Total pages in book: 180
Estimated words: 176012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 880(@200wpm)___ 704(@250wpm)___ 587(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 176012 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 880(@200wpm)___ 704(@250wpm)___ 587(@300wpm)
I unlock the front door to go to the car, but Quinn plants a hand on it to stop me.
Farrow grumbles in my ear, “Meet me at Wicked.”
The strip club? It’s five-thirty in the morning. Hugo must be self-soothing after nearly dying last night. I’d already had a tow truck dig the Mustang out of the woods and bring it back to Mr. and Mrs. Caruthers’s place. It looked fine, but I hadn’t had a chance to inspect it thoroughly yet. I just hope I have a chance to fix any damages before Jared sees it.
First things first, though.
“I don’t need you there,” I tell him.
I can do this alone.
But he just laughs like I told a joke and hangs up.
I slide my phone back into my pocket and try to open the door.
“It wasn’t your fault,” Quinn states in a stern voice. “You couldn’t have known how things would go.”
I remove her hand and yank the door open before she has a chance to place herself in my way again.
“It is my fault that I didn’t stay,” I point out. “That Green Street still survives. I should’ve dug in and gotten to fucking work.”
“I’ll call Madoc.”
“And implicate him?” Fuck, no. Not yet. “I’ll tell Madoc. But I need to take care of this. It’s my responsibility.”
She shoots out an arm, placing it across my chest as she blocks me from leaving. “What if Reeves is watching? What if he’s there? What if he kills you? Who will keep me safe then?”
I stare down into her warm, brown eyes. That’s what I’m trying to do. Keep you safe. The idea of her alone tomorrow, and next week, and a year from now. With Reeves on the loose? Hell no.
Taking her by the back of the neck, I pull her forehead into my lips, but her body is stiff.
“Don’t go,” she whispers.
I’m coming back. This is something I should’ve done a long time ago.
“Stay here, lock the doors,” I instruct as I walk out. “No business today.”
“Lucas!” she cries behind me.
The scent of rain fills the thick air as a breeze sweeps through my hair.
“You’re making a mistake!” she shouts.
And running away and ignoring the problem hasn’t done me a bit of good, either.
“Don’t come back then!”
Her growl hits my back, and I halt in my tracks. What?
Whipping around, I see her standing in the doorway.
“You don’t listen,” she bites out. “You don’t know that your family is your strength, and you’ll never get it through your head! Fuck you!”
I almost rear back, my stomach sinking as I watch her slam the door, lock it, and disappear through the kitchen doors.
Did she just tell me to fuck myself? What the hell is she mad for? I’m finally dealing with this! I—
I cut the thought off before it even fully forms and shake my head. No. I can’t worry about this right now. She hasn’t been living with this shit for nearly a decade! She’s speaking from a place of fear.
Climbing into one of Jason’s older cars—some BMW that’s even older than Quinn—I yank the door closed.
My family is my strength… How does that help me?
I try not to speed to the club, but my blood is boiling. She needs to trust me. For the first time, I know I’m doing the right thing.
But I can’t shake the look in her eyes.
Is she gonna let me in when I come back? Does she actually believe I’m not better now than I was? This needs to happen. I’ll always have the guilt, but this is the first step in starting to make amends.
All I can seem to picture, though, is her seething in her kitchen and closing the door in her heart because I’ve abandoned her before and she’s tired of men who make their decisions her problem. I’m just one more she has to handle, and I don’t want to be. I want to be there for her now.
In no time, I find myself in Wicked’s parking lot, sliding into a spot and turning off the engine.
If this meeting turns bad, will that have been the last time she saw me just now? Probably the best fucking thing for her.
Taking my phone, I open the voice recorder and press the microphone icon. I shut the screen off and exit the vehicle.
Farrow waits at the front door, and without a word, falls in behind me as I enter the club to talk to Hugo. I peek at Farrow out of the corner of my eye, though, wondering if he’s just another mistake.
I trust what he said. As Ciaran’s son, maybe he doesn’t have any plans to harm me or cross me, but I know he has a hidden agenda. Why else risk upending the status quo just to help me? I almost warn him that I’m recording on my phone, but I’m not entirely sure he’s on my side.