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)
“I’m sorry to ask you to come home. Hell, Mom, I’m sorry about yesterday…”
“Are the girls with you at the shop?” she asked, not letting him swerve off course.
“Yeah. My bitch ex bought ’em a puppy. They’re all in their room. The dog’s gonna be a pain in the ass. They can’t take him out alone. Millie’s headin’ to the airport to see her grown ass boy in Colorado this weekend.”
Fuck, Millie. He went back to the waiting area where she still had her purse hanging underneath her arm but was putting the girls’ things behind the counter. He didn’t really mean anything bad about Millie. She deserved to see her son. “Take off. I got it.”
Millie looked as doubtful as Dev felt on the inside.
“Let me call Shanna and see where she is,” his mom suggested.
“She’ll be busy. I’ll figure somethin’ else out.” Dev nodded toward the door, urging Millie out. Based on the clock on the wall, his day was starting twenty minutes behind.
“No, babe. She’s taking a break from school. She’s feeling burned out. We spoke last night. She wants to help out with the club to earn some extra money.”
Dev’s heart sank at the news. That was quite literally the worst idea he’d heard today and that spoke volumes after everything he’d been through. “That’s terrible. She needs to stay away. If Dad finds out… Did she tell Dad?”
“No, and I agree. She and I are going to talk Sunday. The girls are out of school all next week. They can stay with me. I moved out of the Dallas home yesterday. I need a break from your father. I’m staying in Fort Worth permanently. We’ll make it work.”
“Mom, I’m sorry,” Dev said, defeat weighing heavily on his shoulders.
“No, it needed to happen and looks like perfect timing. I don’t want to be around your father any more than I have to. I’ll transition from the bike shop to home. Let me call Shanna now.”
His options were so limited he finally gave in. He needed the help. “I have a client in the chair. I gotta go. If she can come, send her up here. If not, we’ll see you in the mornin’.”
Dev ended the call. He knew Millie was hovering somewhere behind him. He spoke out loud without seeking her out. “Mil, go on. I got this. Shanna might come get ’em. Thanks for settin’ me up.”
He had seconds to get his head in the game. He needed a reminder of the design and wondered what Keyes’s schedule looked like today if Shanna couldn’t come through. As he took his seat, reaching for the plastic covered pad he kept there, he glanced at his client who looked unimpressed. He knew the guy’s type and said the words certain to appease the asshole, “Fuckin’ ex-wives. Flexin’ their muscle to fuck everything up.”
It worked. The client grunted his understanding and eased back in the seat as if that explained everything.
He took a deep centering breath, blowing it out on a sigh, as he pulled the guy’s file up.
~~~
“Christ,” Cash said and dropped the iPad on the small conference room table where he and Shanna sat. Joe was brought in by video. All sets of eyes were on Cash as he leaned back in his seat, his feet pushed out. His arms crossed tightly to help hold his aching heart inside his chest. “It’s hard to say ‘poor guy’ for a man with such a criminal record, but how can you not feel for Dev?”
Joe nodded his agreement, Shanna was more reluctant. Shanna kept giving Cash a low-key smirk. Based on all the snide looks she’d given since they had first arrived, she had to know what went down between Cash and her brother last night.
A little more than an hour had passed since leaving Dev’s apartment, and he found himself feeling vulnerable and raw. Last night had mattered. It meant something substantial. It left an everlasting mark. As if the scar running the length of his side and lower back had suddenly opened, exposing him from the inside out.
These feelings were new and weird, and didn’t make sense, and that was okay. What he needed was a few minutes alone to settle down, to better reason through what was happening to him.
In addition to the stated reason for this impromptu meeting at the hospital where they “worked”—understanding what had gone down with Tena this morning—Cash had decided to introduce Shanna into the idea of bringing Dev to their side. He’d also asked for her trust…and secrecy. He didn’t tell her or Joe about his position with the AG’s office, only playing on the concerns each had expressed privately about the DEA’s management of the case.
What he hadn’t expected to learn was what he’d just read.
The continual knowledge reveals in this case felt very much like landmines.