Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
“I don’t have any of those things,” Carrie replied quietly. “At least, not with a real last name on them.”
The room fell silent. I could practically hear the gears turning in everyone’s heads. Carrie’s shoulders hunched slightly, as if she was bracing for an attack.
“Explain,” Knuckles said, his voice surprisingly gentle.
Carrie took a deep breath. “My father is… well, he’s paranoid about leaving paper trails. I was born at home. No hospital records or anything. I don’t know if it was the same with my brothers, but I’m pretty sure it was. He taught us to be ghosts. To hide in plain sight. I shouldn’t have been near the warehouses because there’s always so many security cameras, but it was raining and cool and I didn’t want to sleep in the woods again.”
“Any idea why he had you living like that?”
“Only that he said last names and medical records and such are for people who need to belong to a system. He wanted us to be self-sufficient.” She looked down at our joined hands and took a deep, trembling breath. “Saying it out loud sounds so fucked up.”
“Why teach you to fight like you do?”
I shrugged. “He said it was for when society crumbled. That we’d need to know how to defend ourselves and our territory, but there was more to it than that.”
“How much more?” Knuckles had his full attention on Carrie, and I wanted to slide her behind me for some reason. Knuckles wouldn’t hurt her. He detested harming women for any reason.
“I know he’s sent my brothers to kill people for him.” She imparted the information so quietly I barely heard her.
“You’re gonna have to speak up, darlin’.” Gunnar kept his voice gentle but insistent. “We only want to know what we’re facin’ if they come our way.”
“I know --” she broke off and a small sob escaped her. “God, I’m so stupid,” she muttered as she wiped angrily at a tear tracking down her cheek with her shoulder. It made my chest puff up a little that she hadn’t tried to let go of my hand. In fact, she held on tighter.
“Look at me, Carrie.” We needed this information, but I didn’t want her to feel threatened or bullied. When she looked up at me, I reached out and brushed a tear from her other cheek. “I’ve got your back. With these guys. With the club. With your family if you need it. I will not let anyone hurt you because of information you give us. You’re not your father or your brothers. We’ve all been judged at one time or another, so we’re not gonna automatically say you’re guilty by association.”
“My father would kill me if he were here now,” she confessed softly.
“He’s not here. And if he was, I’d eliminate the threat.” My reply came without hesitation. Not only did I want Carrie to understand I meant business, but my brothers needed to understand as well. And pass it on to any motherfucker who’d fallen in love with her when she’d walked out of the fucking fog covered in the blood of her enemies. I nearly smiled at the memory. She’d liked the phrasing then, but I didn’t think she’d appreciate it now.
Her eyes widened. “You’d kill him for me?”
“Without hesitation. You say he needs killin’, I’m all over that shit.” I saw Knuckles shift, but a quick glance in his and the other officers’ direction told me they were all hiding smiles. Yeah. They knew. Killing wasn’t something we took lightly since every single one of us had done time and had no desire to go back, but they weren’t laughing at that. They were laughing at me. Because I’d laughed at both of them, and had done the exact same thing I’d made fun of them for. I’d fallen in love with a woman at first sight. Yeah. That wasn’t going away any time soon.
Carrie was silent for a long moment, then she nodded. “I believe you.”
“Good.” I smiled at her. “Tell me what I need to know.”
She took a deep breath, seeming to gather her courage before taking the plunge. “My father trained me since I could walk. I don’t know how long he did my brothers, but I’m pretty sure it was all the same. All his kids are trained to kill. He has connections. Scary connections. I don’t know who they are exactly, but they’re all the kind of people who can, and do, make others disappear on the regular, including my father. Especially my father. My brothers are his soldiers. Victor is the most independent of the bunch. He doesn’t always follow orders blindly and the others will usually follow his lead. He’s protective of all his siblings and always weighs his chances of success against the risks. I’ve heard him and my brothers planning to make changes to the strict protocols my father tried to make them follow on a mission. Vic puts the team above the mission.”