Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 79349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
“So, are you?” Cassia asks while grabbing a bottle of water.
“Yeah. She’s stopped contraception, so we’ll probably try to get pregnant once I return home.”
“Can we change the topic?” I ask.
“Why? You don’t like talking about babies?” Santiago teases me.
“No, I don’t.” I glance at the lake.
For a moment, it’s quiet before Leo says, “Catch us up on what’s happening with the MC club.”
Santiago starts grilling the meat while I share everything I know, and by the time we eat, it’s already eight o’clock.
I feel uneasy as I look at the other alliance members, and no matter how hard I try to focus on the conversation, I can’t stop thinking about Jenna.
It’s like I’m having withdrawals, and I need to lay eyes on her to take the edge off.
Chapter 7
JENNA
When nine o’clock comes and goes, my heart sinks.
It doesn’t look like Mr. Oliveira is coming tonight, which sucks. I was going to try to talk to him today. I even wrote a little note in case I chickened out at the last minute.
I ate all the pastries he gave me yesterday, and the washed container is sitting on the counter in front of me.
God, I was so full from gorging on the pastries that I slept like the dead for eight hours. I haven’t had such a good day in a very long time.
Seeing Mr. Oliveira every night for the past week, I couldn’t help but form a crush on him. I’ll never act on it, but it feels so amazing, and I’m constantly excited to see him again.
I picture him coming into the store and asking me out on a date. We’d go to dinner at a fancy restaurant. The kind that uses fabric napkins. He’d only have eyes for me, and that would make me feel special.
A dreamy smile curves my lips as I get lost in my fantasy.
When we’re done eating a five-course meal that has my stomach bursting at the seams, he’d take my hand and we’d walk through town for everyone to see I’m not as weird as they think.
Mr. Oliveira would pull me to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk, and slowly, he’d lean down until our mouths touch in a sweet kiss.
My cheeks grow warm as I keep replaying the scene over and over in my mind.
The sound of a car pulling into the gas station yanks me out of my fantasy and has my eyes darting to the window.
Ugh, it’s just a sedan.
When the car comes to a stop right outside the store, I see the four men sitting inside, and the sight of them has my heart rate setting off at a crazy pace.
Shoot.
I don’t recognize them, and it always makes me more nervous dealing with strangers than regulars.
While the driver stays in the car, the other three get out. One lights a cigarette and walks toward the roadside, glancing up and down.
The tiny hairs on the back of my neck rise, and my breathing slows down when only two of the men come into the store.
They glance around, and one hangs back near the counter, his eyes scanning over me, while the other walks toward the ATM in the corner.
The man closest to me pulls a gun out from behind his back and looks me dead in the eye as he orders, “Stay right there and don’t do anything stupid.”
Oh God.
I nod quickly before ducking my head low and wrapping my arms around my middle.
Shock shudders through me as he keeps the gun trained on me while the other man does something by the ATM. Suddenly, they hurry out of the store, and before I know what’s happening, there’s a loud blast and I’m slammed against the shelves behind me.
My body drops to the floor while my ears ring and pain blossoms at the back of my head.
I’m completely disoriented as I’m grabbed by my arm and hauled to my feet. When the man shouts in my face, I struggle to make out his words.
I’m yanked out from behind the counter and shoved toward the ATM that’s been blown open, cash lying scattered all over the floor, while smoke quickly fills the air.
I cough, and when I just stand and stare at the destruction, something connects with the side of my head and cheek, making me topple over and fall between the dollar bills.
“I said pick up the fucking money and load it into the bag,” one of the men shouts, my hearing finally returning.
Dazed and shocked, I move onto my knees and begin to gather the money.
Only then does a trembling start deep in my bones, and intense fear strikes hard. I taste something coppery, and my tongue feels numb.
“Faster!” One of the men, who’s standing outside, shouts. “There’s a car coming.”
“You heard him,” the one closest to me snaps while he shoves at my hip with his shoe. “Get all the money in the bag now!”