Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73537 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Every word that came out of her mouth felt like the paring knife in my kitchen was slicing away at my skin all on its own. I stood there, listening to the only woman Micah had loved tell me they had a connection and he’d helped her with things last night. Listened to her. Been with her. Even if they hadn’t physically done anything, he’d emotionally been with her. In a way he never had with me.
“I see,” I replied because any other words would be too hard to verbalize.
“I still love him. I always will,” she told me. “And to be fair, I want you to know that’s why I came back.”
What little hope I had left, the strands I had been clinging to, all snapped free at that moment. I stood there, staring up at the woman who could take Micah from me. Who would take Micah from me. I would be left with nothing but memories of a one-sided love affair, and he’d forget me.
I just nodded. No words would come.
What would I say even if they did? I couldn’t claim him and fight back. You couldn’t fight for something you never had.
She, on the other hand, could. She’d had everything I wanted, and she was back to take it.
She slid her sunglasses down over her eyes. “I just wanted to clear the air. I know you’re important to Pepper, and I don’t want her upset with me. I thought at least smoothing things over with you would aid in that.”
Still, I said nothing.
“I’ll let you get back to work,” she replied, then turned and walked away.
I stood there, watching her go. Not moving. Unaware of the world around me. I had to snap out of it. I knew I did.
Turning, I stepped out onto the road as the anguish of all I had almost had and already lost sank in. The honk of the horn and the sound of screeching tires barely registered in my head. Physical pain radiated through my entire body, and then the blackness rushed over me. I clung to it, thankful for blessed relief.
33
Micah
“She’s working with Acree. The tracker you slipped on her last night confirms it,” Liam said, walking into his office that sat above the strip club in Gainesville, Florida, that The Judgment had bought three years ago so he could be close to his daughter and grandson.
“Fucking bitch,” I muttered, not surprised.
Calista showing up had been a red flag. Liam agreed with me, and we’d decided the best thing to do was track her. See where she was going and who she was with when she wasn’t trying to get me alone to talk to her.
“He’s got bigger balls than I thought, or he’s the stupidest fucker I’ve ever known,” Liam said, handing me the printout of Calista’s locations since I’d planted the tracking device on her last night.
She’d left River Styx, where I had agreed to meet her at midnight, and gone straight to the Crowns’ compound. She’d been there all night.
“I saw how messed up he was when Gage was done with him. He’s physically scarred for life. There has to be some fucking screw loose in his head. Challenging us is challenging them. And he got a taste of what the family will do to him. Is one hundred grand really worth it, or do you think he’s seeking revenge and thinking he can use Calista?”
Liam shook his head. “No fucking clue. But you need to make sure that everyone is on alert. Use Calista to your benefit. Get info out of her if you can and see if you can get a recorder on something of hers. Any communication she has is important.”
I shook my head, thinking about this morning with Dolly. That had been fucking brutal. “I can’t pretend with Calista. Dolly saw a text from her this morning, and she’s not happy about it. I was caught off guard and fucking pissed Calista had texted me. I didn’t know what to tell Dolly, but I gotta get back and fix shit.”
Liam raised his eyebrows and leaned forward on the desk, resting on his elbows. “You’re worried about hurting Dolly?”
I nodded.
A grin spread across his face, and then he let out a bark of laughter. “I’ll be goddamn.”
I wasn’t amused. “Don’t,” I snapped. “This is about finding out what the fuck Canyon is up to and stopping it. I want Calista out of town. Away from me and The Judgment.”
“Because her being around is upsetting Dolly?”
“No. Yes, but you know it’s more than that. It’s the fucking scum that I don’t trust.”
Liam nodded and leaned back in his chair, still grinning at me like I was a damn sideshow.
My phone rang, and I glanced down at it and saw Tex’s name. He knew what we were dealing with today, and I had him keeping an eye on Calista while I was gone. I didn’t trust her not to go after Dolly. She saw her as competition, and Calista didn’t like it when she felt as if she had to compete. What she didn’t realize was, Tink wasn’t competition.