Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 74898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74898 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
My boss, a fucking chameleon if I’d ever seen one, was tall, muscular, and built like a runner. That was the only thing I could ever tell about him at any one given time. Sometimes he appeared old to me, while to others he appeared to be the same age. It was like he changed from day-to-day, and I had a feeling that it had a lot to do with what he did for the FBI as well as his other hobbies, not that I knew what those were. He was one of the smartest men I knew, and I’d follow him into hell if he asked me to…which was what he was asking me to do.
“The only way I see this working out is if you decide to stop pussyfooting around, nab this guy, and get him to testify against your parents. That’s the fastest way out of this. But, for that to happen, you need to let him hang around for a bit. Two birds, one stone. You let him hang, but watch his every move, and wait for him to mole himself deeper into the organization, let him think his threat worked, then bust his ass. He’ll plead a deal, and we’ll get the information on your parents…information that we desperately need.” He paused. “We’ve been working this case for six years now, and although we are closer to nailing them, we’re not close enough to shut the operation down any time soon. They’re too careful. Too high profile to kill…just think about that.”
And that was how I ended up being at a bar in the middle of Chinatown, thinking about what Lynn had said.
He was right, of course. Though I didn’t want to admit it, he was so right that it hurt.
I had to let this happen. I had to allow this man, this piece of shit that I knew was embedded in deep with my parents, get closer to Mina and my child. But in doing that, I’d hopefully be able to nail my parents down once I gave Josh the boot. Then maybe, just maybe, I’d get to have my life back. I’d get to have my wife and kid. I’d get to move back home and be happy again.
Maybe…
***
Mina
Fuck. Fuck. Fuckity. Fuck. Fuck.
That was about all my brain could process as I watched Josh stroll up the front walk of my yard as if he owned the place.
I quickly backpedaled from the door as if a serpent were readying to strike.
I looked behind me at Sienna, who was playing quietly on her iPad, and then looked back at the door.
“Sienna, honey,” I called out. “Go to your room and shut the door please. Someone’s here.”
She looked up at me, comprehension in her eyes, and then nodded dutifully.
That was my girl. Always following my orders no matter how much she didn’t want to.
Though, I had a feeling that had a lot more to do with the fact that she was so much like her dad—a dutiful soldier who was willing to do anything for the greater good. If she were like me, she’d question absolutely everything and rebel against any sort of authority that was imposed over her.
Sienna’s bedroom door closed just as I heard the first knock.
I didn’t answer it.
I couldn’t and wouldn’t answer it.
Or, at least, I wouldn’t have had he not given me any other option.
When it came to the safety of your child, you’d do absolutely everything in your power to protect them. Even date the crazy guy who was blackmailing you with everything you held dear.
Chapter 9
Don’t tell me you miss me. Tell me you’re outside with cupcakes.
-Actions speak louder than words
Ghost
“I need to borrow your wife.”
Jessie James stared at me like I’d grown a second head.
“For what?”
Ellen started to snicker from her perch on the counter. She had her child, Lydia, in her arms, snuggled up to her chest.
My heart started to race as I saw the tiny outfit that she was wearing.
My own daughter had that exact same outfit on the day she’d come home from the hospital. I remembered that day so clearly that it was embedded in the forefront of my brain. Fuck.
***
Her entire body fit into my two hands.
She was small. So fuckin’ small.
“She’s so tiny,” I murmured softly. “She looks like a fuckin’ doll.”
I clenched my thighs together and laid her down in the middle of them. She fit perfectly, her tiny baby feet scrunched up close to her body.
One of them moved and jabbed me in the belly, and I idly wondered if that was what my wife felt when the baby moved inside of her.
My hands looked like mammoths when I reached one finger forward and slowly stroked it down my little girl’s cheek.
She turned her head, rooting for something I didn’t have, and I smiled.