Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 93698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93698 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 468(@200wpm)___ 375(@250wpm)___ 312(@300wpm)
Zak frowned. “Legend?”
“Future badass right there,” was all Zeke said.
“My name’s not Legend, Daddy! It’s Ledger!”
“Yeah, but a big boy like you gotta have a road name like me.”
“Whatsa road name?”
“A nickname.”
“Like Mommy callin’ me buddy?”
“Yeah, like that, but cooler.”
“What’s yours?”
Zeke ignored his father choking and answered, “Trouble.”
Ledger’s forehead puckered. “Twouble?”
“Yep.”
“How’d you get that?”
“Just by bein’ me.”
“How’d I get mine?”
Zeke poked him in the belly. “By just bein’ you. A legend.”
He doubted Ledger understood all that, but he would. Eventually.
Kyra rolled her eyes but allowed him to steer her to a spot where they could have a little privacy. And because so many fucking members were in the common area, “little” was being generous. He could take her upstairs to his room or back into the meeting room, but he was damn sure she was ready to leave.
Of course she didn’t know yet that she wouldn’t be going home alone. She’d find out soon enough.
“This never would’ve happened if I was with Glen.”
She might as well have just kicked him in the nuts with that comment. “Bullshit, Ky. He’s still my son no matter who the fuck you’re with. Someone tries to fuck with me, they’re gonna try to fuck with him.” And possibly her.
She dramatically swiped the back of her hand across her forehead. “Well, phew, what a relief.”
“At least with me, whole buncha people are lookin’ out for him.”
“I’m struggling to believe that after today.”
He tipped his head toward the common area behind her. “Look the fuck around, Ky. Everyone, and I mean fuckin’ everyone who could be here is here. Why? ‘Cause you and Ledger got taken. And I haven’t even fuckin’ told everyone yet that Ledger’s my blood. Even if they didn’t know that, they do fuckin’ know you mean somethin’ to me. And ‘cause you do, that means you mean somethin’ to them.”
She closed her eyes and said nothing for a heartbeat. Then another. Then a shitload more.
The concern in her eyes was obvious when they finally reopened.
“Get you’re worried. Why I wanted you to move out to the farm. Them snaggin’ you from your driveway made it fuckin’ clear that move can’t come soon enough. But there’s gonna be one change. Movin’ out there with you.”
The worry was instantly replaced with resistance. “I never agreed to that.”
“Ain’t a negotiation, woman. My job is to protect you and Ledger and that’s what I’m gonna fuckin’ do.”
“But it’s because of you and your club that we needed protection in the first place!”
“Like I fuckin’ said, me bein’ his father ain’t gonna change. Me bein’ president of this club ain’t gonna change. Him bein’ the next generation of DAMC ain’t gonna change. So, we gotta do what we gotta do. This weekend gonna grab a bunch of my brothers and get you moved in. Now…you with me?” Keeping his arm down by his side but shifting it a little closer to her, he opened his hand.
He waited to see if she would take it.
He pulled in a breath to beat back his worry that she would continue to fight him. When her eyes closed again, he figured she was gearing up for another argument.
He braced when they reopened, prepared to continue to battle.
Unexpectedly, her hand clasped his. Hard.
With a nod, she said, “Yes, I’m with you.”
Holy shit. There was no fucking way she was giving up so easily. Was this a trap?
He guessed the only way to find out was to test to see if what she said was true. He gave their tightly clasped hands a squeeze. “Thank fuck. Now let’s take our boy home.”
But before he could head back to his father, she tugged him to a stop. “Don’t make me regret this, Zeke. Please.”
“Nobody wants to keep you and Ledger safer than me.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”
“Expect you to. If I fail, expect you to gimme all the shit I deserve.”
When they crossed the common area hand-in-hand, it made a strong statement. One that didn’t need to be explained to any of his brothers.
While he hadn’t officially claimed her again, he would.
When they returned to Zak, Ledger’s grandfather brushed the kid’s hair back, planted a kiss on his forehead, and handed him off to Kyra before murmuring, “Give us a minute.”
With a nod, she took Ledger over to where Vi and Diesel still stood.
“Wanna give me an update?”
Zeke turned his attention to Zak. “Nope. Gonna get one at the same time the other members do.”
“Zeke…”
“You wanted to pass the fuckin’ gavel to me like it was some fuckin’ righta passage. And you know what? I fuckin’ took it. Now let me handle this shit. You had your time. Let me have mine.”
Zak’s jaw shifted, but after a few seconds, he nodded. “Respect that.”
Thank fuck.
The fuck if he was in the mood to go head to head with his father in front of the rest of their brothers.