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)
The way their father had treated them had affected all three sisters. Just in different ways.
Addie nodded at Cash as she stared up into his intense gaze. “Yes, I will.”
“That’s my good girl. This shouldn’t take too long and then I’ll take you for a tour if you like.”
This might be the only time she ever got to be in a place like this with a man like him, and she was going to take the opportunity when it arose.
Addie settled in on the sofa and grabbed a book. Cash picked up a blanket and tucked it around her. She wasn’t even thinking about the fact that she was in a strange place. She wasn’t thinking about everything that could go wrong. She was thinking that she was snugly and warm.
Safe.
21
Cash didn’t want to leave her. He wanted to show her around LittleLand and see her face light up. But his life wasn’t his own, and he had a job to do. So he walked back into the office where the others were waiting for him.
Titus scowled at him. “Why did you bring her?”
Cash frowned while Bonnie whacked the back of her hand against Titus’s chest. “Don’t be so rude. Cash can bring a friend with him, and she looks like she needs to be here. Poor thing seems exhausted and a bit lost. She doesn’t talk much, does she?”
“She suffers from bad anxiety,” Cash told her. “When she’s anxious, her throat closes up, and she can’t get the words out.”
Although he was wondering if her throat was also hurting her because she kept clearing it.
Bonnie nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, she needs this place. She’ll be all right back there.”
Cash still turned to the screen, which showed where Addie was sitting on the sofa. She looked all snuggly.
“You haven’t got any clients coming in?” Ralen asked.
“Not for another hour,” Bonnie told him. “Then we’re fully booked for the rest of the day. Thanks for moving those boxes for me.”
“Told you, Bon, you don’t have to thank us. We’re happy to do it.” Ralen gave her a cheerful smile.
“So what’s this all about?” Cash asked impatiently.
“Are we keeping you?” Titus asked. “You’ve got more important things to do?” Titus looked pointedly down at the screen where Addie was now lying down with her eyes closed and a small smile on her face.
She looked so peaceful. Her hand came up to her mouth, and she was rubbing the sleeve of her top under her nose.
Damn, that was adorable.
“Cash? Cash! Are you paying attention?” Ralen asked.
Fuck. He turned around and saw all three of them staring at him. Titus looked impatient, Ralen was grinning, and even Bonnie seemed to be smiling.
“Yeah, I’m listening. What’s the problem?”
“Dante’s got a problem,” Titus said.
“With what?” Cash asked
“Ortega. He’s gone . . . AWOL,” Titus told them.
Holy shit.
“What do you mean, he’s AWOL?” Cash asked. “He messaged me not that long ago.”
“What did he say?” Titus asked. “Show me.”
Jesus. Fucker was so bossy. But Cash got out his phone. “Ahh, it was three days ago. All he said was that he wanted to catch up soon. I mean, it was a weird thing for Ortega to message, but I figured he would let me know what he wanted.”
With Ortega, you could never be sure what was going on in his head. He was a bit of a wild card, to say the least.
Ortega was Dante’s half brother; he also worked for him when it suited him. Ortega was an assassin. He could get in and out of places quietly, taking someone out before anybody even knew that he was there.
The guy was deadly, and . . . unique, but he’d always been a good friend to Cash. When Cash wasn’t able to check on his sister after her attack, he’d sent Ortega to watch over her.
Sure, he’d taken liberty with what Cash had asked him to do. Cash had thought he would just stay in the background and watch over her. Instead, Ortega had decided to ‘help’ Greer. Sometimes his help was a bit out there, and for a while, Greer had thought she had a stalker.
A helpful stalker.
Cash owed him, and if Ortega ever needed him, he would be there.
No questions asked.
“So he could be in Billings,” Titus said, pacing back and forth.
“If he was in Billings, wouldn’t he have come to see us?” Ralen said. “How has he gone AWOL?”
“Apparently, he’s not answering any of Dante’s calls or messages, nor Alejandro’s,” Bonnie said, nibbling on her lower lip. “To say that Dante is upset is an understatement. If he doesn’t hear from Ortega soon, he’s threatening to come to the States to try and find him himself.”
What the fuck?
Ralen and Cash shared a look. “He can’t do that.”
“We know he can’t do that,” Titus said.
“He’d be in too much danger,” Bonnie added. “When I spoke to him last night, I could tell that he’s starting to get stressed. Ortega can go quiet when he’s on a job, but he’s not on any jobs. Dante has checked with all the usual people, but no one has seen him.”