Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 41664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 41664 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 208(@200wpm)___ 167(@250wpm)___ 139(@300wpm)
“You see anyone park for long?” I asked.
“Couple of minutes here and there.” He swallowed. “I took plates. Sent them to Nitro.”
“Good.” I clapped his shoulder. “If a car sits more than three minutes staring at us, you call the number on the board, and you don’t hang up till someone with a patch is breathing in your ear.”
“Yes, sir.”
I turned, boots grinding gravel, and cut back across the yard.
The clubhouse smelled like coffee now. Voices filtered from the kitchen, low and tired. At my door, I paused with my hand on the knob and let my breath smooth. Whatever waited on the other side, I needed to meet her with calm. Not fear. Not the violence brimming inside me, ready to take on any motherfuckers who thought they could get to my woman.
She was still asleep when I stepped inside, curled up in the dent I’d left in the mattress, hair a dark tangle on my pillow, and one bare, sexy leg thrown free of the sheets. My note sat by the lamp where I’d left it. I crossed the room and stood for a long second just looking. The tightness in my chest loosened by inches. The part of me that only shut up when she was close went quiet.
My phone buzzed once.
Drift
Stop staring and get your ass to the tower by nine. We’re walking routes.
I smirked at the screen.
Me
Jealous?
Drift
Nah. I’ll save the jealousy for when she realizes she can do better.
Oh, he’s gonna pay for that.
Lark sighed, distracting me from my plans to shove my boot up my brother’s ass.
I brushed a knuckle along the back of her knee, just the lightest touch, and watched her eyes flutter before the pretty, light brown orbs were looking up at me sleepily.
“Mornin’, baby.”
“Hi.” Her expression was soft. “Did I oversleep?”
“Nah. I was up early. Club shit. Hate that I can’t spend your day off with you, but it’s important, and I’ll probably be working all day.”
“I get it.” Her tone was honest, and it just re-enforced what I already knew but hadn’t admitted yet. This woman, who was so fucking perfect for me, owned my heart.
“Thought you might like to get to know some of the other old ladies.”
She blinked up at me, and I almost smiled, knowing she was probably hung up on the word “other.”
Bending down, I kissed her thoroughly, then groaned at the sight before me when I pulled back. The sheet had pooled at her waist, giving me a perfect view of her incredible tits.
“Fuck,” I grunted, adjusting myself as my eyes roved over her hungrily. “Gonna need to eat at some point, though.”
“Let me know, and I’ll make you some food,” she replied sweetly.
I cupped the back of her head and gave her another kiss, this one short and hard. “Baby, only thing I’m gonna eat is you.”
Tearing myself away from her, I took a quick arctic shower, then dressed and headed out to meet my brothers.
I couldn’t wait for her vest to arrive. But I wouldn’t give it to her until all this bullshit was behind us. Which meant these motherfuckers needed to make their move sooner rather than later.
And I knew one thing for certain—whoever came looking for her, thinking they could finish what they started two years ago, they were going to learn what it meant to fuck with a woman under the Redline Kings’ roof.
What they didn’t understand yet—but would—was that to reach her, they had to go through me.
Good fucking luck.
12
LARK
The leather couch swallowed me whole as I curled into the corner of it, bare toes tucked under the bottom of my leggings, coffee warm in my hands. The mug was almost too big for me, heavy and chipped at the rim, but it smelled strong enough to kick the lingering fog of sleep right out of my head.
Across from me, Savannah sat cross-legged on the rug with stacking blocks and pieces of a chunky puzzle scattered around her. Her toddler son was rolling a car in a circle around her feet.
Callie was on the other side of the couch from me, sipping a mug of herbal tea.
Voices carried from somewhere down the hall, the low rumble of men talking business I had no place in, but the common room felt like a little pocket of calm. The perfect place to start my day off while Jaxton was busy in his office.
“Thanks for making breakfast.” Callie flashed me a grateful smile before licking her lips. “Your French toast was exactly what I needed this morning.”
“You’re welcome.” I took a sip of my coffee before admitting, “I really enjoyed making it. I used my mom’s recipe, and I felt closer to her making it for more than just myself.”
The women weren’t aware of the specifics of my situation, but with the marshals showing up to talk to Kane and Jaxton, and the heightened security around here since I arrived, they knew enough to understand what I was saying.