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)
Shit and double shit. I groan. “And here I was feeling less scared after seeing all these people here.” I take the shot and let the icy sting of it slide down my throat until the booze warms my cold skin. “How long will this lockdown last?”
“That’s the thing,” Gia says with a shrug. “Until the shitstorm blows over. Could be days or weeks. No one can leave without a MC escort and Ace’s permission.”
“So, this is serious, like really serious?”
“Yep.” Gia pours another shot and nods. “And the men are on the front lines.”
A weight settles in my gut at her words, and I motion for another shot. “This is like another world.” It’s almost as if my words conjure up this foreign land.
Scantily clad women in leather and denim saunter in with their hands full, laughing and chatting with club members they clearly know well. These people are a family. Unorthodox and nontraditional, maybe, but they care for each other in the way that family is supposed to.
There’s a familiarity and camaraderie between them that I envy, that I realize in the moment I desperately want to be part of.
“A strange and crazy world,” Gia confirms. “I love it, and there’s nothing in the world like it.” She spots Preacher and goes to him, leaving me at the bar, alone, where I belong.
I spot several the of Reckless Souls—Dix, Shades, Ace, Coop, and Wilder—huddled in a corner with serious expressions on their faces. Gia’s words carry more weight now as I see worry all over their rugged, handsome faces, all a little rough around the edges. Something is happening, and it’s big.
War.
I push away from the bar, leaving the cakes and cookies there for the moment, and walk around aimlessly, unsure where I belong in the smaller groups inside the larger family.
Letty and McKenna enter the clubhouse in front of Kelsey. She doesn’t join the rest of us but carries her newborn into a room down the same hall as my own.
I snort. My room. As if I’m here on a long vacation instead of being taken hostage. Kidnapped.
“I need another drink.” Some of the club girls are behind the bar, beside the bar, stacking boxes, and in general, making themselves useful. Willow’s among them, already fitting in, unlike me, the old woman of the group.
“Can I have a double shot, please?”
“Yeah, sure, honey. Here you go.”
“Thanks.” I take the glass and move to a table along the wall, perfect for watching unnoticed.
“There’s definitely a fucking mole,” I hear a deep voice say to someone, not bothering to whisper in this loud group. “It’s the only thing that makes sense.”
“Are you sure about that, Dix? I mean, maybe prison life is still fucking with your head.”
Ace stands in front of the group and lets out an ear-splitting whistle.
“Attention, everybody.”
He’s a commanding presence, waiting patiently for conversations to die down before he speaks again. “Lockdown means we need everybody to pitch in when and where they can. That means if you know how to cook, you’re expected help keep everyone fed. Kenna and Letty will take shifts helping out with Rocky. Everyone else will help clean…make sure we’re stocked on necessities. We’re all in this shit together, which means no slacking. Got it?”
“Got it,” they all roar back in unison.
“I’m glad I have a job to do,” Gia says with a sigh as she drops down in the chair beside me.
“I have a job, too,” I shoot back with more anger than is necessary and definitely more than Gia deserves. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be. I didn’t mean you don’t have a job. I just mean that in the MC world, I have a specific assignment, so I don’t have to worry as much about burning pasta for a crowd of hungry bikers.”
I sigh and take her at her word. “Of course. It’s just, am I really in danger?”
Gia scoffs. “Didn’t your house just get shot up by the Kings? Fuck, yeah, you’re in danger. And if you don’t think you matter to Wilder or any of the other guys, you haven’t been paying attention.”
I shake my head, unwilling to hear what she’s saying. “Wilder’s a great guy, but it’s not like I’m his ol’ lady or anything. I just feel like I don’t belong here,” I tell her and point around the room. “Everyone here is so young. They’re all bikers. They’re already a family, and I’m just an old woman hanging around.”
“Bullshit,” she growls and grips my shoulder, giving it a friendly squeeze. “The only person in this whole place who gives a shit about your age is you. I mean, maybe Trudy, but only because she’s been trying to become an ol’ lady since the days of Jesus, and it hasn’t worked. Now, here you are, snagging one of the young hotties.”