Total pages in book: 168
Estimated words: 169013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 845(@200wpm)___ 676(@250wpm)___ 563(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 169013 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 845(@200wpm)___ 676(@250wpm)___ 563(@300wpm)
And I was going to have to accept that he was cursed like the rest of us.
Brinley suddenly lunged for Brody, hugging him tight before she stepped back and tried to straighten herself out, unable to believe she’d allowed herself to expose her vulnerability that way.
The fear and horror I knew still clung on, acting like all was good as she cracked her beer and brought the rim of the bottle to her lips.
Those lush, distracting lips.
Fuck, I couldn’t sit still for a second longer. I needed to put an end to this. Command she and Elena go home.
This wasn’t the place for them tonight.
Not any night.
I pushed from my chair, telling myself it had nothing to do with the fact I needed to get closer.
No fucking stopping myself.
Drawn.
Brinley Webber nothing but gravity.
The kind that was so powerful it could drag you across galaxies and you knew full well it’d crush you when you collided.
I started to move, basically stalking along the fringes of the gathering since Brinley and Elena had once again begun to move, Elena holding Brinley by the hand as she led her toward the clubhouse.
They disappeared inside, the door swinging shut behind them.
Trevan didn’t hesitate to follow.
They’d be fine with him watching over them, but I couldn’t stomach the thought of letting Brinley out of my sight.
Not with the vibe that had taken over the MC tonight. The high of the kill still saturated the oxygen, turning the pack wild and rabid.
A shivery sense of mayhem and unruliness urging their souls into upheaval.
Music pumped extra loud and undulated through our senses.
I felt half mad in it. Deranged as I cut through my men, heading directly for the door.
It might as well have had Destruction stamped on a sign hanging over the top. A call to Hell since I knew that was exactly where I was headed.
Going after the one thing that I was as sure of as my guilt was off-limits.
A thousand times so after what I discovered earlier today.
The truth that a whole lot of that brash impetuousness that Brinley wore was a cover. A cover she wore so well. One I wanted to sink my dirty claws into so I could expose everything underneath.
Nothing but a bastard for wanting to do it.
I tossed open the door and stepped into the raving fray of the clubhouse bar.
Music blared at a deafening level, the lights dimmed, though the strobes over the dance floor had been set to high.
A haze of smoke and rebellion clouding the atmosphere.
Crows wearing cuts loitered all around, but there had to be at least three women to every man.
It was the perfect way to feed the frenzy.
The air charged.
Fuel for the insanity.
I shouldered through the crush, and a few Crows clapped me on the back as I went.
“Prez, how’s it going?”
“Good job today.”
“Took that fucker out.”
I gave them slight nods and grunted responses, never slowing as I followed the energy that glowed and called.
Elena and Brinley had taken up a spot at a high-top table near the back right corner of the bar. Both were sipping beers, their gazes taking in the decadence and debauchery unfolding in front of them.
Fuck. I wanted to shield my sister. Cover her eyes and her heart. Send her back to the house and shove her back into that cage, clip her wings the way I’d been doing for so long.
It was utterly wrong, but I didn’t know anything else.
How to protect her when I forever felt our safety slipping away.
Knowing I was traversing treacherous ground, I turned course and beat a path to the main bar.
Tonight, Lulu was slinging drinks behind it, her grin both warm and sly. Her weathered face arched in knowing speculation as I slipped onto a stool.
She immediately set an old-fashioned in front of me. A sugar cube and cherry floated in the amber whiskey.
“It’s been a day, honey.” Care filled her tone.
“Yeah,” I mumbled, wrapping both hands around the glittering tumbler like it might serve as a lifeline.
She cut a glance at Brinley and Elena.
“She okay?” she asked.
A huff puffed free as I brought the tumbler to my lips, soaking my tongue with the sweetness, relishing the burn as it slid down my throat.
I hoped it would soothe the chaos, but it only poured gas on the flames that raged in my stomach.
Amid it, there was nothing I could do but slant my attention to the two who had their heads pressed together. Giggling and whispering.
As thick as thieves.
Like they’d been friends forever.
Wasn’t exactly sure what tightened my chest at the sight of it. That same wayward emotion that had detonated inside me when she’d run Kai and Elena to safety a few days ago.
I turned back to Lulu. “Doubt it. Who would be after going through what she did today?”
She hummed as she wiped a rag over the gleaming bar top. “Well, I’m sure it definitely made a mark, but I can also say she’s doing a whole hell of a lot better right now than she would have been otherwise.”