Total pages in book: 44
Estimated words: 40637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 40637 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 203(@200wpm)___ 163(@250wpm)___ 135(@300wpm)
He led me to his office, and I took a seat in front of his desk. Knuckles braced himself on the edge and stared at me. He was the one who’d brought me here, so I wasn’t breaking the silence.
“Look, man. I’m sorry.” Knuckles popped his neck, looking uncomfortable.
“What for?”
“I’m going to need you to look after Carrie’s best interests until we’re sure of what happened and who that fourth man was.”
I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”
“I’m not cruel, Hawk. Not unless someone really deserves it. But my instinct is to protect the club. I need you to make sure I consider Carrie in any decision I make after we get all the information.”
That surprised me. “That’s why you said she was my woman.”
Knuckles shrugged. “Fewer complications if there are problems. I don’t like deceiving my family, but I’m pretty sure I’m not far off the mark, so I’m not gonna feel too bad.”
“And if Knight finds something on her? If she’s deceiving us for some reason?” I was surprised at how much my heart rebelled at the mere thought of Carrie betraying us. Not for the reasons I thought, though. Much as I loved my brothers, we could take care of ourselves and our women. Carrie didn’t seem to have anyone. And a betrayal of my brothers would forfeit her life. I wasn’t sure if I was capable of sitting back and letting that happen.
“You think he will?”
“My gut led me to her, Knuckles. That instinct has never let me down. Not in prison. Not in life.”
“And?”
“My gut says she’s exactly what she says she is.”
“That’s good enough for me. She gets every benefit of the doubt. But I still want you to watch out for her. Don’t let any of us run over her if there’s trouble.”
“If there’s trouble? You know Goddamned good and well there’s gonna be trouble.”
“You got me there.” Knuckles held out his hand to me, which I stood and took immediately. “Go take care of your girl. Let her know she made a good choice of a protector.”
“All over that, brother.”
“Hey. Before you go, I need your opinion.”
“Name it.”
“How would you feel about being sergeant at arms again?” That got my attention.
“How should I feel?”
Knuckles shrugged. “Completely up to you. Just know that you’re one of the few men left here I know and trust. You were exactly what we needed then, and I believe you still are.”
“You takin’ the reins back?”
“Up to Torpedo. That was the deal. But I don’t think it will be long.”
“Put me where you need me, brother. This is my family. I’ll go where you tell me to go.”
He clapped my shoulder and grinned. “Get on with you. Be careful with that one. I don’t think she’d stop at takin’ your balls if you got fresh and she didn’t want you to.”
“I know it makes me more than a little crazy, but watching her kill those guys tipped me over the edge, Knuckles.”
“You mean it wasn’t her being covered in the blood of her enemies?”
I winced. “Heard that, did you?”
“It was a memorable exchange all around.” I wanted to wipe the smug look off the bastard’s face but was on the verge of grinning my own damned self.
“Are we all gonna take our women the second we see them?”
“Kinda looks that way, but my advice is to not fight it. Roll with it. Make her want to keep you around.”
“I’m all over that shit.”
Chapter Four
Carrie
I stayed in the shower until the water ran cold, scrubbing my skin raw trying to remove every trace of blood. The hot water had helped ease some of the tension in my muscles, but my mind was still racing. I’d killed two men tonight. Two human beings who had lives and families and… I shook my head, trying to dislodge the thoughts.
They would have killed me. Or worse.
After drying off, I wrapped myself in one of the large, surprisingly soft towels and cracked open the bathroom door. True to his word, Hawk had left a small pile of clothes just outside the bathroom door. Women’s clothes -- a pair of sweatpants, a T-shirt, underwear still in the pack, and socks. The sweatpants were a perfect fit, but the shirt was miles too big. After pulling it over my head, I inhaled deeply. Then I pulled the collar up to my nose and inhaled again. Definitely a man’s. Didn’t matter. I was grateful I had something clean. The soft fabric felt like heaven against my skin.
The bedroom just outside the bathroom was sparsely furnished but clean. A king-size bed dominated the space, with plain gray sheets and a black comforter. There was a dresser against one wall and a small desk in the corner. No personal touches that I could see. Was this Hawk’s room? It didn’t feel lived in.