Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 132031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132031 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 660(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Dev’s brows dropped. “Circulate how?”
“Don’t know.”
“Who’s tailin’ me then?”
She gave a laugh. “That’s why I’m here. Can’t let my big brother get hurt.” However she interpreted his look made her say, “Afraid I’ll shoot you?”
“Afraid you can’t shoot,” he shot back, his mind reeling. “What about Cash? Is he still on the case?”
“I’m assuming yes, but I don’t know.”
They both crossed their arms over their chests and stared at the girls. Maybe as long as a minute passed before he confessed, “I didn’t know the video wasn’t secure. I was only tryin’ to jack with him. He hurt me.”
“By secretly recording a sex tape?” Shanna looked up at him accusingly.
“It was an accident. I didn’t know the phone was recordin’.” He waved a hand, dismissing Shanna. She wasn’t the one he needed to apologize to. Her opinion didn’t matter. “There’s no guarantee I can find any answers y’all want. Maybe it’s better for me just to drop off the planet.”
“What about them?” Her thumb hooked toward the girls. “They’d be destroyed.”
“You take care of ’em. You’re a better person than me anyway.” When Shanna glanced up alarmed, like that was the worst idea she’d ever heard, he added with a snicker, “At least you got a good job with benefits. Tell me you have benefits. Otherwise why would you ever take that job?”
“How did he hurt you?”
The vulnerability of the ache in his chest had his lips clamping closed. His heart hurt so damned bad. With his life in tatters, seriously riding on a dangerous edge, the only thing he knew for sure was he wanted the outcome that made this soul-deep pain subside.
“Something keeps pulling you and him together in the worst possible situations. It’s hard not to question Cash’s tactics. I heard David recommended his immediate termination after the video went out. When they reassigned me, it was made abundantly clear that it’s a secret operation and Cash is the lead. He’s responsible for all our safety. They respect him. Say we’re lucky he’s here.”
Dev didn’t say anything more about Cash. He couldn’t trust his voice.
“Don’t give up on us, Dev. We need you. Can you imagine living a life free of the backward ways the club runs. It’s dictated our whole lives. The Disciples before everything. Women have no value. I know the way they talk about me because they say it to me.”
Dev’s jaw set, his teeth grinding together at the thought. “I’ll hand ’em their fuckin’ teeth.”
“Not the point. Let’s do this, Dev.” She placed a hand on his arm. “That club is supposed to be a family with loyalty and trust, but the only one you actually trust, or even like, is Keyes. That says something, don’t you think? Let’s make our lives better from this point forward.”
“Where is he?” Dev asked, ignoring the truth of her statement for the moment and redirecting the conversation back to Cash.
“On his way back now.”
Dev nodded. The relief was so strong it made him unsteady.
“You think you know the club. You don’t,” Dev started to explain. “We’re a vile, rotten, scumbag bunch of men. You’re gonna get dirty if you press this.”
“Then let’s get dirty for the last time,” Shanna said, looking up at him. Her gaze was the sincerest he might have ever seen.
“Y’all, come in! Pizza’s here,” his mother called out, drawing their attention. Mae finally spotted Shanna and started jumping, skipping toward her.
“See what I learned,” Mae called out. “It’s a skip. Can you skip?”
“Everybody but you can skip,” Abi said, holding the dog in her arms as she came to Shanna’s side, giving a side hug. “I’m almost finished with New Moon.”
“Daddy, can everyone but me skip?” She stretched her arms out, and he reached down to lift Mae, giving Abi a raised eyebrow about being mean to her sister.
“I feel like there’s got to be someone else that doesn’t know how to skip. Just makes sense,” he said, resting her on his hip. She put her arms around his neck, squeezing. Exactly the hug he needed. “You’d think with all the food we’re gonna eat on Thanksgiving, we should save room.”
Mae stuck out her tongue. “It’s turkey and dressing. Yuck.”
“Hey now, that’s my favorite meal of the year.” He tickled her side until she was in a fit of giggles. The best sound in the world.
Chapter 30
Dev woke to the ding of his text messages. He reached for the phone, only opening his eyes so the facial recognition would open the screen. He read Abi’s text message, letting him know they were awake and starting Thanksgiving dinner. He had to get over there and help them carry heavy things in preparation for the special lunch.
He glanced at his bedroom door as if he could stare his way through it to see the room on the other side. He had no proof Cash was just beyond the threshold of his bedroom door, but somehow, he knew that a closed door and about fifteen feet separated the two of them. He could feel it.