Total pages in book: 174
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 172061 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 860(@200wpm)___ 688(@250wpm)___ 574(@300wpm)
As if that were a sufficient explanation for the terrible sounds that were coming from outside the car.
But it’d given them a sliver of peace. The outright fear that had gripped them so harrowing I couldn’t fathom leaving them in the clutches of it.
Not until I was sure what we were facing.
The forest broke open to the clearing that surrounded Cash’s home. A bare light glowed from the porch, as well as a few from within. The cozy warmth was at odds with the chill that had taken me over.
Cash put the SUV into park, but he waited, his eyes scanning before he looked at his phone.
“They’re almost here.” The words were stones.
A moment later, the distinct rumble of motorcycles came up the lane.
Three of them.
Their single headlights filed into the clearing one by one, coming to a stop behind the SUV, each separated by about five feet to create a barrier at its back.
A hedge of protection.
My spirit trembled and squeezed.
Cash shared a few texts back and forth, and he looked around again, before he glanced at me. “It’s safe.”
It’s safe.
It’s safe.
I wanted to crumble into the promise. Let him hold me within the net of it. In those arms and those eyes and that beautiful, hardened heart.
Gulping, I unbuckled myself, clicked open my door, and slipped out. My legs almost gave, the adrenaline that had pumped through me now draining into weakness.
I paused at the back door of the SUV, gaping back at the intimidating men swinging off their bikes.
Cloaked in menace and mayhem. Violence radiating from their flesh.
River.
Otto.
Another man I didn’t recognize, one who wore a black leather cut like the others who often watched over us while Cash was away.
As if they were a part of some vicious motorcycle gang.
I could barely swallow around the knot in my throat.
Forcing myself to look away, I opened the back passenger door.
Eva peered up at me, and from the middle seat, Addy’s eyes were wide and uncertain.
I was sure of all the children, she was the one who would recognize the fabrication that had come from my mouth. Sure that she could feel the alarm and affliction that oozed from both Cash and me.
The man a ferocious beast who had lumbered back to the SUV. Wounded and still looking like he was about to go on a murder spree.
He would have.
He would have.
I knew it.
Memories of what he told me spiraled through my disordered mind.
“I would never harm you.” He growled it, and a strike of severity flashed through the air. “But I would kill for you.”
He was no stranger to duplicity. I knew it all the way into my soul that he was as dangerous as he looked. As dangerous as the veiled warnings he’d given.
Unquestionably, all these men were.
And somehow, standing there surrounded by them, I hadn’t felt more secure in my life.
For the first time, knowing without question that someone would stand for us, no matter what it cost.
“It’s okay, sweetheart,” I promised Addy, reaching out and brushing away the tear that trailed down her cheek.
“Is Mr. Cash hurt?” she whispered after he got out and moved to the back.
“No. He’s fine.”
Quiet, concealed words reverberated from the men. Anger and fury dripped from them like sieves.
A torrent that rushed and nearly knocked me from my feet.
“Are you sure, Mommy?” It was a plea.
My chest tightened. She only called me mommy when she felt insecure.
I brushed trembling fingers through her hair. “Yeah, I’m sure.”
At least for now.
“Mr. Cash is like a race car driver,” Colin rushed from the far side of the backseat. His fear squashed the moment Cash had climbed back into the SUV.
“He went like this and like this and then we went like this!” He jerked his hands one direction then another like he had hold of the steering wheel before he flattened his hand and twisted his wrist to show off the spin the SUV had taken.
Awe in my son’s little face.
I felt it, too.
Awe.
But mine was horrified and confused.
“Did you see it, Mommy?” he asked, the tears on his face dried, a toothy smile in their place.
“I saw it.”
“It was really cool, right?”
A shiver rolled down my spine. “He did a really good job taking care of us.”
“That’s because he’s our Big Giant and he can do everything like lift a boulder on his shoulders,” Colin claimed.
The weight of the world.
That’s what this felt like.
The door jerked open on Colin’s side, and Cash popped his head in.
His brutally beautiful face contorted, the gash he sustained last night busted wide open again.
Blood dribbled down his face, though it was smeared from where he’d lifted his shirt to wipe it.
Yellow flames burned in his hazel eyes. His jaw set and his posture hard, though his movements were tender as he unbuckled Colin’s straps. His gaze flicked to me every few seconds to gauge how I was feeling.