Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 66480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 66480 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 332(@200wpm)___ 266(@250wpm)___ 222(@300wpm)
Wren stirred against me, her leg sliding between mine as she woke. Her eyes opened slowly, that vivid green momentarily confused before recognition set in. No regret, just a lazy smile that made my chest tighten.
"You watching me sleep?" she murmured, voice rough with rest. "Kinda creepy."
I laughed softly, running my hand along her spine. "Just making sure you're real."
"Smooth talker." She stretched like a cat, all lean muscle and pale skin. "What time is it?"
"Early. Sun's barely up." I tucked a strand of purple hair behind her ear, allowing myself the indulgence. "You need to be somewhere?"
She shook her head, settling back against me. "Not yet. Ghost thinks I'm crashing with a friend after the party."
The mention of her father sent a tendril of unease through me, a reminder of the precarious position I'd put myself in. I pushed the feeling aside for the moment, focusing instead on the warm weight of her body against mine. I needed to figure out if all these emotions were from the heat of the moment or if they were going to hang around for a while. Because, if the latter were true, I needed a plan in place to protect her while I did this job. At the very least, I needed Vittorio’s permission to get Bound in Blood involved. Hell, the man had been trying to get these guys more entrenched in his payroll.
I wasn’t supposed to contact Vittorio unless it was an emergency involving the Copperhead’s victims, but I thought maybe it was time to forget this charade of pretending this wasn’t Vittorio’s way of getting something he wanted without forcing the issue. He wanted to get the VP’s daughter to ask her father to come rescue my ass if I got in a bind without Vittorio having to ask and be indebted to Bound in Blood. He was a man who liked to have leverage over his world and I was man enough to admit that, while I was an attack vessel, I was also a pawn when Vittorio needed me to be. Yeah. Me and Vittorio needed to have a talk.
"So," she said, tracing a finger along a scar on my chest, "tell me something real about yourself, Rocky the mechanic."
"What makes you think I haven't been real?"
She gave me a look that said she wasn't buying it. "Everyone has their secrets. I'm not asking for those. Just something true."
I considered what I could safely share, what threads of truth I could pull from the tapestry of lies I'd woven. "I grew up in Chicago," I offered finally. "South side. Learned to work on bikes from my uncle who owned a shop there. He was a mean drunk, but he knew engines better than anyone I've ever met."
That much was true. Uncle Sal had been my first teacher, both in mechanics and in the family business. He'd died in a raid when I was seventeen, leaving me fully in Vittorio's hands. Don’t get me wrong. Vittorio had been good to me. Treated me like a member of the family. He trusted me with more than anyone other than his brothers, and a couple of them I thought I out ranked. But it hadn’t been a life I’d thought I’d ever have, and at a critical point in my life.
"What about your parents?" she asked, her fingers still tracing patterns on my skin.
"Dad was never in the picture. Mom died when I was fifteen from cancer." Another truth, though I left out how the Luca family had paid for her treatments, cementing my loyalty to them forever.
Wren nodded, something like understanding in her eyes. "My bio parents were pieces of shit. Dad split before I was born, mom was more interested in her next fix than her kid."
"How'd you end up with Ghost?" I asked, knowing I was pushing but needing to hear her version.
She tensed slightly, then relaxed. "Long story short, I ran away at seventeen, got into some bad shit with worse people. Ghost found me half dead in a ditch, took me in, made me family."
I nodded, respecting the boundaries in her story, the details she chose to omit. "He sounds like a good man."
"The best," she said simply, and I heard the absolute loyalty in those two words. It made my task both harder and more important. Wren was the perfect age for the Copperheads to take an interest in her. Right now, they mostly hunted out of their home territory, but arrangements like that never lasted long. The way I saw it, taking out this trafficking ring was an important part of keeping Wren safe. And I knew without a doubt I had to keep her safe.
"Come here," I said, pulling her closer, needing to feel her against me again. We kissed slowly this time, without the desperate urgency of earlier, just exploring, learning each other.