Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 101911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 510(@200wpm)___ 408(@250wpm)___ 340(@300wpm)
I gesture toward Maya. “Why’re you looking at her like you want a piece?” I ask, my tone not as bored as I’d aimed for. The question comes out like an accusation instead of curiosity.
His lips twitch as he shifts his eyes to me. “Trust me when I say I have zero interest in getting a piece from anyone except the girl in my shower with my name on her arm. I’m not looking at Skater Girl like I want a piece. I’m trying to figure her out and what her role is.”
He looks back at her, and I follow his gaze, watching as she skates across the concrete floor to the bar and starts searching for something. She’s pissed. I can tell by her very expressive face.
It’s a good look on her.
My eyes refuse to move from her ass when she bends over, grabbing a glass from the cabinet. It’s been a while since my cock jumped at the sight of a girl. Been a while for a lot of things.
“I took this meeting at face value. I trusted the sources we’ve had for years,” Drex goes on. “I’m no longer taking the surface as the entire package. Your girl stood in the middle of a massacre and wasn’t at all affected.”
“She’s not my girl,” I say gruffly, clutching the railing in front of me when her tongue darts out to lick some liquor off her finger.
I also bite back a few threats when I see the others take notice. She doesn’t seem aware of anything but the task at hand as she pours another shot and tosses it back.
Drex ignores me.
“Eve threw up the first time she saw a guy die in front of her. Your girl was picking the pockets on what I assume was Sarah’s request. Despite appearances, she’s been around this type of thing for a while.”
I tense a little, thinking of how she alluded to as much. She basically said it, actually. It just seems absurd to think a girl in roller skates and a pink Bubble Gum shirt is anything less than good.
“Jude had a gun to the back of her head, and she wasn’t even the slightest bit scared,” he goes on. “That means it’s likely not the first time a gun has been at her head, and she knows that just because a gun is trained on you, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get shot.”
“Her brother took her at gunpoint six months ago,” I remind him.
“Her brother is Lathan, and Lathan is a junkie,” he says, more to himself than me. “A dealer. And a rich boy turned bad. Maybe the world doesn’t know who he really is. Neither of them. And there’s a reason they’d keep it secret. A junkie must really be scared of a secret if he doesn’t share it when he’s too high to think.”
I watch as Maya pours a fourth shot, downing it with ease, and then her neck rolls around as her eyes close. It’s like she’s slowly releasing all her tension.
“Sarah apparently likes her,” I say quietly. “She told Maya about us—detailed stuff. She doesn’t do that usually.”
Or didn’t. Sarah is a mystery to us these days.
“Sarah loves her strays,” he muses. “She took Eve in without question. Saved her life. Put me in debt to her. Eve is loyal to Sarah. Almost as loyal to her as she is to me. And now Sarah wants this Maya girl protected.”
He again gestures to Maya as she sways with the music. She doesn’t seem to realize that has even more eyes on her now. Dash is suddenly at the bar, and her eyes open like he’s just said something to her.
When she smiles, I want to punch my friend in the fucking face.
This is probably not a good sign. At all.
“Sarah is still a sore subject for Jude. I trust her, though. But if Maya has a story, she needs to tell it. We don’t have time for surprises,” I tell him tightly.
He nods and looks back to me. “Let’s find out who exactly Maya is.”
I start to walk away, but he turns to go back to his room. When I give him a questioning look, he grins. “Eve’s out of the shower by now. I’ll be down in a minute…or thirty.”
I roll my eyes and walk down the stairs, hearing a loud, feminine giggle erupt from Eve before his door shuts.
Maya has skated around to the front of the bar, a foot of space separating her from Dash as he says something. She turns and leans over the bar to grab the tequila, and Dash leans back to get a look at her barely-clad ass in those fucking short shorts that might as well be underwear.
His eyes catch mine, and he winks at me as I make my way toward him. His smile falls as he tilts his head, studying me. My fists clench and unclench at my sides as I try to get my temper in check.