Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 78534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78534 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 393(@200wpm)___ 314(@250wpm)___ 262(@300wpm)
Dark gray smoke billows out of the tube. "It's gonna launch," Riot says, his voice flat and unreadable.
There's a thunk as Cooper's boat hits the yacht, not hard enough to break, but the engine’s pushing it against the hull, slowly turning the back of the boat against the side. He struggles up into a sitting position and weakly waves.
Oh fuck.
The explosion starts inside the tube, fire and smoke shooting out like a fucking firecracker. A moment later, it's too much for the tube to hold, and the whole thing shatters in a massive ball of fire that engulfs the entire back of the ship, launching big chunks into the sky. Barely a second later, the sound wave hits us, a thunder crash so powerful it nearly knocks us off our feet. Jessica takes a step back, and I catch her against my front, wrapping my arms around her.
Oily, black smoke billows out, chased by deep red flames like Hell itself opened its maw to swallow Kane whole. The power of the explosion sets a tall wave racing away from the ship in all directions, including ours.
"Back," I yell, pulling Jessica with me. Riot grabs Rebecca, and we all race to get the hell away from the dock and up on higher ground. We just barely get high enough before the wave spills over it, clearing anything loose right off the dock and throwing the boats against it.
I turn in time to see the yacht crack in two, the bow and stern coming up in opposite directions. The whole fucking thing is going down. A couple of crew jump over the side and start swimming, but unless they're fast, the drag from the ship's gonna pull them in anyway. Jesus.
"Alright, let's get some boats together and look for survivors," Hellfire orders. "If we're lucky, Cooper got himself away, and the ship's cook doesn't deserve to drown just because his boss was a fucking asshole. Poe, get some more of those boats going. See what you can do, but boys, no risks. Enough people have died today. And be quick about it. Cops are gonna be here real soon asking questions I don’t want to answer."
40
JESSICA
I wake up, feeling like it was a dream. Yesterday was so surreal. But it's real. Mom and I talked late before she took the spare room at Bonnie's. They won't be back until later in the day, so she could have my bed. I was tempted to stay, but then I wouldn't have woken up like this, naked between my three favorite men. Not that anything other than some intense cuddling happened last night. As much as the guys like to insist that the best way to burn off energy and adrenaline is wild sex, there were too many emotions zooming through me still, not to mention that by the time we regrouped in Ghost's quarters, I was exhausted. I let them undress me, and then I immediately zonked between the three of them.
Sexy, right?
That said, now that my eyes have popped open and I'm scanning around me, there's an awful lot of exposed male flesh for me to look at. Ghost's rolled over so all I've got is his broad and scarred back, so I'll let him be, but to the other side of me, Tex is sleeping with one arm covering his face and the other one resting on the top of my thigh. His textured skin is warm against mine. And though he's not awake, something farther down definitely is. He's wearing boxer briefs, but the tip of him has slipped out the top and hardened into the kind of morning wood most trees would be envious of. The temptation to reach out and give it a feel is strong. I mean, it's basically out and peeking at me, right? Maybe even give it a little kiss. I bet he wouldn't mind getting woken up that way.
It must be early, because even Riot is asleep. He's mostly on his stomach, facing away from me with one arm under his pillow and one leg bent up, and the other one stretched out. It emphasizes his muscular butt in a way that makes me want to tug his briefs down and explore further. Yeah, of all the ways I've had to wake up throughout my life, this has to be one of the best. And now that Victor is gone and Mom is safe, well, the relief is enough to make a girl feel excited. I mean, they never found Victor's body, but the guys are all certain that he went down with the ship. I'm willing to believe that.
They found Cooper's, but while I really would have loved to get to know him better, as someone who knew my parents so well, I'm not taking it nearly as hard as Mom is. But what he did, for us, for the club… well, without him, I never would've ended up here in the first place. There wouldn't have been any Outlaw Sons to kidnap me, never mind everything else. I owe his memory a lot.