Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 105709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105709 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 529(@200wpm)___ 423(@250wpm)___ 352(@300wpm)
He's right. I know he's right. But it doesn't make the guilt sitting in my chest feel any lighter.
The bathroom door opens. Melissa steps out wearing one of my shirts and a pair of sweatpants Jada must have brought over. Her hair's damp, hanging loose around her shoulders. The blood's gone from her face, but I can see the faint outline of the numbers that were on her forehead.
She meets my eyes. Doesn't say anything. Looks at me like she's waiting for something.
“You good?” The question sounds stupid the moment it leaves my mouth.
She nods. Still not speaking.
“Olive's on FaceTime with Jada.” I gesture toward the living room. “Wants to talk to you.” It breaks through whatever wall she's building as her whole face softens, and she moves past me without another word.
I follow her out. Watch as she settles on the couch and takes the phone from Jada. Her entire body language changes the moment Olive's face fills the screen.
“Hi, baby.” Her voice is steady now. Warm. Like nothing ever happened. “Having fun with your cousins?”
Olive's excited chatter fills the room. Something about a fort and cookies and Nan-nan letting her help fix an old bike. Knew it would only be a matter of time before the old girl would get Olive to call her nan-nan. Hard not to. She'd been through too much in her life to not appreciate the innocence of young children, since her son won't be giving her any in his lifetime with the way things are going with Yana.
Melissa smiles. It doesn't reach her eyes. Pisses me off that one of those motherfuckers hit her enough to leave a gash in the back of her head. Thankfully one Olive can’t see that’s now glued back together from the club doc.
I turn away before she can catch me staring and head toward the bar where Beast's already pouring whiskey.
“How bad is it?” Frost appears from the back hallway. “Travis said she was naked when you found her.”
“She was.” I take the glass Beast offers. Down it in one swallow. “But not with the mark, it was his. Triple Zero.” My hands run over my face. “Legend says that those who are marked will be called upon, but there ain’t shit in the history tellings about his personal mark.”
“Fuck.” Frost shakes his head. “And the sister?”
“Gone.” Beast pours me another drink. “The Five Einherjar have her now and there ain’t shit we can do about it.”
The room goes dead quiet.
Ripper looks up from the pool table. “The five what?”
“Einherjar.” I set my empty glass down harder than necessary. “Norse mythology. Warriors chosen by the gods to fight in Ragnarok.”
“That's a story though.” Ripper's voice is uncertain. “Right?”
“Depends where you come from and what you believe.” Melissa announces. Olive must have hung up. “But these ones? They're real. I saw them. Five men in skull masks.”
She stands. Walks over to us with the phone clutched in her hand like a lifeline.
“I want everyone here.” She looks at Beast. “Everyone who needs to know what's happening. Not in the Chapel. Out here. No secrets.”
Beast nods slowly. “You sure about that?”
“I'm sure.” Her voice doesn't waver.
Twenty minutes later, the clubhouse is packed.
Everyone's here. Even the club girls, who usually get dismissed when shit gets serious. Melissa insisted. Must be tapping into that softer, feminine side since becoming a mother. Kind of makes me proud. She's proper Old Lady material, would take any of them under her wing. A change from the girl that I first met.
She's sitting at the bar now, hands wrapped around a glass of water she hasn't touched. Jada's on her left. Yana on her right. Both looking like they want to wrap her in bubble wrap and hide her somewhere safe.
I'm leaning against the far wall, watching. Waiting.
Beast stands in the center of the room. All eyes on him.
“Most of you know what happened.” His voice carries through the space. “Melissa and her sister Millie were taken. Melissa was returned. Millie wasn't.”
Murmurs ripple through the crowd. Beast holds up a hand for silence.
“What you don't know is who took them.” He pauses. Looks directly at Melissa. “This is your story to tell. You want me to handle it?”
She shakes her head. Stands. Moves to stand beside Beast even though I can see her legs shaking.
“My sister was being hunted by an organization called Triple Zero.” Her voice is steady despite the tremor in her limbs. “They're—” She stops. Swallows. “They're not like other criminal groups. They're bigger. More organized. More dangerous.”
“How much more dangerous?” Footy asks from the back.
“They control everything.” Melissa's hands clench at her sides. “Human trafficking. Drug trade. Weapons. Government officials. Corporate interests. They're the puppet masters behind every major criminal enterprise you've ever heard of, but they're more than that. They're something else I can’t quite figure out and Millie didn’t have enough time to tell me.”