Total pages in book: 50
Estimated words: 47524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 47524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 238(@200wpm)___ 190(@250wpm)___ 158(@300wpm)
He tapped his son’s bottom, as he held him close to his chest. It had taken a couple of weeks, but he and Faith had finally agreed on calling him Jonah. Brute didn’t like the name but he’d already decided his club name was going to be Heartbreaker. He wouldn’t allow anyone to take it. He already had a little leather jacket in the works with his new title.
He also knew the club was getting antsy as they wanted to take on more of the Golubev. For Brute, he had given Nikki time, but he didn’t take orders from the Bratva. All he did was bide his time, and he already had what he needed in place to do a full-scale attack on multiple businesses. He just needed to wait for Golubev’s greed to get the better of him, and once everything was in place, it was only a matter of time to take it all out.
This was exactly what he was waiting for.
Getting to his feet, he walked over to Road, with his son in his arms, knowing Road would keep himself in check. The man was many things, but when it came to kids, he drew a line.
“What?” Road asked.
“You want to talk about it?”
“No, but I want to kill Nikki Golubev,” Road said.
“And your time will come,” he said, and he knew his answer had surprised Road. Brute laughed. “Do you seriously believe I would allow any of the Golubev to live? It’s not going to happen. I’ve already told Faith not to get too attached to her father, and trust me, she isn’t. She has told me repeatedly that she has no trust in him. I don’t either. Do you want to tell me what went down between you and Nikki this time?”
“How do you know there was a ‘this time’?” Road asked.
“I’m not an idiot. You were happy leaving the compound to see your woman, whom I assume is the same one you brought to the hospital. Now, you stay, and you look at the wall, or you eat your food in silence. I don’t think I’ve even heard you greet any of the guys, or Faith for that matter.”
Faith might have also told him she believed Road was suffering with a broken heart. That he was hurting. Brute didn’t give a fuck, so long as his men had their shit together when it hit the fan. He didn’t want to be worried about Road being able to handle himself.
“One of my last jobs before this,” Road said, swirling his hand in front of his face. “Sergey got pissed at a woman’s rejection. He wanted her to pay for insulting him. I didn’t ask questions.”
“None of us did,” he said, agreeing.
“And … the woman’s face, she got cut up, not as bad as mine, but bad enough it ruined her career. I didn’t know this woman was a widower. She was still mourning the death of her husband, and she had a daughter. Dinah was this woman’s daughter.”
“Oh, shit,” he said.
“Yeah, oh, shit.” Road threw the ball at the wall and caught it. Brute was surprised it didn’t tear by the snap of it. “Nikki warned me that Sergey has put detail on all of us. He wants to know who we see, who comes to the club, and shit that happens. I couldn’t allow Sergey to get to Dinah. Not with what he did to her mother. Nikki, rather than just warn me, decided to pay Dinah a visit and then told her to wonder who actually gave the order.”
Brute’s anger was back.
“Church, ten minutes,” Brute said, getting to his feet.
He had heard enough. Nikki had played the wrong card, and now he was going to pay the price.
****
Pain.
Betrayal.
Guilt.
Loneliness.
Fear.
Dinah had experienced them all and as she looked at her mother’s grave, she felt every one curling up her spine, threatening to take hold of her. She couldn’t breathe from it.
She’d called the salon and booked a couple of weeks’ vacation. There was nowhere for her to go, but she couldn’t see people right now. She had lost her father, and there had been times she didn’t want to get out of bed in the morning. After what happened to her mother, she fought every single day to be a positive light to her.
Now, as she stared at her mother’s gravestone, she felt so empty, so hollow. Road had burst into her life like a fire, and made a place for himself in her heart, and now she felt so many different things. She hated him and missed him, and was so angry at him. She wanted to hurt him and kiss him. She hated that he’d done this to her.
Why did he lie? He had known from the very beginning who she was and what he’d done, and he hadn’t been honest with her.