Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90607 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 362(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
And then, out of nowhere, the pain around her throat stopped, and she suddenly could gasp.
“Ava,” Violet said, coming to her side.
She gasped and tried to speak but her throat was hoarse.
“Where’s Mom?”
“Helping Pat,” Violet said. “All those years of getting you to tie me up, paid off.”
Ava frowned.
“Remember, I wanted to be a magician and get out of every single knot.”
Ava had forgotten about that. Violet would ask her, their dad, and their mom, to randomly tie her up, and not help her. It was when Ava started to learn different kinds of knots.
That had stopped after their father died, and her sister had fallen in love with sewing and crafting, not becoming a magician. At least, it had been put to good use.
Ava got to her feet, and she felt a little off.
Pat and William were fighting, and this was not a nice, clean fight. It was brutal. She had never seen Pat fight before, and as she watched him, it was a wonder. He had saved her, and now she got to see him deal with William.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Pat had never ridden so hard and so fast in his life. He knew what William was going to do, and on his way over to the fabric store, he had figured out it was William who had killed that mother and daughter. William and his desperation for his brother’s body had pushed him back into the hands of the cartel.
William had attacked Lidia. William had killed Lauren. And it was William who had pushed for the attacks on his bike, on the mechanic shop, and on Dylan. Each attack was aimed at people William felt were responsible for Craig’s death.
Charging into the fabric store, and seeing William choking the life out of his woman had signed his death sentence. Staring at his opponent, he didn’t feel anything for him but rage. Ava had done nothing wrong.
He landed another blow, and another. William was clearly not used to an opponent with skill. Pat didn’t stop, hearing something break and something snap. Within a matter of moments, William was on the ground, and Pat reached out, wrapping one hand around his throat.
“I can help you,” William said.
“No, you can’t.”
“Your days are numbered. The cartel will come and take what they want.” William smiled, and there was blood dripping down his nose. His teeth were already stained with his blood.
Leaning forward, Pat looked into his eyes. He let the other man see his true self. The one he kept locked up. The man who was more than happy to ride in blood and chaos. The man who would kill anyone who came after his woman.
“If you hadn’t been choking her, I might have considered a deal. But you choked her, you intended to kill her, and for that, you are done.”
He reached around William’s head, gripped it, and with very little effort, he snapped the man’s neck, killing him instantly.
Pat was aware of Hazel watching him. He knew Ava also looked at him.
He turned around and found Ava staring at him. She had bruises already forming on her face, and that angered him. He waited, knowing this was now up to her. He refused to push her, and instead allowed her to take the chance.
Ava took one step, then another, followed by another, and she was in his arms. He held her tightly, pressing his face against her neck.
“You saved me,” she said. Her voice was hoarse, and Pat gritted his teeth. It was time for the monster to go to bed.
He cupped her chin, tilted her head back, and looked her in the eye. “I will always come back for you.” And with that, he took possession of her lips.
“Well, thank fuck you did,” Violet said, seconds later. “Fucking look at the place. That piece of shit...”
“That’s enough, Violet,” Hazel said.
“He put fucking gasoline on fabric, Mom. Look at it.” Violet shook her head. “The man needs to die a second time.”
Hazel chuckled. “Agreed.” She cleared her throat. “Is this going to be a problem?”
“That depends,” Pat said. “What did you see?”
Hazel looked at him, and then down at her daughter. “I didn’t see anything. All I know was that man was hurting my daughter. Killing her. You came in and saved her. That is all I saw.”
“Yeah, dude doesn’t know his way around a rotary cutter,” Violet said. She snorted. “Personally, I think the fabric attacked him.”
Pat nodded.
“You have my blessing,” Hazel said. “And I know you would have had her father’s.”
“Mom?” Ava asked.
Pat looked toward his woman. He stroked her cheek, seeing the redness around her throat. “This is not the way I wanted to ask you, babe, but I love you. I fell in love with you a long time ago, the moment I walked into that coffee shop. There is no one I want more than you. I love you.”