Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 62197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 62197 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 311(@200wpm)___ 249(@250wpm)___ 207(@300wpm)
Levi was one of Blaise’s men. The ones who worked close to him. That he’d once lived with. There were many Shephards inside the family in more than one state. All descendants from Jediah Hughes’s best friend, Charles Shephard. However, Levi had been raised in Ocala with Blaise. Linc and Garrett—Blaise’s father—had also grown up together, and before moving to Mississippi to take over things, Linc had always lived here.
But we weren’t dealing with Garrett. He had handed over the reins to Blaise to enjoy his life with his new wife. Blaise lacked the charm and charisma that Garrett had been known for. And connections to his ancestors didn’t seem to be of concern to him. He demanded obedience. Ransom hadn’t obeyed.
If only Trev Hughes had been the firstborn, things would be so much easier.
I stepped in front of Forge and entered the room. My gaze instantly found my father, who was standing in the center of the room, looking pale and livid.
Sorry, Pop. But it’s Ransom. I had to do something.
“Don’t tell us,” Luther Levine drawled from the other side of the room. “You two were in the neighborhood and thought you’d stop by for a slice of pie.”
I glanced over at Luther to see him sitting on a high-back leather chair with a cigar between his teeth and a glass of whiskey balanced on his knee. He gave me a shake of his head, like he thought I was a fool, but said nothing more.
“You need to leave, son,” my father said between clenched teeth.
“Let me guess. Jonas and Oz don’t know you flew the coop either, do they?” Luther asked Forge, but I didn’t take my gaze from my father’s.
“They’re here now, Hale,” Linc interjected in a hard tone that was a warning for my father not to make a scene. To back down.
Dad’s breathing was heavy enough that his shoulders rose and fell visibly. He was terrified.
“Sorry,” I said simply. And I was sorry that I’d just added to the stress and fear he was already under. But I wasn’t sorry that I had come to try and do something to save my brother.
“Who else is here?” Linc asked me.
I wasn’t about to tell him Branwen had come with us, along with Noa. He was likely to gun us both down right here. Although it had been his wife’s plan.
“Just us,” I replied, looking from my father to Linc.
Although I hadn’t made eye contact with Blaise Hughes, I felt his stare. The force of it could be felt throughout the room. Like a warning or an omen of evil.
“Seems your boys have a problem with obedience, Hale.”
The deep voice sent a shiver down my spine, but I didn’t allow it to show in my expression. I shifted my eyes to the desk in the center of the room, where Blaise Hughes sat. His elbows on the table, a glass of whiskey in one hand, and a merciless gleam in his green eyes as he watched me like a lion would his prey.
“He didn’t beat ’em enough,” Luther said.
“I’m sorry, Blaise,” my father told him.
Blaise didn’t acknowledge his words as he flickered his gaze from me to Forge. “And you’re here because?” he asked him.
“Ransom is family. He’s my brother too,” was his simple response. His voice didn’t waver, and I was fucking proud of that.
“Jesus Christ,” Linc hissed in frustration.
If he wasn’t ready to hand the branch over to Bane before now, he might be once this was over. We weren’t ready for that though. Bane was still one of us. Too young to be in charge. Not that we’d have any say in it. When the time came, the man currently behind the desk would make the call.
The silence that followed was eerie. Especially in a room full of men. I hadn’t scanned the place or checked out everyone in attendance, but I’d seen enough from my peripheral vision to know who lined the walls. Blaise’s men were all here, but one from what I could see. Huck would be hard to miss in a room. He’d take up enough of it, so his absence was easy to note.
Other than Levi, who had taken position on the back right wall, behind Blaise, there was Kye—Luther’s son—standing to his back left. I’d only seen a glimpse of him, but Gage was behind me, in the right corner of the room, sitting on the edge of a table with a cigarette in his mouth, flicking a lighter in his hand. His silence was possibly more intimidating than anything else. He didn’t have the power Blaise wielded, but he was insane. Unpredictable. And that made him someone you wanted to steer clear of.
The main branch of the family had more men, but everyone knew that those four were his closest friends. The ones he trusted the most. His brother didn’t count because he was a Hughes. He was also nothing like Blaise and held more of their father’s charm. Possibly all of it.