Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 34187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 34187 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 171(@200wpm)___ 137(@250wpm)___ 114(@300wpm)
“Knuckles is sendin’ an escort in our direction.” Tiny spoke softly, respectful of Tillie’s fragile state. “Said Venus and Piston will be joining us shortly, and will have our six until Chains and Oktober meet us and bring us home.”
I snorted. “They escorting us to safety or just out of their territory?”
Tiny shrugged. “Does it matter? Even if they’re makin’ sure we’re just passin’ through, they’d be good to have at our back in a fight.”
“Fair point.”
“Wh-where are we going?” Tillie still shook, but the soft rhythm of mine and Tiny’s conversation seemed to have settled her somewhat.
“Nashville, honey.” I tried to soothe her as best I could when this kind of care wasn’t in my nature. She seemed to need the gentle caresses, and I didn’t blame her.
When she didn’t say anything more, I thought maybe she’d settled enough to drift off. Sleeping off adrenaline drop was the easiest way to feel human again.
I was wrong, though. After a couple of minutes, she spoke again. “That was my home. I don’t have anywhere to go.” She sounded so forlorn it tore at my heart. If we were right and the Menendez family had sent a goon to scare her, I was going to make someone bleed.
“Yeah, you do, honey. You’re stayin’ with me. You trust me. Right?”
She lifted her head to look straight into my eyes. The pain, fear, and absolute devastation was so stark in her expression I wanted to kill someone. “I think you’re the only person in my life I do trust, Xave.”
Christ, this girl! “Good. Then stay right where you are. Let me hold you as long as you need to feel more like yourself. We’ve got a four-hour drive. Take all the time you need. When Tiny thinks it’s safe enough to stop, we’ll find a fast-food place and grab a bite and take a piss.” As I hoped, that got a small giggle from her. “There’s my girl.” I gave her a light, reassuring squeeze before resuming my steady rubbing up and down her back. “Talk it out if you need to, honey. Or sleep. Or whatever you need. I’m here. Ain’t lettin’ anyone hurt you.”
She was silent for a long time. I actually thought she’d gone to sleep. “I just wanted a place that felt like a home should.” She spoke so softly I barely heard her. “I’ve never had a place I felt like I belonged. Mom and Dad basically used me as a transaction, and Paul…”
“I get it,” I said, not able to stand her bringing up that fucking monster. Any man who could hurt a woman as sweet, giving, and caring as Tillie deserved to die fucking hard. I’d shot the bastard, but if I had it to do over, I’d draw out the process and no one would ever have found the body. But there was more to that story than I ever wanted Tillie to know. “You figured if you weren’t born with a proper home, hadn’t been able to find a proper home after you got hitched, you’d make your own fuckin’ proper home.” I growled out my interpretation with a bit more anger in my voice than I wanted, but Tillie either didn’t notice or didn’t take my tone to mean I was upset with her.
“Yes!” She sat back a little so she could study me closer. Her eyes were wide and a pale silvery-green that’d mesmerized me from the day I’d met her. “That’s it exactly! I was going to make my own home. A place I always felt safe and like I was in charge of my life because I could do anything I wanted. Go to bed when I wanted. Eat junk food all day in front of the television if I wanted. If I didn’t want to get dressed, I could wear my pajamas all day and no one could say one Goddamned thing!” By the end, tears were streaming down her cheeks and those gorgeous eyes of hers were swimming in a luminous pool of tears. The headlights from a passing car made her eyes shimmer almost like glitter.
I couldn’t stop myself from brushing one tear away with my thumb as it rolled down her cheek. “You’ll have all of that and more, baby. I swear on my Goddamned life.” Why the absolute fuck had I said that out loud?
Didn’t make the statement any less true, but I’d have preferred we were alone when I told her I was claiming her. Now, with Tiny here, giving me a look in the rearview mirror, I knew I’d fucked up. Not necessarily in a bad way, but in a way that would get me picked on mercilessly if Tillie didn’t want me to claim her.
Her eyes widened in shock. “What?”
“Don’t worry about all that right now.” I tried to steer the conversation to something else, needing some time to really think about this because, honestly, I’d never considered I’d be in a position to actually make Tillie mine. If not for the threat to her, I’d still be in prison. The second I realized there might be a problem, Knuckles started working on getting me out. The man had some serious pull in and out of the system. Someone who had enough power to get me an unscheduled release in hours rather than days, weeks or even months.