Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 100791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 100791 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 504(@200wpm)___ 403(@250wpm)___ 336(@300wpm)
Knowing this didn’t make my job any easier. Unless I wanted my face blown off, I couldn’t just flip the thing on its head. A fact that the bombmaker knew—hence their decision to put all the wires that needed snipping in a place I couldn’t snip.
“Too bad you were wrong.”
I slid one corner off the edge of the counter and carefully removed the screw with the tip of my knife. After that one was out, the other three soon followed. I lifted the device off the bottom plate, and rested it half on the corner with the other half balanced on my fingertips.
Crouching down, I looked inside the guts of the thing, meeting with half a dozen wires—all white.
It wasn’t like the movies where psychopaths did their victims a favor and color-coded the cut me, cut me wire, and that was the first thing my father, Killian, taught me.
This wasn’t a game, or a movie, or a joke. There was no room for guessing. I needed to know what every part, component, and wire did, or I needed to get the hell out of the way and let someone who did take over.
“Don’t worry, Daddy, I was only pretending not to listen to your lessons, because you’re super funny when you’re mad. I remain your best student”—I picked out a tied bundle of three wires and sliced through the one in the middle—“and your favorite kid.”
Sliding the bomb back, I stood up, smiled at the blank display no longer counting down, and dusted off my hands. “That’s how it’s done.”
I didn’t waste any more time. I took off upstairs with Malcom’s key in my pocket and freed everyone.
“It’s time. We’re getting out of here,” I called over my shoulder, leading the stampede down the stairs. “Just hang back a minute. Got to make sure the cleanup is done.”
“Thank you, thank you.” The silent, crying woman broke from the pack and hugged me, squeezing me to pop out all my jelly. “Thank you so much. I don’t know what I would’ve done— One more day and I swear, I would’ve— I would’ve—” She burst into tears.
“It’s cool,” I said, extracting myself from her hold. “All a part of the service.”
With that, I took off before anyone else got it into their heads to hug me again. Nothing against them, but I had a thing about hugs ever since someone used one to literally plunge a knife in my back.
Another reason I didn’t let bitches like Brother Abraham call my biker gang little. I fought, bled, scratched, bit, and killed to lead these women and rule my borough. Nothing little about it.
Taking off out the back door, I rounded the house to find the scene I was expecting.
My brothers standing around like proud, self-congratulatory peacocks while their people did the cleanup.
“Genny,” Liam said, inclining his head toward me.
I rolled my eyes. “You can be less like our dad, you know, and jump up and down hugging, kissing, and crying at seeing me safe and sound.”
“Maybe later,” the dickbag replied, striding off toward the porch.
“Your turn,” I called, holding my arms out to Bane and Sunny. “I’ll lift my lifetime ban and allow you to hug me just his once.”
Neither one moved.
“Put your arms down, woman,” Sunny said. “I love Angel more than life, but what the hell were you thinking letting her talk you into running at the Brotherhood with nothing but a tampon? You had us punched in the face for going off without you, and we at least had weapons!”
I shrugged. “Because you need them, baby brother. I’m lethal with or without. As you can see.”
Sunny was walking off, shaking his head before I finished.
It was Bane who came over, hugged me, and dropped a kiss on my head. “You keep joking,” he murmured, resting his chin on my head. “But Mom knows that you walked into the hands of a homicidal, Merchant-obsessed cult with no weapons or backup... and she’s waiting for you.”
My grin wiped off my face. “Yeah, we should go.”
With the brothers dead and the bomb defused, we quickly cleared out the house and loaded up the cars and trucks with the hostages.
“We’ll hang back,” Bane said, jerking his chin at his silent band of Scourges. “Sweep the area. Tear apart the van and their cars for info, and clear the house.”
“You should do that in the morning,” Sunny suggested. “Scoping out their territory in the dead of night? Who knows what other little surprises they’ve got hidden around these woods?”
“We’ll risk it.” Bane tossed me the keys before going off to talk with his men and women.
I cast them a curious glance while I followed Bee and Shug to his car.
We mostly kept our gangs and our business separate from each other. We ran different boroughs and had different interests, so there was no need for mixing.