Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78237 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
“Definitely not a factory,” I confirm for myself as much as for the scared women.
Maven stands a little taller and squares her shoulders, doing her best to put on a brave show for Willow, maybe for me too. “I’ll just, ah, go finish icing the cakes and cookies.”
I glance up at the clock on the wall and sigh. “We should just call it a day.” I know Maven won’t like it but I have to think of her and Willow’s safety.
“No way,” she automatically insists, just as I expect. “We still have so much inventory to sell, Wilder. If I don’t sell, all this it’s a loss,” she says, gesturing to her goods in the display cases.
I nod to let her know that I understand her concern, but I close the gap between us because I need to touch her, to comfort her as I give her the bad news she doesn’t want to hear.
“Babe, who’s going to leave their house with that big ass black cloud in the sky?”
She shakes her head. “Even a dozen customers is better than closing early!”
“There’s less than an hour left before you close for the day anyway.” She opens her mouth to argue, and I press a finger to her lips. “Maven, any moment now, we’ll all get SMS messages requiring us to shut off the gas until they figure out the cause of that explosion. This day is over, and I’d rather have you girls safe.”
“This is my business,” she insists because she’s scared and thinking irrationally. “I can’t.”
“You can,” I tell her and pull her into my arms, hugging her close. “It sucks, but you can’t bake anything else anyway.”
Before Maven can argue, the emergency alert system sends a loud blaring message to each of our phones, instructing just as I predicted.
“Told you so.” I press a kiss to her forehead to soothe the sting of my words.
“Dammit,” she practically whines as Joaquin and Stone enter the shop. “I don’t have to bake anything else, but I can relax here and cross my fingers for customers. Right?”
“Maven,” I say, my tone firm and inflexible. “Think about what you just said.” I glare at her for a long moment, waiting for her to see that she’s putting her safety at risk for a few bucks.
Willow snorts. “Seriously, Maven. You sound a little crazy.”
Maven says something in reply, but my mind is on whatever Ace is calling to tell me. “Yeah?”
“You felt that at the bakery?”
I nod, even though he can’t see me. “The first explosion and the fucking aftershock too.” I look up into the eager gazes of Stone and Joaquin. “The brothers here are safe. Nobody’s hurt.”
“That answers my next question. Dix and Shades are already headed out to see what businesses were impacted as well as search for any Iron Kings fleeing in the opposite direction.”
Ace sighs, and I know what’s coming before he gets the words out.
“Some big shit is going down, and until we have more info, we’re going on lockdown. Grab the women and brothers and come straight here. No stopping for pajamas or anything else. Now.”
Ace ends the call because that’s how lockdown goes; he gives us orders, and we follow them.
“What’s up?” Stone takes a few steps forward, casting a quick glance at Willow and Maven before he turns to me. “That was Ace?”
I nod. “Lockdown. ASAP.”
Stone nods and takes a step back. “I’ll go shut off the gas just to be safe.”
Joaquin turns to Willow with a wide, flirtatious grin. “Did you drive to work today, Will?”
“I did. Why?”
Joaquin nods toward the front door. “Let’s move it closer to the other cluster of cars.”
“Why,” Maven asks. “What’s going on?”
Joaquin smiles at me with a shrug. “I tried, brother.”
“I appreciate it,” I tell him honestly, grateful that he’d at least tried to give us a moment alone because she wouldn’t like this one bit. Face to face with my woman, I tell her the truth.
“We’re closing now, babe. Ace is enforcing lockdown protocols, which means you and Willow are coming back to the clubhouse with us. Joaquin is right. We need to move the car, so it’s not a sitting duck. Just as a precaution.”
Her skin turns a ghostly shade of white as all the blood drains from her face. “You think this explosion is aimed at you?”
I nod. “Seems likely, and it’s better to make sure you’re all protected than to wish we had. Some of the guys are out gathering info, so I’ll know more when we get back home.”
Maven nibbles her bottom lip, her mind racing with God only knows what. She wants to protest, but she’s not able to come up with a reasonable argument, which is one of the things I like best about her. She’s stubborn and passionate, but she’s also reasonable and logical.