Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 35194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35194 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 176(@200wpm)___ 141(@250wpm)___ 117(@300wpm)
“Redwood? What the fuck are you doin’?” Another man appeared from the trees and shadow. This guy was… waaaay the fuck bigger than Redwood. Both wider and taller. If he jumped in to help his buddy, I was royally screwed.
Redwood’s attention wavered and I struck. I brought my foot up sharply, hoping to catch his balls and make them sing. Even in the dark, I could manage to get close. He grunted and immediately stepped back, going down to one knee. I scrambled backward until I was sure I had my balance.
“Stop!” The second guy kicked Redwood over so the other man groaned and lay in the fetal position, clutching his crotch. Was he talking to me? “Not one more step, girl.” I guess he was talking to me.
“I’m not standing here and letting that bastard strangle me to death.” I bared my teeth at the guy. “I came a long fucking way to see Dominic. Either take me to him or tell him why you turned his daughter away.”
I was taking a huge gamble here. I had no idea if this guy would feel any obligation to help me or not. But my mother seemed to think he would. It was why I was told to give Dominic the compass. She said it was special to him.
The newcomer stood absolutely still for several seconds. If I’d overplayed my hand, if Dominic wanted nothing to do with me, I might wish I was back with my stepfather.
“Surely you don’t believe the bitch, Ringo,” Redwood wheezed out. “Dom woulda said something if he had a daughter. Especially after Lemon started making sure we all took care of our families.”
Ringo didn’t acknowledge Redwood, only stared at me. The moonlight filtering down wasn’t nearly enough for me to get a good look at the guy. Well, other than his size. Then he switched on a red light he had looped around his forehead. It wasn’t much and I didn’t think he could see me too clearly, but I knew enough to know it was to save his night vision. With the total pitch black in these woods, he probably needed it.
He must have seen something because he jerked back, actually taking two full steps backward. “Well, I’ll be Goddamned. Calista.”
Chapter Two
Ringo
I was so fucking fucked as to not even be fucking believed. I recognized this girl from pictures our sergeant at arms kept in his room at the main clubhouse. As his enforcer, he and I had grown pretty close over the years, and he’d told me some stories. He had a small table dedicated to Calista. Dom had said the girl’s mother had died a few years before, but Tina had sent him pictures of Calista regularly until the woman had passed. He didn’t tell me his and Tina’s story and I’d never asked. This young woman before him now was definitely Calista. What Dom had failed to mention was how truly lovely the girl had become. Probably why he hadn’t put a new picture of her up in a few years. Likely keeping them to himself where horny bastards like myself couldn’t see them and be lusting after his daughter.
And it wasn’t just her looks. Calista had spunk. She was dressed in black leggings and a black tank, but she had combat boots on her feet. She’d also ventured into our territory intentionally, which meant she’d been walking in the woods for hours.
“How do you know my name?” She gave me a wary look.
“Your father has pictures of you in his rooms in the clubhouse. Your mother sent him pictures until she died.”
“What?” Her eyes widened in surprise. “She did?”
“Yeah, baby girl. Come on.” I held out a hand to her and it surprised me when she took it. She must really have been tired, because the last thing she needed was to have her hands restricted in the company of men two or three times her size.
She let out a noise of distress as if suddenly realizing she’d given up a very important advantage. If you could call it that. She had fire and might be scrappy, but everyone here -- other than the women and children -- were seasoned warriors and me holding her dominant hand was a distinct disadvantage. “Ain’t gonna hurt you. You’re family,” I tried to soothe her.
“Yeah? What about Peckerwood over there? He gonna hurt me? You know. Again?”
“It’s Redwood, girlie.” The prospect -- who was still trying to get to his feet -- sounded like anything but a seasoned warrior. She’d definitely gotten in a good lick. If the situation was anything else, I’d have been amused. OK, so I was still amused. This girl had fire. Maybe not as much as Lemon, but she’d get there. Did my heart proud.
“That’s what I said.” She blinked, all innocent and shit. “Peckerwood.”