Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
He stared at her for a moment before once again lifting his eyes to the woman joining them.
“Hi,” Cait greeted the man standing next to Liyah.
“Hello,” Nox responded in his rich, low voice.
“I’m Cait.” She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. “The big man who thinks he’s scary is mine.”
He jutted out his hand. “Bradley Lennox. Everyone calls me Nox.”
Cait took it and gave it a firm shake. “Very nice to meet you, Nox. And ignore their bluster. I’ll make sure there aren’t any issues between the two clubs. I don’t remember seeing you before but I’m sure you know that both clubs have participated in charity events together and no one has died. And if you don’t believe me, just ask Axel.”
“Good to know.” Amusement tipped the corner of Nox’s lips upward. “I’ll leave you two ladies alone to talk.”
“Nice to meet you, Nox. I hope to see you again soon.”
“Same,” he answered before turning and heading back to his group.
Liyah kept one eye on the BAMC and one on the DKMC.
“You’ve been keeping him a secret.”
“Not really,” Liyah answered her.
“He’s handsome.”
“He is.”
“How is he with the boys?”
“Great.”
“Is it serious?” Cait asked.
“I’ll let you know that answer once I know.” That was the best she could do. She had no idea where their relationship was going. They were taking one day at a time.
“Well then, in the meantime, enjoy your time with him.”
“I plan on it.”
“I’d invite him over for dinner, but…” Cait sighed. “These goddamn stubborn-as-hell men. Just be glad your father has mellowed with age.”
“Could’ve fooled me.”
“Oh, he has, believe me. Ten years ago, I could see him busting a blood vessel over you dating a cop. He’s protective of you and always will be no matter what your age, Liyah. Telling him he shouldn’t would only be wasting your breath. You know that. He’s hard-headed.”
“I don’t know a man who isn’t.”
“Yes, but his skull is extra-thick. Anyway, I’m going to go back and encourage us to keep moving.”
“Or we can leave so they can take a break and grab something to eat at the food trucks,” Liyah suggested.
“Does anyone over there look like they’re starving? The sweet butts are back at Dirty Dick’s preparing a whole spread.”
“I don’t know how you tolerate club girls hanging all over your husband.”
Cait smiled. “Because I know he will always come home to me. You’ll be lucky to find anyone half as loyal as him.” She looked past Liyah to where Nox was. “Maybe it’ll be him.”
“Maybe.”
Cait squeezed her arm. “Okay, we’ll talk more in depth about your new man another time. I’ll want to hear all the details.”
“Thanks, Cait.”
“For what?”
“Being you.”
“Right back at you. Thanks for being open-minded when I ambushed you in the park that day fifteen years ago.” With that, she began to head back toward Magnum, now straddling his sled with a frown on his face. She stopped halfway and turned, “Do you want us to take the boys next weekend?”
Even from the distance, Liyah could see the mischief in her stepmother’s eyes. “That would be great.”
Cait gave her a nod and continued on back to her husband, who helped her mount the bike behind him.
After wrapping her arms around her ol’ man, Cait whispered something into Magnum’s ear, then pressed her cheek to the back of his cut with a soft smile on her face.
Liyah would be forever grateful for that woman. Without her, Liyah’s family would look a whole lot different.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Nox wasn’t sure where T-Bone and Saint were getting the women for their side hustle. Were they strippers from The Peach Pit they purposely got hooked on drugs? Or were they random women taken from the streets? Willingly or unwillingly.
Either way, he feared they would all end up like Sadie. Drugged up, physically and sexually abused and in the end, dead.
He wondered if anyone else in the Demons knew about this little enterprise.
Nox’s guess? No fucking way.
From where he had sat in his truck night after night, he could see it was a lucrative business. Plus, if they skimmed meth from the Demons’ supply to “pay” these women, the overhead wouldn’t cost much more than renting the motel room.
After a while, if anyone got suspicious at their current location, they could easily move to another shit-bag motel. One with staff willing to look the other way when it came to questionable goings-on.
Nox paused the recording and leaned in to take a closer look when the next dancer stepped on stage.
He cursed under his breath. While the stage lighting at The Peach Pit was on point and made it easy to see each woman, it was tough to tell if the women at the motel were one and the same. T-Bag and Saint were just smart enough to have the women keep their head down or covered for the few feet it took to get from the vehicle to the room.