Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 86230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86230 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Luther hauls me to my feet and secures me in the backseat of the car while his wife grabs something from the trunk.
“Where on Earth did you come from?” she asks, wrapping a picnic blanket around my shoulders.
But I’m trembling too much to answer.
Luther hands me a cup of cocoa from his thermos. The heat stings my frozen fingers but they begin to thaw after a few seconds, and my shaking stops. I take a few hesitant sips before my mouth can tolerate the temperature, then take a couple of deep gulps, savoring the warmth it sends through my chest.
“Whoa there… take it easy, son. Don’t go sending yourself into shock.” He takes the cup from me. “We’ll get you to the hospital. St. Benedict is just a few miles over that ridge.”
“We’re near Flintlock?” I croak.
“About thirty miles away.”
I close my eyes in relief and lean back into the seat as fatigue washes through me. I can feel unconsciousness coming for me, but then I think of Lily, and my eyes spring open.
“Do you have a phone?”
Luther looks at his wife. “Meg, grab your phone out of the glove compartment, will you?” He looks back at me. “You got someone you want to meet you at the hospital?”
I nod as Meg hands me the phone. “The reception is a bit sketchy out here, but there are two bars on there, so you should get through.”
Somehow, I manage to dial Jack’s number with my shaky fingers, and more relief hits me when he answers on the third ring.
“Yeah?”
“Jack, it’s me,” I say hoarsely.
“Doc?” He sounds uncharacteristically alarmed. “Where the hell have you been?”
My chest and throat hurt.
Fuck, everything hurts.
“I’ve been to hell and back.”
“We have to go back,” I demand. “I have to help Lily.”
“What we’ve gotta do is get you to the hospital,” Jack replies. He places his big hand on my shoulder. “You’re not looking good, brother.”
I’m frozen, and for the past three days, I’ve barely seen food or sleep, but I don’t give a fuck about any of that now, so I pull away from him. “I’m going back. And either you’re coming with me or I’m going alone.”
We’re at a truck stop just north of Flintlock. The couple, Meg and Luther, agreed to take me there instead of the hospital, and they didn’t flinch when four mean-looking men rode in on their Harleys half an hour later. While waiting for my Kings of Mayhem brothers, I managed to down two cups of coffee, a glass of room-temperature water, and a day-old sandwich that I’ll probably regret later.
Now, Jack and I are arguing in the doorway of the diner. I’ve barely had enough time to fill him in, so he doesn’t know all the details. Only that the Inferno kidnapped and held me captive for three days before a woman who was also being held against her will, helped me to escape.
“I have to get back there to help her.” I pull the crumpled pamphlet from my back pocket to show Jack. “By now, Max will know I’m gone, and Lily’s life could be…” I struggle to swallow the lump of guilt in my throat. If anything happens to her, I’ll never fucking forgive myself. “I have to find her. I can’t leave her out there with those psychos.”
Yet, you did.
“You need to see a doctor first, then we’ll handle the Inferno.”
“Fuck the doctors. We handle the Inferno now.”
“You’re in no condition—”
“You’re not listening to me. I’m doing this. She saved my fucking life last night, Jack, and I’m not turning my back on her now.”
“You’re not thinking straight. This could be a setup. We ride there now, and who knows what will be waiting for us when we arrive? It could be an ambush.”
“It’s not. I know her. She’s not one of them.”
“Listen, we’ll make these fuckers pay for what they’ve done. But right now, I’m taking you to hospital.”
“No. I’m going back there with or without you.” I nod to Ghoul, who’s sitting with Shooter, Dakota Joe, and Ares in one of the booths. “Give me your keys and your piece.”
“Don’t give him anything,” Jack warns.
Ghoul looks conflicted—he’s my friend, but Jack is our president, and what he says goes.
“I know the setup inside. You need me with you when you do this, and it has to be done now,” I say desperately. “They’ll kill her, Jack.”
Jack’s jaw ticks. His face is tight as he grinds his teeth and pulls his eyebrows together, a tell-tale sign he’s calculating the risk. He isn’t going to leave an innocent woman at the mercy of our biggest rivals, but he’s concerned I might die helping them save her.
Finally, he nods, but the look he gives me is full of warning. “You ride with Dakota in the van.” He removes a handgun from the back of his jeans and presses it into my hand. “Just don’t make me fucking regret this.”