it meant sacrificing herself to do so.
That was Brooke. I’d never understand why she’d chosen to love me. I didn’t deserve her. Probably never would, but I’d spend the rest of my life trying to.
That thought had me reaching for my phone.
I’d been so caught up with the guys that I hadn’t had time to check in with her. It’d been a few hours, and I hadn’t gotten any messages from her. I’d hoped that meant that she’d gotten some rest. It wouldn’t be long before she had to go pick up Anslee, so I decided to check in with her.
Me:
Hey. How are things going?
Brooke:
Okay. I guess.
Ryan stopped by.
I knew the thing between her and Ryan was going to be hard to navigate. Brooke had made her feelings clear, but that hadn’t stopped him from hoping that things would take a turn in his favor. I couldn’t blame the guy. I knew what it was like to be around Brooke. It was impossible not to love her. And while she wasn’t in love with him, she still loved and cared for him in a different way. That still was hard to deal with.
I had a feeling their conversation wasn’t easy for either one of them, so I asked:
Me:
You okay?
Three dots appeared.
Disappeared.
Then came back again. I took a long pull from my beer, trying to be patient until her message finally came through.
Brooke:
Yes, I’m okay.
It was just hard. I wasn’t expecting him. I was asleep on the sofa when
he came in. It surprised us both.
It was bad. I didn’t know what to say.
I wasn’t surprised that it was tough. She wanted to find the right words to say when there weren’t any. There was no way to do any of this without hurting Ryan, and that was the last thing she wanted to do. He was a good man. Hell, I'd only met him once, and I knew that. That somehow made all of this worse.
Me:
I’m sure you handled it the best you could.
Brooke:
Yeah, but he was pretty upset.
I was about to respond when Grim stuck his head in the bar and announced, “Conference room.”
And just like that, my phone went back into my pocket. My text would have to wait. I followed Grim down the hall, and by the time we entered the conference room, Prez and Shep were already there with Creed and Goose. Prez wasted no time and announced, “The bar came up empty… the cabin, too. Looked like nobody had been there in months.”
“Damn.”
Creed’s expression grew fierce as he announced, “He’s not hiding.”
“No,” Preacher agreed. “He’s getting ready to make his next move.”
“There has to be something we’ve missed.”
Shep stood and stepped over to his monitor, pulling up all the photographs we had collected from Raymond’s place. Some had come from Brooke, and the others were taken by Memphis and Ghost during their own walk-through of the house.
There were maps, pictures, and notes that included everything from our names to our addresses. There were even the beginnings of schedules showing our comings and goings during the week.
Nobody spoke.
We all just sat there, staring at the various pictures, hoping something would click. Minutes rolled into hours, and one by one, the other brothers started trickling in, each giving a hand at trying to find something that might help us piece this thing together.