Total pages in book: 45
Estimated words: 44127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44127 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
“Look, I’ll quit, alright? Winchester, I mean.”
Sam gives me a look.
“Colton, you love being in education. And believe me, you quit, and this shit gets out, you’re never working in this industry again. Period.”
I chew on that, my brow furrowed. He’s right, I do love working in education. A lot, actually.
“She could drop out?”
This time it’s my turn to shoot him a look.
“Not a chance. She’s smart, her grades are amazing, her extracurriculars are perfect. No. Flat out no.”
Sam sighs, blowing air out through his lips. “Well, this what we in my biz call an impasse then, Colton.”
Fuck.
Now what.
* * *
Two hours later, after Sam’s left for the night, I call her.
“Hey,” she says eagerly. “Jesus, Colton, I—is everything… What did Chief Halter—”
I laugh, and I can almost hear her frowning when I do.
“Brynn,” I growl, smiling as I shake my head. “One question at a time?”
She snorts. “Sorry. First question. Can I come over?”
I groan. “Aside from the four police officers guarding my house and the entire campus wondering what the fuck is going on over here? Definitely.”
She groans. “Well, crap.”
“Tell me about it,” I groan. “You over here right now is literally the only thing I want right now.”
“Colton… tonight…”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she says quietly. “I mean, I’m scared, and tonight was terrifying, but… yeah, I’m okay.”
“I’m sorry, baby,” I growl. “I didn’t…” I close my eyes. “You didn’t need to see that.”
“You were protecting me.”
I nod.
“Colton?”
“Yeah, baby?”
I hear the hesitation in her voice.
“You—you’re not going to jail or anything, are you?”
I smile. “No, I’m not. Even Chief Halter is writing it up as self-defense. I mean it’s not over, but no, I’m not going to jail.”
“Good,” she mutters fiercely, making me grin.
Suddenly, my phone buzzes with a number I don’t recognize. I glare at it, dismissing it before I keep talking to Brynn.
“Listen, we’re going to be fine, okay?”
“What about if Lorenzo tells them I was there?”
I smile. “I may have mentioned that I was in the middle of a tawdry affair with a married woman who fled when trouble went down.”
Brynn snorts. “How scandalous.”
“Seriously.”
“Almost as bad as fucking your eighteen-year-old student.”
I grin, and goddamn if my cock doesn’t swell.
Suddenly, Brynn swears.
“You okay?”
“Yeah… shit, do you mind if I get this call?”
“Sure?”
She makes a tsking sound. “I actually think this might be Geraldine?”
“Stepmom Geraldine?”
“I know, fitting for this night, isn’t it?”
I shake my head. “Sounds about right. Yeah, go ahead.”
“I’ll call you right after.”
“Sounds good.”
“Hey Colton?”
I smile. “Yeah?”
“I really love you; you know.”
The grin spreads wide over my face, and my heart skips.
“I love you too, baby girl,” I growl quietly before I hang up the phone.
I sigh, standing and heading back to my bar cart to pour a drink. Fuck, Sam’s right. What we’re in right now is an impasse. I scowl as I bring the scotch to my lips, when suddenly, my phone goes off again. I answer without looking.
“Well that was fast.”
There’s a pause, and I frown.
“Mr. Kane?”
I yank the phone from my ear and glance at the caller ID, and my scowl deepens as I vaguely recognize the number as the one that just called me a minute or two ago.
“Who is this?”
There’s a beat before the woman’s voice replies.
“Mr. Kane, this is Geraldine Henley.”
I freeze. Brynn’s stepmother?
“What can I do for you Mrs. Henley,” I growl, my jaw tightening. This is the woman who fucking ran off when things went bad with Brynn’s father, and with some of Brynn’s money, apparently. The fuck does think she’s doing, calling me?
…And how the fuck does she even have my cell number?
“Actually, you know what?” I spit. “I’m pretty sure I’m hanging up right now. Your stepdaughter is going through a lot right now, and blood or not, running off like that and abandoning her is pretty fucking low if you ask—”
“Can I answer your first question before you go on with your tirade?”
I scowl. “Pardon?”
“You asked me what you could do for me.”
“It was rhetorical,” I spit.
“Well what you can do is listen, Mr. Kane,” she says back tightly. “Please.”
My eyes narrow. “You have a minute.”
“What’s the story back there, hmm? That I ran off? Stole money? And where am I, exactly? Switzerland? Thailand? Russia?”
“Greece, I’ve been told,” I growl.
She barks a laugh. “Ah, well, Mykonos does sound lovely right now, especially after the last month I’ve had.”
“Thirty seconds, Mrs. Hen—”
“I’m not in Greece, Mr. Kane. Or Russia, or Thailand, or anywhere else you’ve heard. And trust me, I haven’t stolen any money from Brynn.”
“And you expect me to believe that… why?”
“Because,” she snaps. “For the last four weeks, I’ve been a fucking prisoner.”
I frown. “Excuse me?”
Brynn’s stepmom sighs. “Clint, that’s Brynn’s father, got wind that I was going to be leaving him. Well, that and that I’d snuck into his office at night looking for tax records for my attorney, and stumbled on his other, shall we say, less than legal, morally reprehensible business ventures. I believe a Ms. Simpter made contact with Brynn to tell her about all of that?”