Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 61042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61042 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 305(@200wpm)___ 244(@250wpm)___ 203(@300wpm)
The room went quiet. My arms dropped from my chest, hands bunching into fists at my sides. Griffin stepped closer, wrapping his fingers around my hand and holding firm.
“We’ll need a layout of the building,” Knuckles said. “Guards, exits, any security systems.”
“I can get that,” Knight said, already working at his laptop.
“And we’ll need to move fast,” Hannah added. “If Iron’s using her as bait, he’ll be expecting us.”
I turned to Seth, meeting his gaze directly. “I’m going.”
“I’d expect nothing less,” he replied. “But you’ll go with our protection. Tonio?”
Tonio stepped forward. “We seal the roads. No one gets in or out of that stretch of Route 9 without our say-so. You handle the restaurant. We handle the perimeter.”
“Listen up! We’ve got fifteen minutes to walk through this, so I need everyone’s attention.”
The guys all gathered around the table, Knuckles laying out exactly what he planned to accomplish his goals. We stood in a rough circle around Knight and his laptop as Knuckles and Hawk -- the club’s sergeant at arms -- took us through the layout of the grounds. The building sat isolated at the end of a paved access road, surrounded by trees on three sides, the back lot bordered by a drainage ditch that would make for a natural choke point. Perfect for an ambush or a trap.
Tonio, who’d been mostly in the background, spoke up. “My men are already set around the three exit routes farther out. We’ll keep everyone inside that building in play.”
“Good.” Knuckles turned to the rest of us. “We move in three vehicles. Knight stays on comms at the compound. Everyone else, we’re on the road in five.”
“I’m going,” I said, the words coming out harder than I’d intended.
Knuckles gave me a long look. Instead of objecting, Griffin simply positioned himself at my shoulder as the group broke to ready themselves. His hand brushed the small of my back, not restraining, a reminder that he was there, that I wasn’t facing this alone.
The next few minutes blurred into a controlled chaos of weapons checks and radio tests. I’d been given a compact 9mm and two extra magazines. I also had on a Kevlar vest that Griffin had fussed over more than once since I’d put it on.
When Griffin eyed a second bulletproof vest like he intended to wrap me in a double layer, I rested my hand on his chest. “Griffin. I’ll be fine. I will do everything any of the club members tell me to do and I’ll do it immediately.”
“You remember what I showed you?” he asked, voice low.
I nodded. “Don’t pull my gun unless you say so. If you say so, front sight, trigger squeeze, follow-through. Don’t stop shooting until you say so.”
He grinned. “Good girl.”
“Shut up,” I muttered.
We split into two vehicles. The Kiss of Death crew took two blacked-out SUVs with Knuckles and Hannah in the lead, Griffin and me in the second with Inferno and Diesel. Tonio and his men rolled out in their own convoy, sleek sedans with heavy tint.
Griffin drove, one hand on the wheel, the other resting near the gearshift close enough that his knuckle grazed my knee once when he downshifted. Neither of us moved away. The headlights stayed off until we hit the county road. In the back, Inferno and Diesel checked their weapons, the soft click-clack of magazines and slides the only sound besides road noise.
“You good?” Griffin asked, eyes on the road.
“Yeah. Just thinking.”
“About?”
“About what happens after.” The words came out before I could stop them. “When we get her back. When this is over.”
He was quiet for a long moment. “One thing at a time, Veda. First we get your sister. Then we figure out the rest. And we’ll do it together.”
In the rear seats, Inferno and Diesel exchanged a look, then simultaneously groaned like they’d both just heard the world’s worst dad joke.
“Jesus Christ,” Diesel muttered, low enough that I wasn’t supposed to hear but very much loud enough that I did. “Can you two get a room? Or better yet, don’t. No one’s cleaning Griffin’s nutsack off the Goddamn dashboard.”
“Don’t be jealous, D,” Griffin shot back, not even looking away from the road. “Maybe if you ever got laid by a woman who didn’t charge by the hour, you wouldn’t have to eavesdrop on my relationship.”
“Relationship?” Inferno deadpanned, using the word like it was an insult. “Since when does two nights of angry sex and a shared toothbrush count as a relationship?”
I shot Griffin a glare and opened my mouth, but Diesel beat me to it. “You didn’t share a toothbrush, did you? Say it ain’t so, man. That’s, like, second only to kissin’ cousins in terms of fuckin’ gross.”
“Sounds worse than it actually was,” Griffin said, glancing my way. I raised an eyebrow. Then he added, hastily, “I bought her a new one. Electric. Gold-plated, even.” Took everything I had not to snort out a laugh, but what fun is this kind of shit unless you play along?