Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 278(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Bohdi, Kendric, Mykel, and Alarick all walk toward the house, their jackets on display, their power unmistakable.
It’s odd to not see Samson with them, but he’s spending time with Lilian, and after everything that went down, I’m not even certain he’s part of the club anymore. I see him around the clubhouse, but as for these kinds of things, he hasn’t been part of it.
That breaks my heart.
He was only doing what he had to do to protect his daughter.
Though I do understand that they did what they needed to do, to protect the club and the laws that come with it.
“Do you think anyone lives here?” Waverly asks, leaning against the truck. “It kind of looks like they do.”
“I’m guessing so.” Briella nods. “It’s too clean. Did anyone else live here when you were here, Merleigh?”
I shake my head. “No, just Cova and I. Bryant had people around all the time, people he worked with who ran his companies for him. So, maybe one of them took over. I’m sure he had a will ...”
“Who is this man anyway?” Isla asks, joining the conversation.
“He purchased girls illegally and kept them as slaves,” Zariah answers. “It took us a long time to bring them down.”
“He bought you then?” Isla asks me, her eyes narrowing. “Is that why Bohdi feels so sorry for you?”
I’m not in the mood to argue with her, or get into some sort of fight here in the driveway. So, I ignore the question.
“You can answer me,” Isla mutters. “Or are you ignorant, too?”
I take a deep breath and look to her. “I’m not answering personal questions, I don’t even know you. Now is not the time.”
“When is it time? I have the right to know about the woman my husband is clearly in love with.”
Bohdi is in love with me?
I think she’s got it wrong.
“We’re friends,” I say calmly. “Nothing ever happened between us, we just get along very well.”
That’s the truth, nothing ever did happen between us. Are there feelings there, at least for me? Yes. But we are friends. I’m not a liar, and I’m not fake. I will tell her the truth and that’s exactly what I’m doing.
“You expect me to believe that?”
“It’s the truth,” Briella answers, her voice crisp and straight to the point. “It’s not up to you to come in here and cause problems, Isla. Merleigh is dear to us and we’re not going to have you speak down to her.”
Isla glares at Briella and then mutters, “Of course you’re all going to have her back. Nobody ever has mine.”
“We don’t know you,” Waverly points out. “We literally just met you. We didn’t know he had a wife.”
“And whose fault is that?” Isla snaps.
“It’s his.” Waverly nods. “We get that, but you’re not making a great first impression. If you want to be part of his life again, we all come with it. I think you probably need to get on board with that.”
She goes to say something else, but her son, the oldest one, tugs at her hand. “Mom, I’m hungry.”
The boys are both under ten, but I’m not exactly sure of their ages. Taj, Bohdi’s son, is maybe six? And Sunny is probably closer to eight or nine. I’ll have to ask the question, find out for sure, but even at such a young age, Bohdi has missed so much. Taj looks just like him, there is no doubt in the world that the little boy belongs to him.
They’re surfer boys through and through. Golden hair, tanned skin and gorgeous eyes. Beads around their necks and often getting around without a shirt. Sunny is far more outgoing than his little brother. Taj is quiet, just like Bohdi. He observes people and watches as they go about their day, as if he’s taking them in, learning things about them they probably don’t even know.
“There’s some snacks in the truck,” Isla tells Sunny.
He turns and rushes toward the truck—Taj presses closer to his mother’s side, his eyes on me. I smile at him and expect he won’t return it, but he does. When he does, he looks even more like his daddy, and that just makes my heart ache that much more. I can’t have kids. A secret I have kept close to my heart and soul, a secret nobody knows.
I found out not too long ago at a checkup. I had been having problems, and after a range of tests, they told me my chances of having kids were basically none. They gave me options, ideas, but because of the life I had lived, I wasn’t able. An experience when I was younger made sure of that, an experience I can’t even think about, let alone process.
The worst night of my life.
The day I was forever changed.
“The people who live here have no idea who Bryant is,” Alarick says, returning to the truck with the other guys following him. “They purchased the house only a month ago when it was put up for sale. They said the bank was selling it. They did, however, tell us that a girl matching Cova’s description was here last night, asking for Bryant. So, we’re on the right path. Now, we’ve got to work out where she would have gone. Any idea, Merleigh?”