Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 46525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46525 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 233(@200wpm)___ 186(@250wpm)___ 155(@300wpm)
When I reached her, I didn’t say anything at first, just slid a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss hard enough to make her fingers clutch at my shirt. The taste of her settled me more than the track inspection had, and when I pulled back, her eyes were darker.
“Track okay?” she asked.
“Fine.”
She studied me. “That sounded like a very suspicious fine.”
“Teacher voice?”
“Very suspicious teacher voice.”
I brushed my thumb along the side of her throat, feeling her pulse jump. “Track’s handled.”
“That is not better.”
“Trust me, baby.”
Her lips parted like she wanted to argue, but then she sighed and nodded before slipping her arms around me and burying her face in my chest. The announcer’s voice cracked through the speakers, calling out another heat and making the crowd surge. Saylor raised her head and glanced toward the track, then back at me, and I kissed her forehead. “I’ve got this, Saylor.”
“I know,” she replied. “But that won’t stop me from worrying.”
I kept her close while the crew finished final checks, touching her whenever I could. Hand at the small of her back. Fingers sliding beneath the edge of the hoodie she’d borrowed from me to feel the warmth of her hip. Mouth at her temple when she got too quiet. Every contact was for her, but I didn’t bother to pretend it didn’t steady me too. Having her within reach calmed the violent part of me that wanted to solve everything with blood shed before the race even started.
Nitro walked into the pit a few minutes later and jerked his chin at me. “A word.”
I didn’t like the look on his face. Nitro wouldn’t waste my time with shit that could wait. I looked at Saylor, then brushed a hand over her hair. “Stay here, baby.”
She frowned but nodded.
I stepped away with Nitro, going just far enough that the engine noise and crew movement covered us. He crossed his arms, his gaze flicking once toward Saylor before locking on me. “We found Sutton.”
Everything in me went still. “Where?”
“Gas station west of town. Car full of her shit, cash in the console, fake ID in the cupholder. Looked like she was trying to run again.”
My jaw tightened until it ached. “Where is she now?”
“On the way to the compound. Jax sent a couple of prospects to pick her up as soon as he caught her trail.”
“She go willingly?”
Nitro’s mouth twitched. “Nah. She tried yelling about kidnapping until Mace asked if she wanted us to call the Serpents and let them know where she was. Got real quiet after that.”
I looked back at Saylor. She stood near my bike, her arms wrapped around herself, watching me and trying not to look nervous.
“Fuck,” I muttered.
“Yeah,” Nitro said. “Figured you’d want to tell her.”
I dragged a hand over my jaw. “I hate this.”
“Lying to your woman?” Nitro quipped, dry as sandpaper. “Wouldn’t recommend it. Jana can smell bullshit through concrete.”
“Not gonna lie, jackass,” I snapped. “Hate the timing.”
“Timing’s still bullshit no matter when you tell her.”
I shot him a look, and he shrugged because we both knew he wasn’t wrong, which was irritating. I stalked back toward Saylor, anger and frustration riding under my skin, but I kept my steps controlled because she was watching my face too closely. The last thing she needed was to think the race had gone sideways before it even started.
I caught her elbow gently and guided her to a quieter corner of the pit near a stack of tire warmers and tool crates. Her eyes searched mine, worry sharpening. “What happened?”
“They found Sutton.”
Her whole expression changed, but not the way I expected. Her eyes narrowed, her mouth flattening in pure irritation, and she looked for one second like a woman who had discovered a roach in her kitchen and was deciding whether to smash it with a shoe or burn the house down.
“Of course they did,” she muttered.
If the night hadn’t been balanced on a knife edge, I might’ve laughed. “That your official reaction?”
“She was trying to run, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah.”
Saylor closed her eyes for half a second, then opened them with a glare intended for her twin who wasn’t here. “There is a race tonight that could get her another free pass from consequences, and she couldn’t even stick around long enough to benefit from someone else cleaning up her mess. Again.” She blew out a breath, then looked up at me. “What are you going to do with her?”
“That depends.”
“On what?”
“Partly on the race. Partly on you.” I slipped my hand to the side of her neck because I wanted her feeling me when I said it. “Kane talked to the president of an ally MC, the Hounds of Hellfire. If things go sideways and we need to make Sutton disappear safely, they’ll take her.”