Total pages in book: 159
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 155775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 779(@200wpm)___ 623(@250wpm)___ 519(@300wpm)
But at least it solved one mystery.
“Will you let Dante know you’re safe?” Ralen asked. “Because you know we have to.”
Ortega grunted and nodded. “Fine. But I do need your help getting hold of someone else. He’s being slippery.”
Great.
This was just getting better and better.
46
Addie was feeling at a loss.
She shouldn’t let the fact that Cash had left get to her like this. After all, their ‘relationship’ had to end at some stage.
They lived in different cities.
They weren’t destined for any sort of relationship. That had been made abundantly clear.
She’d gone into this with her eyes wide open. So she had no right to feel . . . to feel abandoned.
He hadn’t said goodbye.
No, but from what Butch had said, he and Ralen had to leave in a hurry due to some sort of emergency.
So it was no surprise that Cash hadn’t taken the time to wake her and tell her goodbye. And he’d messaged her to apologize for leaving in a hurry.
But she wished she’d gotten to say goodbye.
That was the part that really upset her. She might never see him again. They hadn’t had a lot of time together and yet it felt like they’d known each other forever.
It was crazy, but it had felt so right.
However, what had felt right for her obviously hadn’t been right for Cash.
Addie guessed that was just the way life went sometimes, right?
She still felt lost and alone. And now, as well as Butch watching them, they had Ethan Stone. He was nice enough, but he was no Cash or Ralen.
She sat down on the sofa next to Monroe. Weirdly, Dotty was in the living room, pacing up and down.
“What’s going on?” she asked Monroe.
“Huh?” Monroe asked, staring over at her in surprise. “What’s going on where?”
Another stab of worry hit Addie. Monroe looked terrible, pale with dark marks under her eyes.
“Are you getting any sleep?” Addie asked.
“Not much,” Monroe confessed. “But then, are any of us?”
Yeah, that was true.
Suddenly the door opened, and she sat up straight. Maybe that was Cash. Maybe he was back. But it was just Butch stomping into the room. He stalked in and eyed them all.
“You all look like shit.”
She hadn’t spent much time with Butch, but he didn’t really seem the friendly, cozy type of guy. However, she hadn’t quite expected him to just bluntly say that.
“Thanks so much,” Dotty said dryly. “That’s what I always love to hear, how crappy I look.”
Addie winced. That was Dotty’s ice queen voice. It had frozen many a man and woman in their tracks. But Butch seemed remarkably unfazed by the chill seeping from her words.
That was pretty remarkable, really.
“Can you blame us?” Dotty asked. “After everything that’s happened?”
Butch crossed his arms over his chest. “Could be worse, couldn’t it? You could all be dead.”
Monroe sucked in a deep breath, while Addie let out a small pained noise.
Butch grimaced. “Fuck sorry. Didn’t mean to upset you all. But it’s just the truth. Things could be worse.”
Dotty sat on an armchair and sighed, nodding. She rubbed at her temples. “You’re right. Things could definitely be worse.”
Did she have a headache? Addie should get her some painkillers. But before she could even get up, Butch had grabbed some from the counter in the kitchen and brought them over to Dotty with a glass of water.
Dotty stared at them with a look of surprise, as though she couldn’t understand how they’d even gotten there.
“Oh, thanks.” She glanced up at Butch, then away.
Huh. Was there a little bit of red in her cheeks? Was she embarrassed over something?
Butch’s phone started to ring, and he drew it out of his pocket with a frown. “It’s Ink. Got to take it.”
Turning, he walked out of the room.
“He talks so much, it’s hard to get him to shut up,” Dotty said wryly.
Addie grinned at her. “He’s a regular chatterbox.”
Dotty swallowed the pills and looked over at Addie. “Your voice sounds much better.”
“My throat feels a lot better.”
“Good. That’s one thing to feel thankful for.” Dotty tapped her fingers on the arm of her chair. “We can’t stay here much longer. These guys can’t keep doing this for free and while I could afford it for a while it’s not going to be cheap. Especially when nothing else has happened.” She stared at Monroe. “But I don’t like the idea of returning if you’re in danger. I think I’ll look into security for you.”
“I could just stay in the house and not go anywhere,” Monroe suggested. “Or, I could still disappear somewhere else for a while.” She looked lost as she suggested that.
“No, we all stick together,” Dotty said. “Just the way it’s always been. All for one, one for all.”
“The Three Cutie-teers,” Addie said.
“Still don’t like that name,” Dotty told her. “Have you not thought of anything a bit better? Or just not naming us at all.”