Total pages in book: 225
Estimated words: 218500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1093(@200wpm)___ 874(@250wpm)___ 728(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 218500 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1093(@200wpm)___ 874(@250wpm)___ 728(@300wpm)
Craig and I aren’t a couple, just friends with benefits, but the benefits are pretty beneficial. The man knows how to light my body ablaze on a regular day. Him riled up on behalf of my bestie only made him hotter. And even better in the sack last night. Finding out that Derek Steele is the cause has him ready to go full throttle cowboy to take that family down.
Now he’s here in this little meeting room, in detective mode trying to get the truth out of a clammed-up Adam. At my urging and my dropping bits and pieces of information to let Adam know that I know everything, Adam finally opens up a little.
He admits he pushed Chloe into scratching an itch since his accident has ruined sex for them, and that Chloe got tangled up with one of the Steele brothers. Adam said it was distressing to be ordered to come today, to their wedding, but he’s got no choice but to do whatever Derek Steele wants him to do.
That’s the strange part. If Derek wants Chloe to marry him, does he really think it’ll help his cause to have Adam here? Chloe would find Adam’s nose being rubbed in this completely abhorrent.
I’m confused, Adam’s distressed, and Craig is even more pissed. We’re in the midst of a conversation about it all when Craig looks at his watch and says, “Ten minutes until you’re supposed to meet them, Alannah. What say we go ahead, as planned, and get Chloe here with you while I distract Steele and then we’ll talk further? Adam, you go on and wait like he said to do. I know at least two of the uniforms here for traffic court this morning. They should be done by now and I already asked one to stick close, so I’m gonna have a word. Be right back.”
Craig leaves.
I turn to Adam. “She’s a wreck,” I say.
“I’m sure she is,” he says, looking down at his hands in his lap.
“He’s treating her like a princess.”
“She deserves to be treated like a princess,” he says softly.
“You look like shit.”
His gaze meets mine. “I feel even worse. But this guy… you’re fucking with him if you try to stop this, and I won’t be caught in the crossfire. When Craig comes back I’ll go down there like he told me to do and then I’ll leave as soon as I can. I can’t get involved.”
Adam is terrified of this guy. But come on… this is Chloe here! Is he really planning to hang her out to dry? To do nothing?
Before I’m able to react, to ask when he became such a pussy, the door opens. Craig comes back in with a guy that’s not in a uniform but who has cop written all over him.
“Guys, this is Steve Benson, one of my colleagues who’s well-aware of the Steele family’s bullshit so I’m gonna give him the gist, and-”
“And I need you…” Steve looks at me, pulls a gun and points it at Craig, “to sit your ass down beside him.” He gestures to Adam with his gun.
Craig’s eyes widen and he clenches his jaw. “Fuck!” he clips. “Not you!”
“What’s happening?” I whisper.
“Benson’s clearly on Steele payroll.”
Benson shrugs. “Hand your service revolver over, then sit down, Jenkins. Gotta keep you three here for a while.”
Craig’s jaw muscles flex as he passes the guy his gun.
“Explain this,” he demands.
Steve Benson speaks, “Got a call that something might go down here today that’d require my help. I didn’t know until ten minutes ago it’d have to do with you, man. I’m just following orders.” He looks at his phone. “Gotta take your picture. Line up together and say cheese.” He lifts his phone with his left hand, fiddles for a second, then points his gun at us. While that’s permeating, he snaps a picture, taps on his phone to presumably send it to someone, then his posture relaxes.
“Then what?” Craig asks.
“Don’t know yet. Hang tight.”
Adam speaks up, “Listen, I didn’t know they were gonna be here. Please tell Derek Steele that. They hauled me into this room, but I didn’t know why, and I wasn’t part of any plot to break Chloe free.”
“I don’t know anything about any of it,” the dirty cop shrugs. “No clue who this Chloe even is. Just know you three need to stay here until I get further instructions. Might as well grab a seat Jenkins. And you, darlin’.” He addresses my tits instead of looking at my face.
Adam looks absolutely terrified. “Can you at least tell Derek that I–”
This dirty cop cuts him off with a wave of his gun. “Talk to him yourself when you get outta here, man. I can’t help you.”
I look at Craig as he clenches his jaw, enraged.
Fear is clawing its way up my spine. Not for me, Adam, or Craig. It’s obvious this guy is just keeping us here so that we can’t interfere with his plans to marry Chloe. He’s not about to shoot us dead here in the middle of a city hall boardroom if we sit here and say and do nothing. I only hope he’s not planning to take us somewhere else after this… but I can’t let myself think about that or I’ll start to panic.