JUSTIFIED (Motorcycle Club Romance) Read Online Free Page A

crying. Here we go.”
     
    I would never label myself as a crier. Sure, I got emotional during certain times of the month, but in general I was not one of those girls who could turn on the waterworks on demand.
     
    “I’m not going to cry. Just a little anxious, I guess.”
     
    “Alright then.” He scratched at his face. He’d been growing out his beard for a few days now and was looking grizzlier by the minute. He barely had time to sleep let alone shave. “You ready to go over some things?”
     
    “Yep,” I said. I carried my dishes to the sink and picked up Tucker.
     
    “Here is your prepaid phone. Keep this close to you at all times. We’ve already gone over the motion sensor lights, the special film on the windows. Oh, come over this way,” he said, walking towards the hallway. He pointed at a light switch in the middle of the wall. “This is sort of an emergency call button. If you switch this button, the police will be here as quickly as they can. Make sure you don’t accidentally bump it.”
     
    I laughed.
     
    “What’s so funny?”
     
    “I just can’t believe this is really happening. This is like something out of a really bad cable TV movie or something.”
     
    He didn’t find it as funny as I. “How long would it take them to get here?” I was afraid of the answer.
     
    “At least an hour.”
     
    “An hour? What if there’s an emergency? What if I need an ambulance?”
     
    “I’m going to see about getting some kind of car for you. It might be a week or two, but I’ll find you something.”
     
    “Well, let’s hope nothing bad happens in the next week or two.”
     
    “I want you to keep all doors and windows locked at all times. Don’t go outside in the dark. Don’t make any non-emergency phone calls. Internet should be up and running. There’s no cable. I’m sorry,” he said as he walked throughout the house, racking his brain. “I think that’s pretty much it. Just use common sense, Marina. Oh, and this probably goes without saying, but don’t answer the door for anyone.”
     
    “Got it,” I replied. Each second that passed made me feel emptier than the second before. He was standing in front of me, but he was already gone. I could tell he was somewhere else in his mind.
     
    “I’ve left a gun for you. It’s in the kitchen, in the drawer next to the sink.”
     
    “Thanks.”
     
    “Don’t do this to me,” he said.
     
    “Don’t do what?”
     
    “You’re getting all quiet. I know you’re upset. I’ll be back. I promise. I’ll be back by next weekend. If anything changes, you’ll get an email from me or your father.” Ash stared down at me. His dark hair was still wet from his morning shower. He smelled of bar soap and spearmint toothpaste. “I will be back.”
     
    “Got it.” I forced a smile. “You’ll be back.”
     
    He leaned down and kissed me, harder than usual. He kissed Tuck’s forehead, then left the room to grab his bags. No matter how many times I’d seen him leave before, it never got any easier. Each time felt exactly like the time before. My chest would feel heavy, my eyes would burn, my breathing would shallow, and my mind would race. My mind always obsessed over the same thought. What if I never saw him again? 
     
    I walked him outside to the car. In the broad daylight, it felt safe to do so. I stood by the hood with Tuck on my hip. He kissed us again and hopped in the car. He hated long, drawn-out goodbyes.
     
    I watched as the Ford left a trail of dust down the infinite gravel road that stretched from the front of the house all the way to the horizon and waited until the tail lights grew dim in the distance. I stood in that spot until I could no longer make out any semblance of a vehicle.
     
     
     

CHAPTER 5
 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    It had been a full four hours since Ash left. I reclined in a distressed leather chair with a book in the sunroom as Tuck napped on my chest.