Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154595 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 773(@200wpm)___ 618(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“Hey, take that back. I remember you nearly peeing yourself when we watched that horror movie with that guy in the mask.”
“That’s different! He was going around hacking and stabbing people. And I was ten.”
“We snuck into a movie theater,” she told Gray. “They were playing Halloween reruns back to back. We thought we were old enough to deal with it. We were not.”
“I don’t think we need to talk about that,” Immy said. “We could have picked you guys up, you know.”
“Had my rental car,” Gray said.
“And you’re staying tonight?” Immy asked.
Gray nodded, glancing down at Maeve. “If that’s still what you want? We can stay at a hotel tonight if it’s too much.”
“I . . .” Was it too much?
“Fuck,” Jenner said, running his fingers through his hair and mussing it up. Unfairly, he only made himself look more gorgeous. Even though Gray had tied her hair back for her, Maeve still felt like a complete mess. “I hate that you might be too scared to come here, Maeve. This is your home. We’re going to have to sell the place.”
“Guys!” she said.
Immy nodded. “I’ll start looking for new places. Isaiah and Sampson will want a say on security, but I think we need to look at tightening things up.”
“I’m almost thinking of moving further out of the city,” Jenner said.
“Guys! Guys! You can’t move because of me.”
They both turned to her.
“Of course we can,” Jenner said, looking incredulous. “We’ll sell this place, buy a new one. Simple. We don’t even have to sell this one first.”
“Makes it easier.” Immy nodded.
“No, I mean, you shouldn’t sell your home just because . . . because I might find it, uh, hard to be here. I don’t feel that way about the house. It’s just the pool.”
That made her shudder.
“Good point,” Jenner said. “Make sure the new place doesn’t have a pool, Immy.”
“What’s going on?” Sampson asked, coming down the steps. He frowned at Gray.
She wasn’t sure if he was frowning on principal or because Gray was holding her.
“You can set me down,” she told Gray, feeling silly.
“No. But we should get you in out of the sun.”
“Yes, yes, come in,” Immy said. “We were just discussing moving to a house out of town with no swimming pool.”
Sampson nodded as he held open the front door for Gray to carry her through. “Good plan.”
“What? Sampson, it’s not a good plan,” she protested. “You know what? I need to talk to Isaiah, he’s the only reasonable one of the lot of you.”
“Hopefully, he’s coming back tomorrow,” Sampson told her.
“So you have to stay until he comes back, right?” Immy said hopefully. “Sit. What can I get you? Coffee? Tea? Something stronger? Beer?”
“Coffee would be good,” Gray said. “Black. No sugar.”
“Right. A tough man’s drink. Got it.”
Maeve had to giggle, because she knew that’s the way Immy took her coffee. Gray shot her a look, but didn’t say anything as he settled on the sofa with her on his lap. When she tried to wriggle off, he tightened his hold on her.
“No,” he whispered firmly and quietly into her ear.
“You okay in here, Maeve?” Jenner asked worriedly.
“Yes, I’m fine.” She gave him a soft smile. “Where’s Abe, though? How is he?”
“He’s resting,” Sampson told her. “He’ll be all right, but he’s exhausted and he can’t remember anything that happened. We haven’t told him what happened to you. The doctor said it’s best not to upset him right now and you know he’s going to feel guilty.”
“We don’t ever have to tell him,” she blurted out.
“Of course we do,” Sampson countered. “But we’ll wait a few days. How are you feeling? What did the doctor say? Do you need to go to bed?”
“I’m fine. The doctor said that I just have to take it easy for a few days. No one needs to baby me.”
“Actually, that’s exactly what I need,” Gray whispered to her. “To baby you.”
She blushed slightly at his words. Sampson eyed them suspiciously.
“So, Gray? What is it you do for a living?” Sampson asked.
Gray just raised an eyebrow.
“He’s a bodyguard,” she said quickly.
Sampson grunted. “A dangerous profession then.”
Jenner cleared his throat, looking amused. “Sampson, have you forgotten what you do for a living?”
“No, what I do is follow your spoiled ass around and keep you out of trouble.”
Jenner rolled his eyes.
“Who are you a bodyguard for?” Sampson asked.
Gray didn’t answer.
“A friend,” she said hastily.
“Where did you grow up? What are your plans for the future? You surely don’t want to be a bodyguard forever. Do you have the financial means to look after Maeve?”
They all gaped at Sampson.
“Oh good, I made it back in time for the inquisition,” Immy said cheerfully as she walked in with a tray.
Jenner jumped up and took it from her, setting it on the coffee table and she gave him a grateful look.