Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63842 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 319(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 213(@300wpm)
I crossed my arms, my jaw clenching as I watched the male figure methodically testing Haven’s perimeter. He didn’t touch the fence, but I had no doubt he looked for weaknesses or, possibly, a place remote enough he could cut his way through.
The figure turned and looked up, but not directly at the camera, finally pushing his fingers through the chain-link fence to grip it. When he did, the security camera caught his face.
“Gotcha, you motherfucker.” Knight pressed a few buttons on his keyboard before isolating the frame and zooming in on the man’s face. Definitely Eric.
“Surprised he’s doin’ his own dirty work.” I rubbed my hand through my short beard in agitation.
Again, he looked all around him. This time, another camera angle clearly caught his visage. The smirk made me want to dig his eyeballs out with a spork. Eric pulled wire cutters from his jacket pocket.
“Look at this shit.” Knight’s voice raised in a combination of outrage and dark humor. “He cut a fuckin’ test hole. Just big enough to see if we’d notice.”
The footage showed Eric making a small, careful cut in the chain link before stepping back to examine his work. He looked at his watch, then back in the direction of Haven with an expression that made my blood boil. Smug. Satisfied. Like his action proved he could get to Jade -- or Mia -- whenever he wanted.
“Son of a bitch is taunting us,” I said. “Call Oktober. There’s a chance he’s coming after Mia, too. I don’t want anyone hurt, but especially not our women. At least one of them is a target.”
“You realize you and Oktober could just as easily be targets too, right?”
I gave Knight an impatient look. “I could give two fucks if me and Oktober are targets. We can take care of ourselves until help arrives. The women…”
Knight nodded in agreement, pulling out his phone to shoot a text off. “We need to end this shit now. Tonight.” He set his phone down. “We wait for him to make another move, we grab him, we make sure he never walks right again.”
“Assuming you texted Knuckles?”
“He did.” The man in question filled the doorway with his big body and presence. “He shows up tonight, we’ll take care of him.”
The old me would have already been planning exactly how to make Eric suffer. The me from before prison. Before Jade. But seeing her grow stronger each day had changed something in me.
Finally, I sighed, giving up this battle before it started. “We need to give Jade some choices in this,” I said, surprising myself almost as much as Knight. His head snapped up, black sclera making his blue eyes look even more intense as he stared at me. “Maybe Mia too. I’ll talk to Oktober.”
“The fuck did you just say?” Knight leaned back in his chair. “This piece of shit is stalking the perimeter. Testing our security. He posted those videos of her. And now he’s looking for a way in. What exactly are we waiting for?”
“She’s finally getting her power back.” I nodded toward the screen. “She just posted her story publicly today. Called him out by name. Women are coming forward, backing her up. She’s fighting back her way.”
“And what happens when he decides to put a bullet in her head instead of just cutting our fence?” Knuckles asked, his voice never rising.
“You goin’ soft or something, Rip?” Knight cocked his head to the side like a curious puppy trying to puzzle something out. “Because last I checked, this club handles threats directly. Not with fucking social media posts.”
My temper flared. “You think I don’t want to rip his fucking throat out with my bare hands?” I stepped into Knight’s space. “Every time I think about what he did to her, I want to kill him so bad I can taste it. But this isn’t about what I want.”
“Since when?” Knight challenged.
“Since I realized we go vigilante now, we take her choices away. Just like he did.” I took a step back, forcing myself to lower my voice. “You didn’t see her face when she stood up to him at that coffee shop. When she chose to fight instead of hide. If we hunt him down and handle it our way, what message does that send to her?”
Knight stared at me for a long moment. He glanced at Knuckles, obviously waiting for the president to weigh in. “That we protect our own.”
“It says she still needs our protection. That she can’t fight her own battles.” I shook my head. “I’m not saying we don’t act. I’m saying we include her. We let her have a voice in how this plays out. If she says to kill the son of a bitch, I’ll be the first one in line. I’ll go to this task with a smile and a fuckin’ princess wave back at her as I stroll out the door, whistlin’ fuckin’ Dixie all the fuckin’ way to the back of the fuckin’ property to put a bullet in his Goddamned head my own damn self.” I snarled at Knight, letting my true feelings show. Letting the beast slip its leash for a brief second so the other man saw what I held back.