RIDING DIRTY (Steel Titans MC Book 4) by Franca Storm (best books for students to read txt) 📗

to that, as the second I stepped out of the bathroom and back into my room, I saw a whole load of food laid out on a rolling table.

Liam stood beside it, his head swinging my way as I walked into the room. “I figured you’d be needing this.”

“Yeah, thanks,” I said, walking up to the table and snatching up a BLT bagel.

I was wolfing it down in seconds, my hunger getting the best of me.

Liam walked over to the window, took a look outside, then eased himself down onto the windowsill with a heavy sigh. “When will you leave?”

So, this was it then.

We were getting into this shit right fucking now.

I leaned against the dresser, resignedly. As much as I’d tried to avoid it, it was clear now that he knew, he needed to hear the details from me. “Right after these two threats are dealt with.”

He pinched the bridge of his nose. “Shit.”

“It’s better this way. A long, drawn out goodbye would just ramp up the drama of me leaving.”

“You’ve been President of Steel Titans for decades. Do you really think you leaving isn’t a big deal?”

“How’d you find out? Rick?”

“I figured it out on my own. Your behavior since the Strikers takedown, you upping the intensity of my training, then your impromptu vacation. All major red flags.” He sighed. “Slade, I know a lot has happened lately, but—”

“I’m tired, Liam. I’m fucking tired.” I walked over to him by the window. “It ain’t the kind of tired that a vacation or some short-lived break from the club can fix.” I slapped my hand over my heart. “It’s in here. All right?”

Our eyes locked and he rose from the sill, making his way over to me, taking me in. “You want peace,” he realized.

I nodded. “It’s time.”

A long, tense silence fell between us.

It was clear that he’d thought he could talk me down. But now that I’d laid out just how deep it ran for me, how it was more than a decision, and it was a need, he was having to recalibrate and let it sink in before he could figure out his next move.

Despite the tension—something I fucking well hated with a vengeance—I couldn’t help an inward smile. He was taking his time, strategizing, doing exactly what I’d taught him, exactly what I did when heavy news came my way.

“I’m sorry,” he finally spoke. “Everybody deserves peace. Especially you. You’ve had a harder time of it than the rest of us put together. You’ve carried the weight of Titans on your shoulders long enough. It’s time for you to be free.”

“Appreciate that, brother.”

“Yeah, well, we’ve got this. I’ve got this. You’ve taught me well. I’m ready.”

I laid my hand on his shoulder. “I know you are. There ain’t no doubt in my mind.”

He gave a smile that let me know how much my confidence in him meant. “All right,” he said, with a clearing of his throat. “I’m glad that’s out of the way.” He shifted his weight uneasily, clearly struggling with his emotion over actually acknowledging that I was walking away from the club. Pushing through it, he asked, “So, when this is over, we find her, and take out the threats, is she going to be ready to leave with you?”

“It’s time for her to walk. And even if she weren’t, Freeman finding out who she is and sharing it with his militia, likely Nolan too, doing all that deep research on her, has burned her as Shadow forever.” I walked back to the table of food and snatched up a strip of bacon, taking a bite, before going on, “Is she ready to go to ground with me? I ain’t sure. We never got that far into it, before all that hellfire rained down on us.”

“But you’re still gonna walk, if she’s not ready?”

“She’s Willa Rose, brother. Shadow. When she is ready, she’ll find me.”

22

~Willa~

 

“PREDICTABLE AND COCKY.”

Freeman eyed me from across the table, keeping his gaze steady, his expression unreadable. I’d come to understand that it was a tactic he employed whenever he wasn’t sure about something. He didn’t want others to know that. He wanted to be seen as infallible and all-knowing. Of course that was impossible, an unattainable state.

But it was possible to get close to it with experience and practice. He wasn’t interested in going that route, though. He wanted a shortcut. He referred to it as ambition, but the cold, hard truth was that it was ego and desperation. He didn’t want to pay his dues, or build this empire of his up slowly and carefully. He was determined with his bull-in-a-china-shop approach.

He would be the architect of his own destruction.

Of course, I was going to help it along a little.

I kept my gaze steady on him, ensuring my expression was completely neutral. I affected a casual disposition, popping a raspberry into my mouth, continuing to leisurely pick at my breakfast. It was more like a lavish feast than a regular, run-of-the-mill breakfast. A wealth of fruit was on tap in fancy crystal dishes. There was an assortment of breads and rolls, not to mention the numerous pastries. There was a selection of yogurts as well. Then there was the lobster omelet. It was a few steps beyond overkill, for sure.

It was also my third breakfast here at Blake Freeman’s penthouse. My third day confined here.

“That’s your assessment of Nolan?” he finally spoke.

I stabbed at a piece of omelet with my fork, noting his involuntary wince as I did. “His major weaknesses, yeah,” I said, popping the omelet into my mouth. I finished chewing, swallowed, then expanded, “The two we can exploit, anyway.”

“How about him coming to me and going outside his own guys?” he challenged. “That wasn’t predicable.”

He was still wary about trusting me. He had no fucking idea.

After his threat that first time I’d woken up here, he’d left me to stew for hours. What he’d really given me was time to formulate a strategy.

I