Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
His face is red, and he’s still catching his breath, as if he’s a Viking who’d just finished storming a castle.
I stand up in alarm. “Is everything—”
Prophet raises his hand to stop me, taking in a few more deep breaths. Once he can speak, he looks me dead in the eyes, and it’s intimidating how incisive his gaze is. Like two jade daggers.
“Creep’s been arrested. And since you spent the day here, I was hoping you can give him an alibi?”
Oh, wow. Straight to the fucking point then. Guess the motherfucking universe is testing me sooner than I thought it would. I squeeze the amethyst, desperate for the insight I was promised.
I’m a deer in the headlights. Do I jump off the road or stay? And which choice is which in this useless metaphor for my life?
I don’t even know what he was arrested for, so how am I supposed to answer? What if it’s some really fucked-up shit?
Instead of outright answering, I try to get more information first. “Wh-what happened?”
Prophet shakes his head. “A clusterfuck, that’s what happened. He was running from the cops, literally, right behind me, but his damn necklace caught on the wire when we were jumping a fence, and that absolute maniac went back to gather the pieces. I told him to leave it, but he wouldn’t listen. It made no sense for all of us to get arrested, so we left, but now he’s behind bars. If we bring them an alibi, they’ll drop the charge.”
It’s as if a guillotine blade has dropped on my neck, because my heart already knows what I’ll do. I’ll make this choice out of my own volition, because I know what necklace he stayed back for. The one he promised me to protect.
He got arrested because he stopped to gather all the pieces of my gift. He’s either that sweet, or that thoughtless. How could I possibly say no to him?
“Y-yeah, sure, I’ll provide the alibi.”
Thank you for the push, Universe. I guess.
Chapter 19
Creep
So maybe some of the cargo in the warehouse we have in town is illegal. Still doesn’t make it right to steal from us, does it? In turn, how is breaking the thief’s fingers a crime? You have to be a special brand of dense to try stealing from Vulture Hollow MC, so maybe I should have expected him to press charges on top of that.
I don’t know, and I don’t care, because someone provided me with an alibi, and I’m leaving. I imagine the guy has already enjoyed a one-on-one with Prophet or Road, so neither he, or anyone from his group will be trying that again.
I half expected to be getting out sooner or later, it’s not like I’ve been caught sawing off someone’s leg to turn it into feed for the graveyard chickens. What I’m most annoyed about is that the precious gift from Angel is now broken, and I swear, if even one stone is missing, I’m gonna torch the whole damn police station.
The officer shoving the tray of belongings toward me is clearly annoyed by my presence. This is a small town, so me being let out means she has to pause whatever YouTube video she’s been watching and follow all the necessary procedures, because she’s new in town, and still worries about making a good impression.
She recites how much cash I had in my wallet, then mentions the candy I carry on me and a few other necessities. I was worried the cops might want to confiscate my iron, and my favorite knife, but they’re both on the counter, along with the broken necklace, which I gather into a piece of paper, then fold all the edges to create a secure pouch. I’ll need to have it put together as soon as I’m out of the station, because I can’t show my face at Angel’s without it being whole. He’d likely take it away, thinking I can’t take care of his things, assume I was careless, or worse yet, just tell me to go to my cave with disappointment in his pretty blue eyes.
I can’t have that. Not after what he said at breakfast, and I’ve had more time than I’d like to think about that moment. He’s unsure of me and where we stand, whereas I’ve never been more certain of anything. I spent a lot of time in the cell mulling over what I can say to him, how I can entice him to be mine when he’s sitting on the fence at best, already looking over it at worst.
As soon as I have all my stuff, I’m headed out where no doubt my pack of Vultures awaits. It’s at times like this when I don’t feel like I’m a disposable piece of the club. The guys show up, sometimes even when I don’t want them to, when I don’t want the attention and the spotlight, but I can trust they’ll have my back. Prophet was annoyed that I stayed to pick up the necklace pieces, but he wouldn’t abandon me or withhold help for a while, so I learn my lesson. Something my aunt was always more than happy to do.