Total pages in book: 58
Estimated words: 54343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 272(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54343 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 272(@200wpm)___ 217(@250wpm)___ 181(@300wpm)
He stroked his hand through her hair, smoothing the long locks from her face. She closed her eyes, loving his magic touch. All her worries melted away. The comfort of not needing to be vigilant allowed her to melt against him. Safe in Street’s bed, she relaxed and fell back to sleep, imagining the luxury of having him close forever.
Chapter 7
Walking away from Rosa curled on his bed the next morning was the hardest thing Street had ever done. She slept hard like she hadn’t rested for days. Her borrowed shirt had gotten rucked up, revealing her small, rounded bottom.
Feeling like a combination of a besotted fool and a horrible reprobate, he forced himself to grab clothes and dress in the guest room. The bed was destroyed with the sheets halfway off the mattress. He took a minute to spread the covers into place, erasing the reminder of her panic. What had someone done to her?
He left her breakfast wrapped up in the refrigerator. Rosa knew the Ravagers were searching for her, and she wouldn’t be safe outside the compound. Hopefully, she would make herself at home and rest. He doubted she’d had many days of leisure. He crossed his fingers that she wouldn’t leave, telling himself that he wanted to make sure she was safe, but understanding his desire to keep her close was selfish as well. Grabbing a piece of paper, he jotted a note to her.
After last night, he worded his message carefully. Terror and bad people had filled her path to him and the Devil Daddies’ compound. Street pledged to show Rosa she could trust him.
Street kicked himself for not thinking about getting her a phone. How would she get a hold of him in an emergency? Sure, all she had to do was run outside and yell for help. Everyone in the complex would converge immediately on his house.
Before he’d found the Devil Daddies, Street had lived in a random apartment in a random city. He hadn’t known his neighbors, and they only knew his last name from the communal bank of mailboxes. Here, people knew each other inside and out, and despite all the different personalities, they cared and watched out for each other.
Quickly, he arranged for a disposable phone to be delivered to Inferno that afternoon. He would stock the device with several hours of connectivity as soon as the cellphone charged. He had ordered some clothes yesterday after tucking her in bed. That thought triggered Street to give himself hell for the thirtieth time for snuggling her too well under the covers.
She had two beach towels on that mattress in her apartment. That must work better for her than sheets and a comforter. The package Lucien had given him when he joined the Devil Daddies MC popped into his mind. Maybe that blanket would be just what she needed to feel secure and to keep her from getting chilled. The material was much softer than a large towel.
His mind was still focused on figuring out how to help Rosa as he parked and walked into the warehouse. His MC brothers shouted their greetings as he walked to the board to see what Lucien needed him to move today. Grabbing his hard hat, Street climbed up on the forklift he usually drove and headed for the first stack on his list.
Lost in the ritual of finding each load and maneuvering the machine into position, Street’s mind wandered back to Rosa. As he worked on his third job for the day a shout grabbed his attention.
“Street! Watch out, man! You almost took out that pallet of parts,” Hellcat yelled as he waved his arms in front of the forklift to get Street’s attention.
Immediately, Street stopped and bailed out of the machine to double-check that he hadn’t damaged the forklift or the supplies. He breathed a sigh of relief when he determined both were undamaged. Taking off his hard hat, he thrust a hand through his hair.
“You okay, Street?” Hellcat asked, studying him closely.
“Yeah. Just distracted. I’ll get my mind in the game,” Street promised.
“Better let Razor check you out to make sure there aren’t any lingering effects from whatever the Ravagers had that bar dose you with,” Hellcat said.
“No, I’m fine. The day off yesterday wiped away the fogginess.”
A buzz signaled the beginning of a warehouse-wide message starting. “Street, report to the medical building immediately.”
“Fuck,” Street swore before glaring at Hellcat. “Did you report me?”
“No.” Hellcat’s blunt denial and steely stare told Street he’d pissed off his MC brother.
“I’m distracted and a total ass. I’ll go see Razor,” he said to Hellcat as a sideways apology.
Hellcat nodded and asked, “Is she yours?”
“If I have anything to say about it,” Street said.
“Congratulations. Head for the medical building. I’ll move your forklift to the side.”
Shaking his head as he berated himself for drawing everyone’s attention to him. Negatively. He hung his hard hat on the wall, signifying he’d stepped out of the warehouse. Not that everyone didn’t already know.