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)
“Well, why not?”
“Someone broke in and t-trashed it.”
Cash wasn’t happy that Addie was in a different vehicle from him.
He wanted her with him, and he didn’t want to think too closely about why that was. But as he drove behind Butch’s incredibly huge, ridiculously shiny truck, he did realize that the other man was driving safely.
Lucky for him, or Cash would have to take him out in a very painful, gruesome way if he did something that put Addie in danger.
Not just Addie, of course. Ralen as well, and Addie’s sisters.
Shoot. What was wrong with him? Why was he thinking about her like this?
It was almost as if she were his girl.
Well, she wasn’t, and she was never going to be. She wasn’t the type of girl that Cash needed. He shook off that thought and parked behind Butch’s truck. By this stage, everyone was out and standing on the sidewalk.
Butch and Ralen seemed to be trying to herd the women inside, but Addie was resisting. She was staring straight at him with her arms wrapped around herself.
Fuck, she looked so small and lost. He fought the urge to race toward her and gather her up in his arms. Instead, he moved calmly and steadily over to where they all stood.
“Come on, let’s get inside where it’s warmer,” he said.
It wasn’t actually that cold of a day, but the three women looked like they were freezing, and he guessed that was because they hadn’t had enough sleep, or probably enough to eat.
“When was the last time you all ate?” he asked.
Monroe shook her head. “We were given something in jail. It was unrecognizable.”
“I ate it. I still can’t tell you what it was,” Dotty said. “You didn’t eat it?”
The question was directed at Monroe. The other woman shook her head. For some reason, both Dotty and Addie seemed concerned by that, but he didn’t blame Monroe for not wanting to eat something served up in jail.
“Come on,” Butch said gruffly as he walked up the stairs to the main entrance.
Addie sighed and took hold of her sisters’ hands. As they stepped inside, they were greeted by Sable, who stood there with two more bags, like the one she’d given Addie earlier.
“Oh, good. You all made it back safely from jail. Here, I’ve got gift bags for you. I’m Sable, by the way. If you need any help, come see me. The rest of them are pretty useless, except for Brody and Ink, they tend to know what they’re doing.”
Butch just glared at her and then stomped past. Sable shook her head as she stared after him. “Don’t worry about him. He’s always in a grumpy mood. Pretty sure he was born that way.”
“I’m going to take everyone down to the safe room so they can have a shower and brush their teeth, maybe have a cup of coffee or something. Do you think we can get some pastries or something in, Sable?” Cash asked.
“I’m already well ahead of you. There’s food waiting in the boardroom for you all. Ink wants to have a meeting and find out where everyone is at. Take twenty minutes to shower and get changed into your clothes, then meet him there.”
Ralen saluted her with a grin. “You are amazing, Sable.”
Sable simply stared at him before turning away.
“Damn, your charm’s failing you,” Cash told him.
Ralen nodded. “I think she’s immune. Every so often I meet someone who is immune. Doesn’t happen that often though.”
“You met someone today who’s immune,” Dotty told him.
“Really? Who’s that?” Ralen asked.
“Me. Now, where is the shower? Someone take me to it. And then I need an explanation, or we’re all out of here.”
17
Addie felt a million times better once she’d had a shower. Unfortunately, she also felt twice as sleepy.
She could barely keep her eyes open as they made their way into the boardroom, where they’d had the original meeting with Brody, Ink, Butch, Cash, and Ralen. Oh, and the mysterious man over the speaker.
She wondered if he was here now.
When she walked into the room, she saw Brody sitting behind his laptop already, tapping away at something, so she guessed that his boyfriend probably would be watching.
“Hey, little mouse. I see you’re clean.”
And there he was.
“Also heard that your older sister made a bit of a fuss at the police station. Good on her. Can’t stand the police. All rotten assholes.”
Dotty froze next to her, then glanced around in surprise. “Who’s talking?”
Brody glanced up and fiddled with his glasses. “Yeah, sorry. That’s my boyfriend. He tends to listen in, just to keep me safe. It’s not weird or anything. All right. It’s a little weird, but you get used to it. Also, the cops are not all bad. There are some good cops.”
“Name three,” the voice said over the speaker. “And I’m not talking about fictional ones on TV. There’s no one like John Luther in real life.”