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)
“I think it’s cute. Instead of musketeers, it’s cutie-teers,” Addie said.
And she couldn’t change it now. She’d had T-shirts made up. She just hadn’t been able to give them to her sisters yet.
“No, whatever we do, we do it together,” Dotty said firmly. “We’re not leaving anyone behind.”
Monroe looked kind of miserable, as if she didn’t agree, and Addie reached over to squeeze her hand. “Do you want one of my squishies?”
To her surprise, Monroe nodded, and Addie got up to go into the bedroom. She grabbed one that she’d made. They were all lined up on a dresser: the ones Ralen had made, the ones done by Cash, and hers.
She sighed sadly. That might be the last time she ever got to interact with a Daddy Dom, to call someone Daddy and she’d only really had a taste.
That was kind of sad.
She grabbed one that she’d made and took it back to Monroe, right as Butch walked into the living room again.
He was scowling, but then that seemed to be his default facial expression anyway, so she didn’t really pay too much attention.
“Vextar is dead.”
The words were shot out of Butch like bullets, and that’s the way they hit the three of them. Dotty sat up straight, then collapsed back. Monroe gasped and grabbed her chest, and Addie sat right where she’d been standing on the floor.
Butch took in the three of them. “What’s wrong?”
What’s wrong? Was he serious? He’d just told them that Vextar was dead.
Monroe’s husband was dead. Sure, she barely knew him and he’d trashed their hotel room and threatened them.
But still . . . this was big.
And Butch was acting like someone had told him that they’d run out of coffee. Actually, he’d probably be more upset about that.
“He’s dead?” Monroe asked. “Are you sure?”
“Pretty sure. That’s what the cops told Ink. They want to speak to you, Monroe, about identifying him.”
“Identifying him?” Monroe cried.
“Why should she have to identify him?” Dotty said. “He’s the one that was trying to hurt her. Are you really asking her to identify the man that tried to kidnap her?”
“Well, to be fair, he wasn’t actually at the airport,” Monroe said.
“Yes, but in all likelihood, he’s the one that sent those men to grab you,” Dotty told her.
Monroe nodded.
“Either way, I don’t think she should be expected to go and identify this dead body. The police must have some idea that it’s him,” Dotty said.
“Well, he somewhat matches the description that Monroe gave them,” Butch explained. “But they would like her to identify him as well.”
“How did he die?” Addie asked.
Butch grimaced. “I don’t think you really want to know.”
“Well, now I think we have to know,” Dotty said. “What happened to him? How did he die?”
“He was murdered,” Butch said. “Shot three times.”
Monroe gasped and with her hand over her mouth she ran out of the room.
Addie jumped off the floor and ran after her, ignoring the wave of dizziness that hit her. She hadn’t exactly been eating properly since Cash had gone. And it seemed that it was catching up to her quickly.
Dotty followed her into the bathroom, where Monroe was bent over the toilet throwing up, not that she seemed to have anything in her stomach to throw up.
Addie knew how that felt, and it wasn’t nice. Grasping hold of Monroe’s hair, she rubbed her sister’s back. The memory of Cash doing this for her hit her hard.
Was she ever going to stop thinking about him? Stop missing him? Stop wondering about what could have been?
She really hoped so. Because she didn’t want to live this way for the rest of her life. She guessed the idea of him would fade over time, the memory would go.
Monroe finally stopped puking, and Dotty helped her drink some water while Addie closed the lid on the toilet and flushed.
“I’m so sorry, Monroe,” Addie said. “That must have been a real shock. Even though he was a dick who left you the morning after your wedding without a word, ghosted you, and maybe sent men after to kidnap you, it must still be hard to learn that he’s dead, that he was shot.”
“It was just a surprise,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting that. I don’t know what I wanted. I don’t think I wanted him dead, though. Maybe he wanted me dead. Who knows what those guys had intended on doing if they got hold of us in the airport?”
“What do you want to do?” Dotty asked. “You don’t need to go and identify the body if you don’t want to.”
Addie nodded. “The police sound pretty certain that it’s him. You don’t need to put yourself through that.”
Monroe sighed. “But I think I do to know for sure that he’s gone.”
“All right,” Dotty said with a nod. “Then we’ll go with you.”