Total pages in book: 122
Estimated words: 112382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 562(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
“I’m already way ahead of you there, Hank. Thorpe, Creed, and Blade have already been compiling lists of places they’ve raided in the past and whatever they had on their radar. I thought these fucks were only operating in places like my neck of the woods because, you know, easy pickings. But they’re just as prolific in big cities.”
“My thinking is, the place in New York can’t be the only one. There’s no way they’re not too greedy to have these little set-ups spread out all over the place.”
“That’s only one headache Colt, what about the women they’ve sold into sexual slavery to some bigwig with more money than brains.” Tyler wasn’t looking so jovial now when he asked that question.
“Yeah, that’s a whole other kettle of fish. I think they may be harder to find. We’ve got the master list Mancini put together and now Roxy’s, but unless we find concrete evidence somewhere that points us in the right direction, it’s going to take some doing to find them all, and even then, I don’t hold out much hope that some aren’t going to fall through the cracks.”
I wonder if Lyon realized that every man in the room was looking to him now for direction. It’s strange because it was obvious, at least to me, that each one of them was a leader in his own right. It must take a lot to just let go and let some other dude call the shots, and the fact that they were doing it so effortlessly, especially my brother who's never taken orders from anyone for as long as I’ve known him, shows the level of investment these men have in what they’re doing here.
I want this, want my little family to be surrounded by this for the rest of our lives. I wasn’t sure what to expect when we came here, didn’t know that I would be walking into my future. Had it only been a few days? How come it feels like a whole lifetime had passed? “Kid, you’re looking better; why don’t you head on back down to your girl. That’s if the women would even let you near her.” Lyon grumbled something about annoying ass women under his breath, and I got to my feet, only too happy to be going back to her.
I was too excited to wait for the elevator so took the stairs two at a time. I came up short when I reached the room. “What happened? Are you sick?” I rushed across the room to her, maneuvering around the women to get to her. She was propped up against every pillow on the bed with her sheet pulled across her thighs. She looked…not scared, more like exasperated.
I didn’t smile, but it was almost as if I could read her thoughts in her eyes. “Okay, ladies, I’ll take it from here. Thank you so much for taking care of her.” They started filing out of the room, throwing suggestions for her care over their shoulders as they left. I waited for the room to clear before taking a seat beside her on the bed and pulled her into my side.
“How are you feeling? Sorry I was gone so long. I had some stuff to take care of.”
“Oh my gosh, are they going to be like this all the time?” She tried throwing the sheet off, but I put it back in place. “Where are you going?”
“We’ve got work to do; I can’t lay around in bed all day. And where do you get off? Even I know it takes more than twenty-four hours to determine pregnancy.”
I wrapped my arms around her holding her prisoner against me. “Remember when I told you how your scent affected me that first night? How I was able to find you through your scent and my sense of you? Well, it’s like that. I think I felt him or her as soon as I planted them inside you, but I couldn’t figure out what the feeling was since I’ve never felt it before.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I looked down at her precious face as she looked up at me.
“Yes, I am. He or she is barely there right now, but they’re there.” I held my breath while she seemed struck dumb, waiting for her reaction. It’s the first time we’ve been alone since I sprung the news on her, and I found myself nervous now about her reaction.
“Are you sure?” Her voice was once again that wistful soft breath of air.
“Yes, baby, I’m sure.” I kissed her hair and squeezed her shoulders, hoping to offer some comfort. I’m sure as hard as the news had hit me now that it was really setting in that it was just as hard or worst for her.
When she covered her tummy with her hand, I covered hers with mine, and we both held the place where I was sure my seed had taken root inside her. “Jason?” I don’t think I’ve ever heard her voice sound so thin and afraid. I wasn’t expecting fear. Anger sure, annoyance, any of those things I could’ve dealt with, but the sound of fear in my otherwise fearless beauty was almost too much for me to bear.