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)
I hurried to Griffin. The back booth was partially hidden by a support column, the vinyl seat torn and stained. Slumped sideways against the table leg, wrists zip-tied to the metal frame, Tessa sat only half upright.
My breath caught. She was so thin I barely recognized her, her clothes hanging loose on a frame that had always been slender but athletic and strong. Her hair was matted, stuck to her forehead with sweat or blood, I couldn’t tell which. Her eyes were glassy, unfocused, pupils dilated.
“They probably had her drugged,” Griffin said softly. “Easier to keep her compliant.” Griffin hovered but stayed well back so as not to startle Tessa.
I dropped to my knees beside Tessa. I laid my gun down before pulling my own small knife and cutting her zip ties. I reached for Tessa, cupping her face in my hands and forcing her to look at me.
“Tessa,” I said, my voice breaking. “Tessa, it’s me. It’s Veda. I’m here. I found you.”
Her eyes moved, tracking slowly to my face. It took her a long moment to focus on me. Then, like sunlight breaking through clouds, recognition brightened her eyes. “Veda?” Her voice was barely a whisper, raw and broken. “You came?”
“Of course I came,” I sobbed out in a whisper, pressing my forehead to hers. “I’ll always come for you. Always.”
“Quite the reunion.”
I froze. I knew the voice. Iron. Even though I’d been expecting him, being in the same room with the man after the night at the club office hit me harder than I’d expected it would. He entered from a door off the kitchen. Iron’s gaze flicked to Tessa, then back to me, an infuriating smirk on his face.
I looked up to see Iron step into the light, a pistol leveled at Griffin’s back. He was unhurried, almost relaxed, his eyes moving from Griffin to me.
“You should have died in the fire,” he said to me. “Would have been cleaner for everyone.”
“Yeah, well. I’d apologize, but I don’t like to lie.”
“You’ve cost me a lot of money, bitch. I had to hold your sister to draw you out when she should have already reached her new owner.” I could see Iron’s expression, the certainty in his eyes. The bastard thought he’d won.
“Do you have any idea the magnitude of shit storm headed our way, Iron?” Griffin didn’t look worried at all. In fact, the man looked almost relaxed. Amused even.
For the first time, Iron looked wary. He sensed the trap now. He scanned the room, taking a step back, but it was too late.
“Before you decide to set up shop in a new city, you should really look into who owns the city.” Tonio Miles and two of his men appeared behind Iron.
Iron jerked and spun around. He took in Tonio and for the first time I saw real fear flicker through his face. It was gone as fast as it came, replaced by calculation and seething anger.
Tonio smiled, small and wolfish. “It will be easier for you to do what I want, Iron. But if you think there is a scenario where you stay alive much longer, you’re even dumber than I first thought.”
Iron did not drop the gun. He edged back, looking for cover but not finding it. Now Iron couldn’t seem to decide whether to cover Tonio or Griffin. “Right,” he said. “You think Miles wants this to go off in his backyard?”
Tonio’s smile widened. “I know more about my father’s wishes than you, Iron. My father is very clear about what he wants. He wants the club’s business undisturbed. He wants the girl found. And he wants the liabilities erased.” He gave a little shrug. “You are a liability, Iron.”
Iron’s eyes darted to me and Tessa, then past me to Knuckles and Hannah fanned at the exits. He knew he didn’t have a way out, but men like Iron always made ugly choices on the way down.
Iron lunged sideways, dragging Griffin off balance and firing at Tonio in one twisted motion. The shot ricocheted with an ear-splitting BANG, splintering the door frame behind Tonio’s head. Griffin twisted, ramming his elbow into Iron’s ribs. The gun clattered across the linoleum, spinning under a table.
Everybody moved at once. Knuckles crashed toward the brawl. Tonio’s men dove for cover, hands going for their own guns. Hannah lunged for Tessa and me, shoving us behind the battered booth.
I barely registered the commotion because all I saw was Griffin and Iron rolling across the floor, grappling for leverage and blood. Inferno swept in from the side, launching a kick at Iron’s gut that sent a wet, explosive noise through the room.
Iron hit the ground and didn’t get up. I wanted him to. I wanted to see the fear in his eyes when he finally realized he was mortally, undeniably fucked. But Griffin hauled Iron upright by the collar and slammed him face-down on the table. In the same breath, Knuckles was there, zip-tying Iron’s hands behind his back.