Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 67372 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67372 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 269(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
It feels a lot like happiness.
A lot like home.
Chapter Eleven
Scout
There’s a hand on my face. And why is my chest wet? Heathen’s purring vibrates on my stomach, which doesn’t explain the hand or drool. Blindly, I reach up to find soft, fuzzy hair on a little head.
Della.
Something inside my chest tightens. Gently, I pull the hand from my face and reposition her arm so it’s tucked between us. I left both her and Heathen in my bed last night when I went to fuck Landry and then crashed on the couch after a quick shower. Sometime in the middle of the night, both the cat and the kid found their way to me.
My mind drifts to the things Landry told me—things her father did to her. If that’s not enough to make me want to murder the fucker, he’s also cruel to Della.
Cruel to a deaf six-year-old.
I’ve done a lot of shitty things in my life, but that seems like the absolute worst.
A knock on the door startles me. I’m not sure who could be visiting. I’m certain whoever it is needs to go away. The knock resounds again and I’m forced to take action. Slowly, I slide out from beneath the kid and the cat. I make a detour for my gun and hold it behind my back as I go to the front door.
A man.
A pacing man to be exact.
I can’t make out who it is through the peephole, but determine they don’t exactly appear to be a threat. When I open the door, I’m surprised to find Ty Constantine standing in the hallway.
“Hey,” I grunt in greeting. “What’s up?”
His eyes flare hot and his mouth curls into a vicious sneer. “That’s what you have to say to me right now? ‘What’s up?’ Are you fucking serious right now?”
He’s going to wake the kid if he keeps up his bitching. I shove the gun into the pocket of my sweats and step out of the apartment, closing the door behind me.
“What are you doing at my apartment at the ass crack of dawn?” I demand, crossing my arms over my chest. “And how the fuck did you find out where I live?”
Despite the fact that I have a gun in my pocket that I’m sure he can see clear as day, he steps forward, a murderous expression on his face.
I’m pissed, too. Despite my best efforts, we’ve been found. It’s just Ty, who’s essentially harmless, but if he could find us, then anyone can. That shit makes me super fucking uneasy.
“You lied to me,” he hisses. “You fucking lied to me.”
He’s not making much sense. I mean, I know I lied to him, but how does he know I lied to him. My brow lifts and I stare him down until he speaks again. With Ty, it’s never too long without words. He has a lot to say. Always.
“You’re not Ford Mann.” He pokes me on the chest, just above my crossed arms. “You’re a fucking fraud.”
“It’s too early for this shit,” I grind out. “I haven’t had coffee yet.”
“Does it look like I give a fuck?” His face reddens with fury. “You lied to me about who you were and took advantage of me. It was you, wasn’t it? You took Landry?”
If Ty, the most oblivious idiot on the planet, has come to this conclusion, I wonder who else has figured it out. My blood boils at the thought of Alexander showing up here. I’d gladly use a bullet on that motherfucker.
“Oh, but our friendship was real,” I deadpan. “So I lied about my name? So what? You think I took the girl who friend-zoned you?”
“You fucking used me,” Ty complains, already losing some of his steam. “You used me and I don’t understand why. I thought you were my friend.” He starts pacing again. “What about the girl you were obsessed with? The married one? Was that just a ruse to take my girl instead?”
I unfold my arms and step toward him. “Not. Your. Girl.”
He blinks several times, like I’ve lost my mind. “She’s here? Landry is here?”
“Were you followed?”
“No. Now tell me where the hell Landry is.”
“She wanted you to save her and you took too long,” I grit out. “Someone had to be her hero.”
“You’re a psychopath,” he snaps.
“So I’ve been told.” I pat the gun in my pocket, reminding him I’m the psychopath with the gun. “Why are you here? How did you get my address?”
He lets loose a dark chuckle, ignoring my gun altogether. “I had this gut feeling something was up with you. Yesterday, instead of going to work, I went on a field trip. Followed you all over the city.”
So it was Ty watching me set fire to that building?
It could have been worse. Could have been Alexander or Winston. Ty is a situation I can manage. The other two…are slightly more difficult.