Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 72756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“Um, right. Do you want a hand?”
“I'm Faith.” She practically throws the baby at me. “Eagle-eye's daughter, and old lady to Ripper, Blade and Alpha.”
I blink. This is the second woman I’ve heard about who’s attached to multiple guys. Is it that common? I make funny faces at Charlotte, who’s distracted enough by seeing a new person to forget to cry.
“You’re a natural,” Devil says with a soft smile.
“I don’t know about that, but I like babies. They’re simple.”
Faith snorts.
“Okay, they can drive you crazy, but so long as you keep them warm, dry, fed and give them plenty of cuddles, they’ll love you with all their little hearts. They don’t care if you aren’t perfect or if you say the wrong thing. They just love you.” I look up and the guys are all watching me with expressions that I can’t quite read. See? Babies are easy compared to men.
“I like you. You’re going to fit right in. Welcome to the old lady club.”
“I’m not—” I say at the same time the guys start. “She’s not—”
“Pfff, yet.”
Crash glares at her. “Aren't you supposed to be visiting Eagle-eye?”
“It's no hurry.” She grins and wiggles her fingers in front of. “Tell me more about this rumor I heard that she’s your sister.”
“Step. Step-sister,” Crash growls. “We lived together for like four years a lifetime ago. It’s not creepy.”
I have no idea what makes me say it—maybe the most of a beer that’s in my stomach—but it annoys me that he’s acting so funny about us. “We had sex on my bed under my Carrot Stories world tour poster.”
Faith absolutely howls with laughter, which sends Charlotte into a fit of baby bubble blowing happiness. Preacher and Devil laugh as Crash turns an odd shade of purple before finally nodding.
“Fine, get it all out now because if I have to keep hearing sister fucking jokes, someone’s going to die.”
25
CRASH
Summer follows me into my room. I'm not really pissed at her. It's just that no matter how hard I try to burn it out of me, it's impossible to forget those years I spent living in that big, fancy house with her asshole father slowly turning my mother into a person I didn't even know. Someone who chose to stay instead of following her own flesh and blood.
“I'm sorry,” Summer whispers. She comes up behind me and puts her arms around my waist. “I shouldn't have said that”
I turn around and pull her into my arms. “Nah, it's not you. We aren't doing anything wrong and people fucking know it. They're just making dumb jokes.”
She looks up at me with those big brown eyes, and I can see she's hurting. “You know that I never really saw you as a brother, right? My best friend maybe, which sounds even worse because I know I was just a dumb little girl. I'm sure you hated that I followed you around, trying to talk to you about silly kid stuff.”
“Are you kidding me?” I kiss her forehead. “You were the best fucking part of that whole messed up time. I was what, twelve when we met? I'd already been in five schools by then. Kicked out of three of them. You think I had friends in that fucked up private school they put us in?”
“But you were always so nice to me.”
“Because you were nice to me.” I shake my head. “You were the only person who didn't treat me like I was about to snap and knife everyone. I was a fucking kid, you know? For about a minute I was even glad when my mother married your father. I thought—Fuck. I thought maybe they were right and I just needed a good role model or some shit.”
“I think Dad hated you because he couldn't break you. Even when you were so young. I remember seeing him belt you after you broke a window. By the time he finished, I wanted to run in and confess to every bad thought I'd ever had, but you took it all and walked away. You were my hero.”
Huh, I'd forgotten all about that night. I don't even remember how or why the window broke, but I remember gritting my teeth and listening to that monster count as he whipped my ass. It was the first time I realized he couldn't touch me, not really. That he was an insecure man who couldn't handle not being in total control.
“Summer, I'm nobody's hero. I didn't just walk out of that house, join a motorcycle club and get on with my life. I was fucked up for years about it. I drank, swallowed and snorted just about anything I could to dull the pain. My father was a faceless, nameless dick that knocked up my mother at a party when she was still in her teens, and my mother? You fucking knew her. Shit, you probably knew her better than I did because she fucking chose to stay with you and that asshole father of yours when I ran.”