Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 103431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 517(@200wpm)___ 414(@250wpm)___ 345(@300wpm)
A small part of me feels guilty at his squeaky-clean assessment. Which is wild, because under any other circumstance, I wouldn’t feel even a shred of guilt. Randall Wallace got what he deserved tenfold. And, technically, I’m not the one who pulled the trigger.
“Right. Okay.”
“Also, get with the times, E. The paperwork is digital. Text me your email and I’ll send it over.”
I slide my phone from my pocket and fire off a text. “Start date?” I ask once it’s sent.
“How’s next week sound?”
“Works for me.”
“Glad to hear it. Any other questions?”
“Loads. Hours? I'm assuming it's not a nine to five. Pay? Benefits?”
“I’ll include it all in the email, and you can let me know if you have any questions.”
“Got it.” Unbidden, Scarlet pops into my head. “Hey, while we’re here, let me run something by you…”
He raises a brow, clearly intrigued. “Go on…”
“I’ve got this… friend.” The word tastes strange on my tongue. “And I think she’s in some real trouble.”
“Your friend happen to be the same one from The Creek?”
I slump back against the booth, which is apparently all the confirmation he needs.
“What’s going on?”
“She’s got a stalker.” I lay it all out there for him. The letters, the surveilling, the threats. “We filed a police report yesterday, but I… I don’t know, man. I’ve got a bad feeling.”
“We, huh?” Silas asks, grinning. Who the fuck grins after hearing something like that? “Sounds like security detail for your girl is a great first gig with us.”
“Two problems.” I hold up my index finger. “One, she’s not my girl.” I add my middle finger, pointing them both his way. “And two, she hasn’t hired you.”
“Not yet,” is all he says.
“Not yet to what?”
“All of it, man. All of it.”
TWELVE
SCARLET
“How’s it going, S?” Cara, one of the nurses I work with asks, as I trudge into the break room in search of coffee.
“Another freaking day in paradise,” I mutter, not bothering to look her way. I’m exhausted and overwhelmed and honestly kind of want to cry.
Cara’s like a freaking emotional hawk though—one second of eye contact and bam, you’re the mouse being plucked from the field as she picks apart your entire psyche. It’s as amazing as it is awful.
Amazing when it’s someone else’s life. Awful when it’s yours. And I’d really, really like to avoid her latching onto all of the many things keeping me up at night.
At this point, I’m not sure who’s dominating more of my time—Ellis or my stalker. Something shifted between the two of us over the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, Ellis still gets on my nerves like no other, but he was… softer on Sunday when he went with me to the station. Dare I say, even caring.
My brain’s having a hard time processing the change in dynamic between us. Add in my stalker, and I don’t even know how to feel. Scared, confused, overwhelmed. Fucking all of it. Total emotional overwhelm.
“Hmmm…” she hums softly.
If I didn’t know better, I’d say she sounds disinterested, but I damn well do. She’s trying to bait me into spilling my guts, but I’ll pass. I like all of my secrets exactly where I have them—locked safely away in the recesses of my mind, thank you very much.
“You don’t sound particularly blissful, my friend.”
Because I’m not blissful, I think bitterly. I’m on edge and exhausted. Sleep doesn’t exactly come easy these days. But I’m not about to drop all of that on Cara. She’s a doll, but we’ve never gone that deep.
“Just in need of caffeine,” I mutter, feeling confident in my reply. Wanting a coffee on a Monday morning is totally normal.
“You’re in luck.” She wags her brows. “Check the fridge.”
I stalk over to it and fling the door open. Right there, sitting front and center, is a slim can with my name on it, literally, on a sky-blue sticky note. “You brought me an energy drink?”
“Mmhmm. The newest flavor, too.”
I snatch the can out of the fridge, and sure enough, it’s one I’ve never tried before. “Thank you.” I pop the tab and gulp it down. “You’re a lifesaver.”
“Figured you could use it after the weekend you had.”
I tilt my head, wracking my brain trying to figure out just what she’s referring to. God knows it could be a plethora of things, none of which she should have knowledge of. “What do you mean?”
She leans back against the counter and grins. “You know, after your big night…”
My big night…
“Do you mean… sleeping with Ellis?”
Her spine stiffens as she all but turns to stone. “I’m sorry. Run that by me one more time.”
My cheeks burn like I’m only inches away from a bonfire as the implication of my words sinks in. “Not like that, Cara!” I whisper-shout, wishing like hell the floor would open up and swallow me whole.