Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47579 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 159(@300wpm)
“Your drink is on the house. Leave now,” Scythe ordered.
“I’m not going. I’ll stay until Wraith arrives,” Caroline told him softly. “Please, Scythe. I need to talk to him.”
The biker crossed his arms, displaying his massive biceps as he stared her down. Caroline swallowed hard but didn’t waver. This would be the last time she approached him. If he refused, there was no chance for her to make this right.
Grabbing the last of her courage and shredding her pride, Caroline whispered, “I’m his Little girl, Scythe. I screwed up. I have to see if I can fix this. Help me, please.”
He blinked.
Caroline counted three full breaths as she waited for his decision. She blinked furiously to hold back the tears that prickled the inside of her eyelids away and crossed her fingers on both hands.
“He’s at the warehouse in back. Go through the rear door. At the gate, tell them I sent you to Wraith. They’ll let you in.”
She slid off her stool and grabbed a ten from her pocket to set on the bar. “Thank you, Scythe. I owe you one.”
Before he could change his mind or stop her, she hurried through the bar and burst through the door marked Authorized Personnel Only. Bikers leaned against the wall with a bottle of beer. They all turned to check her out. Caroline didn’t pause but nodded and kept going toward the tall concrete walls, topped with razor wire. Scythe’s name worked like a charm at the gate. They handed her a visitor’s hard hat and sent her inside to building two.
Steadying the unfamiliar weight on her head, Caroline scanned the wide space. Spotting a large yellow two on a massive building to her right, Caroline started walking. Men zipped by on all sorts of heavy-moving equipment. The forklifts were laden with huge packing crates.
She wanted to hesitate at the door but forced herself to enter. Inside, a wide set of shoulders drew her attention. Caroline headed toward the familiar figure, completely focused on reaching him.
A loud horn burst, and a squeal of brakes behind her made Caroline jump. Whirling around, she met the gaze of the driver, who looked completely pissed. “I’m sorry!”
“You’re going to get yourself killed, lady. Get out of here,” he yelled, half hanging out of the window.
“Enough. She’s with me.” Wraith’s gravelly voice came from beside her. He stepped between Caroline and the irate driver.
“Sorry, Wraith. Keep her out of the driving lane,” The man grumped before moving on.
Caroline held her breath as Wraith slowly turned to face her. He wrapped an arm around her waist and steered her to the side. The heat of his touch made her ache inside. When he removed his hand, her heart sank. A tear escaped and tumbled down her cheek. Quickly, she dashed it away.
“Thank you, Wraith.”
“Why are you here? It’s not safe,” he growled.
“I needed to see you. You wouldn’t respond to my texts, and the guys at the door wouldn’t let me into Inferno,” she said, wringing her hands in front of her as she searched for the right thing to say.
“Sounds like you should have put the pieces together and moved on.”
“I got scared, Wraith. I was stupid. Can we talk, please?”
“Talking is overrated. You were attracted to the bad guy from the wrong side of town. You got fucked well and then decided I didn’t fit into your life.”
“Wraith, it wasn’t like that,” she protested. She had to make him understand.
“Then tell me your version.”
“You turned my world upside down,” she said. When his mouth curled downward even more, Caroline rushed to say, “In a marvelous way. I was excited. No, more than excited. No one ever treated me like you did. Like I was special.”
“Then you’re hanging out with the wrong people, Caroline.” His voice held no emotion. It was completely flat.
“I agree. I recently divorced after five years of hell. He checked off all the boxes that I thought were what I needed. I was so wrong.”
“We’re not solving anything here, Caroline. Go back home. Have a good, safe life. You’ll have a story to tell your grandchildren about your night on the wild side.”
“No.”
He shrugged those broad shoulders and looked at her like she had lost her mind. “What do you mean, no?”
Gathering her courage, Caroline stepped so close her body touched his. She grabbed his shirt as tightly as she could to hold on. “No. I’m not leaving. I won’t. It was a mistake to run away before. I won’t do it again.”
Wraith pulled off his hard hat and ran his fingers through his thick hair. “Caroline, it’s okay. I understand.”
“But you don’t. I met a man unlike anyone else. He stepped right out of my fantasies. But he was real.”
“Fantasies and real life are very different.”
“Could you forgive me for panicking? Please.” Caroline begged.