Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 74270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74270 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 371(@200wpm)___ 297(@250wpm)___ 248(@300wpm)
“Too fucking bad.” Eagle-eye smirks, taunting him, and I think all of us enjoy seeing the light in Rocco’s eyes dim a little bit.
“Why do you have to be such a hardass? Clearly they got into a fight and mistakes were made. Don’t you think enough damage has been done?”
Instead of replying, Eagle-eye just sits there, stone-faced and waiting him out.
A tinge of desperation creeps into Rocco’s voice now. He knows he’s fucked if we don’t let him off the hook. “Fuck, if you need to feel like you fucking won, I’ll let Red take the blame. It looks bad for us, which should make you happy. Give us our man back, and Joker’s girl, and we’ll call it even. Whatever happened, it wasn’t official club business. The debt’s fucking repaid. Leave us alone and you’ll never hear from us again. We don’t want a war, but you don’t either. We won’t sell our lives cheaply, Eagle-eye, I fucking swear that.”
I wouldn’t say Eagle-eye has been a father figure for me exactly, but I admire the kind of man he is. I’ve seen him with his son on his shoulders, the love in his eyes when he looks at his daughter and granddaughter. The way he’s accepted Emily as if she’s his own. He’s a grouchy old man who loves his family and his dogs.
He’s also a stone-cold fucking killer when it comes to defending what’s his, and that’s the face he shows to Rocco right now. He leans in closer to the camera. “I’ll take that under advisement. Now I know for a fucking fact my man didn’t shoot his piece that night. And I know I’m not the one losing hold. You’ve got forty-eight hours to come up with a better suggestion, or I’m going to send another message.”
He cuts the call before Rocco responds and spins his chair around to look at us. “Fucking piss-ant. So what do we think?”
“I think you’re right. If it was just the shooting, it would be one thing, but all the shit with Melody and her father? Like Joker said, there’s a power grab happening in the Brigade and he’s holding on by the skin of his teeth.” I shift a little, scratching my back against the door frame.
Eagle-eye nods. “He’s right about one thing, though. They’re big enough not to be pushovers. Would we kick their ass? Eventually, but the cost would be high.”
Scratching behind his ear, King furrows his brows. “At the end of the fucking day, we haven’t lost anyone. They’re gonna wake Lightning up soon, and I’ve got every faith that he’s gonna pull through. The Devil’s Brigade is down two already. We can’t let it pass, but we don’t lose anything by giving them time to stew in it.”
Thunder draws a shaky breath. “I know you fuckers are being logical right now, and I fucking hate it. Someone almost iced my fucking twin. Harper was there that night. He was only gone from our group for a couple minutes. What if she’d been with him? I want my fucking pound of flesh.”
Fuck, trying to even imagine someone doing that to Mad Dog or Rebel. I’d be fucking livid. Ready to tear down the walls to their clubhouse with my bare fucking hands. Maybe I don’t know exactly how they feel, but I sure can imagine.
Shadow grunts his agreement. “I’m with Thunder, but we’re not gonna do anything dumb. Especially not without club sanction.”
Rebel nods. “When Joker gets back to us, we’ll at least know if they were killed by the same gun. If that’s the case, we’re looking at a third person. We don’t have the whole picture here, and I’m not convinced Rocco does either. This is something out of his hands, is my opinion.”
Twirling his mustache between his fingers, Eagle-eye looks thoughtful. “Well, we’ve kicked the hornet’s nest, time to see what comes out. Good job bringing in the second man. Having him and the girl gives us a lot of leverage.”
Mad Dog grins. “Don’t worry, we’re keeping a close eye on her.”
Eagle-eye rolls his eyes at that. “I stopped worrying a long time ago. Now I just wonder what the fuck they see in you bastards. Get the fuck outta here. If you come across anything, or she suddenly pulls out more useful information, let me know.”
“Sure.” I nod before opening the door and leading the way out, followed by Rebel and Mad Dog.
“Hey.” We turn. Eagle-eye points at us. “Just because she followed you home doesn’t mean you can keep her. We’re gonna have to give her back at some point.”
It’s my turn to grin. “We’ll take it under advisement.” I close the door behind us, just as Eagle-eye starts swearing.
Rebel stops us at the top of the stairs. Melody is sitting with Emily and Eagle-eye’s old lady, Miriam. Jupiter’s head is in Emily’s lap, and Damian, Eagle-eye’s son, is wrestling with their younger dog.