Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44394 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 222(@200wpm)___ 178(@250wpm)___ 148(@300wpm)
“The Chaos Monsters are not some rebel group. They’re not a fucking boy band. In Rivermont Ridge, we keep the bad shit out. That has been the agreement with Sheriff Hayes for a long time now.” Doc looked at her, and Maeve didn’t look away. “I’m not a good man. I have killed people in the past and I don’t give a fuck when I do. The club must come first, it always has. I take care of business, and I keep everything under lock and key. Today, I showed restraint but there might come a time when Wilson Carmichael doesn’t go home. He doesn’t deserve his wife and kid.”
“What was today?” she asked.
“I don’t like it when men fuck over their responsibility. I don’t like man-babies. I can’t fucking stand it when men want to be men, stick their dick where they want, and then don’t take care of what they created.”
“Is that why you stayed with Nancy for so long, even after everything she did?” Maeve asked.
He looked at her.
She shrugged. “Nancy and I talked a little while ago. I figured your past was your past, and I wasn’t going to pry.”
“Nancy cheated a lot, but I had Charlotte, and then I had Jake, and just because their mother was behaving like an asshole, I wasn’t going to ... hurt them.”
“You’re a good man, Doc.”
“No, I’m not. You need to understand who you’re with.”
Maeve smiled. “You know, I’ve traveled the world for my job. I’ve seen a lot of bad stuff. I have turned down clients after one meeting. Several years ago, I had a woman who called me. She offered to pay me triple my usual fee. So I dropped everything and flew out to her house. She was the wife of some kind of businessman, millionaire, I don’t know. Because of my ability to hide tattoos with makeup, she needed to be on her husband’s side. She needed me to fix what that man had done. He’d given her a black eye, bruised her face, and her wrists and body were a mess. She was a mess. She was shaking, and while she drank, I did what she asked. The house was a mess, and it was easy to fill in the blanks of what went wrong. That day, I told her to lose my number, because unless she was willing to go to the police, I was not going to help. She told me the money and cushy lifestyle were worth his bad temper. I’ve seen men and women taking drugs. I’ve heard a lot of bad stuff, Doc. I know a lot of bad stuff happens in the world, I’m not a fool. I also know you may do a lot of bad things, but you’re a good man. You’re a good man that does a lot of bad things, but today you did a good thing for Jamie and her daughter. If you want me to walk away, you’re going to have to dump my ass, because I like you, Doc. I like what I see, I like what I hear, and I know there is a lot more to learn, and I want to be there to learn it.”
Maeve had intended to sit in silence and just listen to Doc. They hadn’t ever talked about commitment or a future, but Doc had already told her tonight if she got pregnant, they were together. He wouldn’t walk away from her. They’d find a way to make it work, and that was all she wanted from him. Actually, she wanted his love, but maybe that would come in time. She didn’t know.
He reached out and cupped her cheek.
And her stomach chose that moment to growl. “I need to eat.”
He laughed. “I’m starving.”
She unwrapped her burger, took a large bite, letting out a moan as the taste exploded on her tongue, and it was so good. Better than good.
“So did he cry? Did he threaten you with a lawsuit? I know Wilson Carmichael. He’s a piece of shit and hides behind his lawyer status to keep everyone in line,” Maeve said. He’d tried to use that same shit on her, but she’d bluntly told him to fuck right off. Wilson was nothing more than a bully, and when she pushed back against that bully, he did in fact back the fuck off.
“He didn’t look happy, and he didn’t like that I didn’t give a shit about his lawsuit.” He shrugged.
“What about Sheriff Hayes?” she asked. “Did he turn up and threaten to arrest you?”
Doc laughed. “I think if I do something like this again, you’re going to want me to film it?”
Her eyes went wide. “Would you do that, because if the answer is yes, then I would be all over that?”
Doc shook his head, but he was laughing at the same time. “Eat your burger so I can take you home and fuck you.”