Total pages in book: 32
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29462 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 147(@200wpm)___ 118(@250wpm)___ 98(@300wpm)
"I'll look into him," Dillon sighs, shaking his head.
I grunt my appreciation. "Look into Thomas Huntington while you're at it. That's the name of the fucker Ransom Oil keeps sending around here," I mutter, stomping down the steps to lead him and Grizz out to the shop so we can check it. "Hope ran him off the property with a shotgun last time he was out here. Told him the only way they were getting the property was over her dead body."
"Jesus Christ," Grizz says, laughing abruptly. "Maybe Cormac should hire her."
I shoot him a glare. He just grins at me, unperturbed.
"Just saying. She's a badass."
"A badass likely to get herself killed," Dillon mutters, his tone dark. "She failed to mention any of this when she filled me in about Ransom Oil."
Why am I not surprised? I should spank her infuriating little ass. But truthfully, I expected nothing less. There's no way she was going to admit to the sheriff that she pulled a gun on Huntington. And I'm guessing she never considered that telling him the only way they were getting the property was if she were dead was like waving a flag in front of a bull. She's too goddamn innocent.
I unlocked the shop to check inside while Dillon and Grizz walk the perimeter, checking to make sure no one fucked with anything outside. I type in the new alarm code Hope set—her grandfather's birthday—and then make a circuit. As far as I can tell, everything is exactly like we left it.
And yet…and yet something feels off. I check around Betty carefully, looking everything over, but find nothing. I poke through the boxes of packing supplies and the pile of bottles with the same results. There's nothing out here.
Shit, maybe I just need to own the fact that I'm a jealous asshole. I don't like Silas because he wants what belongs to me, plain and simple. Doesn't make him responsible for any of the shit going on around here.
Dillon and Grizz stick around long enough for Dillon to take photos of the door, collect the rock, and give us a report number, and then they head out. I expect an 'I told you so' when they leave, but Hope simply walks into my arms, snuggling up against my chest.
"I'm glad no one got in the shop," she whispers around a yawn. "Betty was expensive. I don't want anyone breaking her."
"I asked Grizz to get someone out here tomorrow to install cameras. We're going to put a few outside the shop and the house to help keep an eye on things. We're also going to put up motion lights." I run my hands through her hair. "I'll look into getting an alarm company out here this week to get the house wired up."
"I can't afford all of this, Callum."
"Did I say I was charging you, Firefly?"
"You can't just spend that kind of money on me. Are you insane?" She pulls back to look at me like I've lost my mind. "Cameras and alarms and motion lights cost a fortune. I know because I looked!"
Well, damn. Guess I can't tell her that they're cheap then.
"I can afford them, Hope." I snort. "I could buy cameras and alarms and motion lights every fucking day for the next five years and still be fine."
"Great," she groans. "You're rich too."
I chuckle, pressing my lips to her forehead. "Try to contain your enthusiasm there, Firefly."
She rolls her eyes at me. "I just mean, of course you're basically the perfect man. Well, except for the fact that you're bossy. And grumpy. And you never listen. And you're paranoid. And I think maybe you're also crazy, but the jury is still out on that one." She bites her lip, looking up at me. "Never mind. Maybe you aren't so perfect."
I growl playfully, snatching her up into my arms.
She laughs, throwing her arms around my shoulders. "I was just kidding."
"No, you weren't. You were being honest." It's what I love about her…that honesty. She doesn't mince words or tell me what she thinks I want to hear. She tells me exactly what she thinks. A lot of women would fall all over themselves after hearing that I have money. Not Hope. She bitches about it.
"I don't need your money, Callum. I don't want it. I hired you to do a job, not to spend money on me," she frets as I carry her upstairs with Kieve following behind.
"I'll make you a deal."
"What kind of deal?" Her eyes narrow on me. "And before you say anything, you should know that I have a shotgun in my bedroom if you suggest sleeping with you in exchange for money."
"No. What the fuck?" I scowl at her. "When you sleep with me, it won't be as part of any deal, Firefly. It'll be because you can't stand the thought of not having me fucking you raw a second longer," I say, holding her gaze. "Sex won't be a transaction between us. It'll be a revelation."