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)
Wraith looked past him to meet Rosa’s eyes. “Hey. I have some bad news. I have Inky, but the Ravagers got to your place first. You better hold Street’s hand,” he recommended as he pulled a pillowcase out of his jacket. Wraith hadn’t zipped up Inky in the duffel.
Her initial feeling of relief froze in her throat as he unrolled the pillowcase to reveal her black jaguar. Someone had cut open his stomach and pulled out the fluff inside. Rosa stretched out a hand and hesitated, unwilling to hurt her oldest friend. “Inky,” she whispered.
“The Ravagers had smashed and slashed a lot of things. I gathered the stuffing and brought the fluff with me. I think after some stitches your stuffie will survive.”
She held out her arms with tears coursing down her cheeks. Coming after her was understandable. But the asshole Ravagers had hurt Inky. Hatred burned in her stomach. “I have to get a needle and thread.”
“I’ve got you, Rosa,” Razor said, holding out a needle threaded with surgical string.
“I’m shaking too hard. You know how to stitch. Could you fix Inky for me?” Rosa pleaded, not caring that the bikers were watching and probably thought she was ridiculous.
“I can’t treat animals, sweetheart. But Street can. He’ll fix Inky up,” Razor told her as he handed the needle to Street.
“Please, Street. You don’t have to get me a bus pass. Just fix Inky and we’ll be square. I won’t ask for anything else,” Rosa offered, negotiating everything for her friend.
“Let’s sit down, Rosa.” Street wrapped an arm around her and led her to the two-person porch swing.
As soon as they settled into place, he tucked the stuffing securely inside the jaguar’s belly. Using small stitches, he drew the edges together neatly. Each push through his fur made Rosa wince. That had to hurt. Gradually before her eyes, Street changed the ragged slash into a tidy scar. Inky was a bit slimmer than he had been before, but Razor’s black surgical thread on the black stuffie’s belly was almost invisible. Street tied a knot and snipped the excess string off.
“Inky needs some love after all he’s been through,” Street said, returning the jaguar to Rosa.
She buried her face in Inky’s fur and hugged him gently. Raising her gaze, she said, “Thank you so much.”
“Good job, Street,” Razor told him. “I couldn’t have done better myself.”
Clapping from those who watched drew her attention to the bikers who waited next to their cycles. The large man who’d retrieved her stuffie said, “Well done, Street,” as the others celebrated.
“Thank you,” she called to the bikers. “I know my reaction was silly, but Inky is important.”
“You won’t get an argument from them, Rosa. Several of those guys have adult Little girls in their lives,” Street said quietly. “Would you like to see what else Wraith brought?”
Focusing on the question was much easier than thinking too hard about that term Street kept using. “Please,” Rosa answered before turning to Wraith. She smiled her gratitude at him. “Thank you. You went to a lot of trouble for me.”
“Nah. We were there. I grabbed whatever I could for you. Someone, I’m assuming the Ravagers, had already ripped the door off its hinges and destroyed your room. Your neighbors may have grabbed stuff before we got there,” Wraith said as he brought the duffel bag to her.
“I had nothing to steal,” she blurted.
“I grabbed the clothes I could find that weren’t slashed. They destroyed your furniture,” Wraith said.
“The furnishings belonged to my landlord. All the stuff was in bad shape and smelled worse than it looked. They should have been tossed out years ago. Someone else had probably put them out in the trash before. He’ll definitely keep my deposit, but I’m not going back there anyway so….” Rosa let the sentence hang in the air for a second before adding, “Thank you again, Wraith.”
“My pleasure.” Wraith glanced past her to meet Street’s gaze. “Is she coming to the compound? The others will share their things with Rosa.”
“Yep. She needs to lie low for a while,” Street confirmed.
“What? No. I’ll just jump on a bus going somewhere. You don’t need to worry about me anymore.” Rosa hadn’t allowed herself to trust others for a long time. Experience had taught her the only person she could rely on was herself. Still, from deep inside her, hope kindled in her heart.
“Not happening, Rosa. Why don’t you want to stay with me? I promise you’ll be perfectly safe,” Street said.
“The Ravagers will try to get me if they find out where I am. Your MC doesn’t need that landing on their territory,” Rosa said quickly.
Every member of the MC bristled and straightened. When a fierce-looking biker with facial tattoos stepped off his bike and sauntered up to the front porch, everyone quieted. “The Ravagers will never step a foot on Devil Daddies’ turf. Even they aren’t that stupid.”