Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68308 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 342(@200wpm)___ 273(@250wpm)___ 228(@300wpm)
“It’s about time I got to meet you.” Mac stands, coming over toward me. “I’m Mac.”
“Kinsley,” I tell her.
“Don’t mind these two. They aren’t super chatty.”
“Is it a problem I’m here?” I ask. They’re all family. I’m the only outsider, which I’m sure is making Eros on edge.
“No.” Jax responds first. “Don’t be a dick.” His comment is directed at his brother. It’s easy to see the family resemblance. Eros is broader like Damon, whereas Jax is lean and a few inches taller. There is a wicked scar that cuts through Eros’s eyebrow. I don’t recall seeing it before, but I also can’t recall the last time I saw him. It might have been last year at a random football game with the rest of the family. I’m sure there’s a story behind it, but I’m not about to ask. My curiosity will have to wait to be quenched until later, when Jax and I are alone again.
“Nope.” Mac pops the P. “Pretty sure you’re one of us now. You get me a name, Nancy Drew?” Mac directs her question to me.
“Nancy Drew?” I laugh. “I thought more like Harriet the Spy,” I joke back.
"Damn, you're right. You eat weird-ass sandwiches too."
"Hey, those peanut butter and strawberry sandwiches are freaking delicious."
"I'll have to take your word for it. I'm allergic."
"We all have our kryptonite, I suppose."
"Not so sure about that. These two are impenetrable." She nods toward Eros and Naomi.
“Not true. A spider will send Naomi into a full meltdown,” Damon says with a wicked smirk. That gets him a deadly glare from Naomi. I can tell she doesn’t like that he’s revealed a weakness of hers.
"They are rather strange if you think about it," I say. “Different, really, with all those tiny little spidery legs, multiple pairs of eyes, and fangs. They're so disconnected from mammals that our brains find it hard to process them, especially when they're in our territory. There's also nothing you can do to stop them.”
“Exactly!” Naomi almost smiles. Almost. I think I’m growing on her. “You got a name for us?”
“Yeah, she got a name,” Jax answers for me, sounding proud.
“We got it together. You picked the lock.”
“Don’t give him credit for picking a lock. That’s child's play,” Mac teases.
“It's Penelope Parker,” I tell her.
“Let’s see what we can find.” Mac goes back over to her computer.
“You want something to drink?” Jax asks.
“I’m good.”
“Have a drink. We’re going to be a bit.” Eros speaks for the first time. I lift my brows, surprised he’s talking to me.
“It’s not a threat. But we hang here often. You can snag a computer if you want or chill.”
“All right,” I say, sitting at a desk next to Mac’s. I pull out my notebook from my bag and my phone. I need to check in with Blair.
“I’m not finding the name,” Mac says after a while.
“You think it’s fake?” Jax asks, leaning up against the desk.
“Maybe, but I’m trying to backtrack the deleted files.”
“Which?” I ask.
“The paramedic had to have done some kind of paperwork on her. It’s not so easy to get into hospital records, but the police aren’t as hard.”
“Really?” I thought that would be backwards.
“The money is in the hospitals. They keep themselves well protected,” Mac says.
“Right.” That makes sense. “I’m hung up on the first dead girl. There still isn’t anyone reported missing?”
“Not that would be in a Golden Prep uniform,” Damon remarks, making me think. I didn't get the best look at the girl's face, but I didn't recognize it.
"What if she was a new enrollee but then dropped out?"
"Oh, that's a good thought." Mac’s fingers start to fly across the keyboard. I got back to flipping through my notebook. Nix shows up in the meantime.
I fight a laugh when she talks a reluctant Naomi into letting her do her nails. Easy banter falls over the space. Eros, Damon, and Jax settle around a desk, talking. It's not long before Damon heads out to get food, and we all end up eating in front of the television as Nix carries on about the movie she has insisted we all must watch.
I'm starting to notice that while she's young, she bounces from person to person. It might seem as though she's pestering them, but really, she's checking on them, making them take a break.
It's interesting how they all fit together.
Jax reaches over, pulling me into his lap and placing a kiss on my neck. I can't help but wonder if I could fit for the first time in my life.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
JAX
Kinsley is supposed to be unpacking, but she’s staring at her phone, giggling. We spent the rest of the weekend at the Incognito warehouse, bouncing from one dead end to another.
Most of my cousins had shuffled in and out, and Kinsley had met everyone at this point. Between her settling in with everyone and her mom’s reaction to us at the hospital, it had been easy to get her to move more of her stuff here.