Total pages in book: 84
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 81808 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 409(@200wpm)___ 327(@250wpm)___ 273(@300wpm)
“I think I’m gonna be sick.”
“Maybe, since you have tonight off, you drive to Lewisburg and get laid,” Gaia suggested, waggling her eyebrows at me.
“Whose car am I taking?” I deadpanned.
“Yeah, that’s another thing,” Dakota chimed in. “You need a car. It’s time. I feel like a sports car is the way to go.”
“Because that’s such a good choice for the snow.”
“I always imagine him on a motorcycle.” Evie grinned.
“Also an excellent choice for the snow.” I hoped they could hear the sarcasm.
“You know what? Who cares?” Gaia told me. “You just need something reliable to get you to and from Lewisburg.”
I shook my head and started for the kitchen.
“You’re too pretty to be celibate,” Lupe called after me.
Everyone in my restaurant laughed, but I kept walking, hoping that little interlude wouldn’t show up in a Yelp review.
I ended up going home around lunch. They didn’t need me, and I’d realized lately that soon I was going to need another challenge, something new to focus my energy on. I just had to figure out what that would be.
I took the long way home, walking down the side of the road because every now and then people dumped dogs around there, although not as often as in a lot of other places. Thankfully, there were none, and I was about to make the turn up my drive when a familiar SUV slowed down beside me. I didn’t look around immediately; I waited until I heard the window roll down.
“Yes? Something I can do for you?” I asked Reggie, who was driving.
“That’s an awfully cold greeting.”
I kept walking.
He revved the engine and drove ahead of me before turning into my drive and parking.
“What do you want?”
He cleared his throat. “Abel was livid when the cops showed up because he thought you had betrayed us and buried one of the bodies from Friday night on our land.”
I let that sink in for a moment instead of exploding. After everything I’d done for his pack that night, that was the first thing Abel had thought of me?
“I want you to know that Cole was certain that wasn’t the case. Same as me, same as Fletcher. And every parent in the pack was adamant that you wouldn’t do that as well. You saved their kids so, you know, you’re forever golden in their eyes.”
“Also,” I said irritably, “when would I have had time to do that?”
“I know!”
“In the middle of the night or something? Me? Alone?”
“Fuck, Merritt, I know, all right?”
I walked over to the SUV, grabbed hold of the window frame, and stared at him. “I would think that the officers who were out there with me on Saturday might have noticed a freshly dug grave. What do you think?”
“For fuck’s sake, I already told you I knew better.”
“Well, I tell you what, it will be a cold day in hell before I help anyone from your fuckin’ pack again.”
“Come on, don’t say that. Abel knows he was wrong. Narah told him he was being an idiot. You were just the first person he thought of.”
Which was interesting. Because people who immediately thought they would be betrayed usually exhibited that same behavior themselves.
“Okay,” I said solemnly, turning away from him. “I’ll see you around.”
“Wait,” he said, reaching through the window and grabbing hold of my shoulder.
I looked at his hand, and he instantly moved it.
“Just wait, all right? I need to talk to you about Cole.”
“We had words on Saturday, so me and Cole are—”
“Yeah, he said. He came and accused me of trying to purposely screw up his relationship with you since my loyalty is to Justin.”
“What?”
“I know. Ridiculous. Why would I care?”
“I think he needs to realize this isn’t the seventh grade.”
Reggie scoffed. “I agree.”
“Did he apologize?”
“He did.”
“Good, then.” I left him, heading up my driveway.
“Will you please wait?” he yelled at me from the car.
I kept walking.
“Evan, Cole’s little brother, was taken to the hospital in Ronceverte, because he had a seizure and was spitting up blood. He’s been there since early Saturday afternoon.”
I turned to face him, worried as well as annoyed now, and yelled, “How the hell do you not lead with that?”
“Shit, yeah, sorry.”
I ran back to the side of the car. “Have they gotten the seizures under control?”
“Not completely, but they’re not as frequent. It’s taken a lot out of him.”
“Is Cole with him now?”
“Yeah. I actually came by to see if you wanted to go to the hospital with me. I’m headed there now.”
“I don’t know that Cole would want me there.”
“I’m sure he would.”
“You don’t know what I said to him or what he said back.”
“I’m sure it was the same shit I say to him about taking the pack from Abel.”
I squinted at him. “Are you allowed to say that and not be murdered for treason or something? Abel could call for your head, couldn’t he?”