Total pages in book: 62
Estimated words: 61900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61900 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 310(@200wpm)___ 248(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“I’m not going to apologize, if that’s what you’re after. She had it coming.”
“That wasn’t what I was after,” he says, stopping in front of me. “You’re a very strong-willed person, Maggie. It is of some concern.”
“In regard to what,” I challenge. “I’m not sure how you think you know me.”
“You’re with those bikers now, yes?”
I blink. “What has that got to do with anything?”
“I can offer you assistance, in return for information. A girl like you, I could make your life very worthwhile. Money, a house, you name it.”
Oh wow.
This man has balls.
“First of all, I want nothing from you. My morals far outweigh anything you could offer me.”
“I’m not certain they would. I have billions of dollars, Maggie. I could spare one million of that for you to disappear and take your club with you. There is nothing of interest for you here.”
A million dollars.
While lifechanging, I could never sleep again at night knowing those girls are being hurt and more are going to be taken. No way in hell.
“There is plenty of interest for me here, and I don’t need money.”
He stares at me, long and hard. “I’m not the kind of person you want to mess around with, Maggie. I promise you that.”
“I could say the same about myself.”
He gives me a low, sardonic smile. “I can make it seem like you never even existed. Do you hold such power?”
“Maybe not, but I can make everything crash down around you. Believe me, I might be only one person, but I’m stronger than you think.”
He keeps the grin.
Delilah and her mother walk back in.
Delilah stares at me, then at her father. “Is everything okay here?”
“Peachy.” I smile. “Your dad was just telling me what an incredible man he is.”
He gives me a long look, then glances at Delilah. “Make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
She nods.
He looks to me. “My offer is always on the table, Maggie. Be smart.”
A threat.
A beautifully presented threat, but one all the same.
When they leave, Delilah turns to me. “What did he say to you?”
I’m not going to tell her. Not because I don’t trust her, but because she is too close to it, and I don’t want her or Star to come to any danger.
“He was just offering for me to work for you full time, I guess he really doesn’t like Hugh.”
“Ugh,” Delilah says. “He is always trying to make me get Hugh out of Star’s life. It’ll never happen.”
Phew.
She fell for it.
Thank god.
“I FOUND THIS HAT,” I say, hanging onto a man’s hat I literally had to swipe off someone who had placed it down at a table. “It belongs to someone named Bassel, do you know who that is so I can return it?”
Delilah is busy on her phone, which is exactly why I picked this moment to approach her. I have no idea what Bassel looks like, so I kind of need her to show me so I can go pass on this message and get the hell out of here. Riggs told me exactly what I need to say, and the more time that passes, the more that is becoming a blur in my mind.
Delilah looks up. “That’s him.”
She points to a man standing by a tree, cigarette in hand, looking out over the lake. He’s on his own, so now is my chance. I walk over to him, hat in my hands, and stop when I reach him. He’s not what I expected. He’s young, maybe twenty-five or so, and though he looks rich as hell, his slicked-back, blond hair and pressed suit don’t suit the empty stare he’s throwing in the direction of the water.
He looks bored.
Like he’d rather be anywhere else.
“Ah, are you Bassel?” I say.
He startles, so in a trance he didn’t even see me approach. He looks down at me, confused. “Yeah, I am. Who are you?”
“I ah, I just have a hat you dropped and also Riggs wanted me to tell you seven pm, highway route one, second left, dirt road, warehouse. Come alone.”
Bassel blinks, and then with a sharp nod, he takes the hat off me. “Thanks so much for this, I wondered where it went.”
“No problem at all.”
I turn and walk away, heart racing.
Nobody seems to have even noticed our exchange which I’m grateful for, because that might just mean I got away with it. I go back to Delilah who is still looking down at her phone.
“Is everything okay?” I ask her.
“Oh, yeah, sorry. I’m being rude. I’m just trying to send an email to someone and it’s not working. I’ll try later. Sit.”
I sit down, and I’m more than ready to go right about now. Delilah looks around, then exhales. “Want to get out of here?”
“Do I?” I laugh. “I can’t think of anything better.”
“Let’s go. I’m bored already.”