Total pages in book: 57
Estimated words: 71090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71090 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 355(@200wpm)___ 284(@250wpm)___ 237(@300wpm)
“There were two of them. That I know,” Gabe offered.
I nodded my head. “I should’ve gotten you out here the day before yesterday. Goddammit, then we would’ve had cameras up.”
“No,” my brother said from the doorway. “Then you would’ve just had a dead Blake. Sure, you would’ve known, maybe, who it was, but you wouldn’t have any reason to know anymore, other than vengeance.”
My older brother and his fucking logic sometimes made a lot of sense.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “Not sure there’s any reason to put cameras up anymore. But we’re going to anyway. And I need Mercy’s men to come out and start working on her house.”
Miller nodded. “Mercy’s already started on it.”
Did I say I really loved my sister in law?
“Thanks,” I said, continuing to walk through the room over to the area where Max had taken her during the shooting.
I blinked in surprise when I saw the millions of freakin’ books lining the walls.
There had to be at least a small fortune’s worth.
“So, she’s a reader?” Miller asked, picking up a book that’d fallen from its shelf.
I took the book from him, smiling when I saw a highlander on the cover wearing nothing but a kilt.
“Looks like it,” I said. “Nothing better to do but fantasize, I suppose. Collect books of all the men she wished her ex-husband would’ve been.”
“Speaking of ex,” Michael said from the doorway. “He’s here.”
I liked Michael, although I didn’t know him as well as the others.
I’d been on the SWAT team for a little over two years now, and I felt like I knew just about as much about him now as I had when I first started working with him.
I knew he’d have my back if I needed help, but aside from our work relationship, I didn’t know much more about him.
I was fairly sure, though, that the tattoos covering his body told some sort of story.
They fairly had to with the sheer amount of them he had.
“Thanks,” I said, patting his shoulder as I passed him.
He grunted.
I found David on the front lawn, studying the destruction.
“’Sup?” I muttered.
I didn’t really care for David before, but now I really didn’t care for him.
He was an ass, and to know he treated Blake like shit only accentuated the fact that he was a douchebag.
“I wanted to come over here and offer Blake a place to stay, but the tattooed one said she wasn’t here,” David said, eyes roaming the pile of rubble.
I snorted. “With who? Your new woman? Or other woman?”
He glared. “Yeah, what’s it to you?”
I smiled. “I’m sure she’d rather have died in the drive-by today than stay at that house with you and the woman you cheated on her with. I’ll be sure to mention it later, when she’s at my place, that you offered, though.”
He started forward, but stopped himself with only a step in my direction. “You need to stay away from her.”
I raised a brow at him, giving him a mocking smile. “Oh yeah? And who are you to question me?”
He raised his lip in a snarl. “You’re nothing but a washed up gimp who can’t fucking do anything, but gets special treatment because he was one of the select few on the SWAT team. You’re only on there still because they can’t legally fire you.”
I heard a snort behind me, but didn’t turn around.
“Is that what you think?” I asked slowly.
He shrugged. “I don’t think. I know.”
“You think you can get onto the SWAT team? Do what we do?” I taunted him.
“I fucking know I can. I just have a wife at home to worry about,” he shot back.
I laughed then.
“A wife that you cheated on your original wife with?” Blake hissed. “You’re such a crock of shit. Should I tell them that you wear a fucking girdle under your uniform to hold your gut in?”
I turned to see her walking down the street towards us.
I’d missed her. Even that sneer that was currently directed at her ex.
She’d said that she was going to come by, but I’d expected her to drive, not walk.
Apparently, I needed to pay a little more attention and explain to her that she couldn’t be doing that anymore.
I didn’t want her to be out running without protection of some kind. Hell, right now she didn’t need to be out, period.
“Get the fuck away from my house, David,” she snapped.
“I paid for that house!” David growled.
“Yeah, you did, didn’t you? But you know what? So did I. Remember when we got married and you said what’s yours was mine? Well, there you go. I deserved the fucking money to buy this house. And I also deserve the settlement I got,” she spat. “Get the fuck over it.”
“Well, it’s only for another six months. Hope you have your shit in order, because after that day, you won’t be getting another fucking dime from me,” he yelled before turning on his heel and stomping back to his truck.
“I freakin’ hate that man,” she growled as she watched him walk away.
I turned to her, pulling her into my arms. “I do, too.”
She smiled, leaning her head back to look at me. “That made me totally hot, seeing you taunting him.”
I grinned. “How hot?”
She blinked, all signs of teasing gone. “Hot enough that if we were alone right now, I’d show you.”
“Hot damn,” Downy yelled. “I need to get home to my wife! See y’all at dinner!”
Blake’s face flushed as she watched Downy walk away.
“That was embarrassing,” she admitted, burying her face into my shoulder.
I laughed, but something silver caught my eye as Downy pulled his car away.
A woman sat in her car across the street.
She’d been hidden by Downy’s huge truck, but now that he was gone, I could clearly see her sitting there.
She stared right at me for long seconds before she, too, started her car and drove away.
“What?” Blake asked, startling me.
I memorized the license plate number, before replying. “Nothing. It was nothing. And don’t let Downy embarrass you. He’s got a mouth, but he won’t make a big deal of anything that goes on between us.”