Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 125517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 628(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125517 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 628(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
“I’m going to find something to eat then find the apartments where Arden lives.”
He walked into the kitchen and saw a fresh loaf of bread sitting on the table. Kat must have gone to the store, having taken his warning to heart.
He put a couple of slices in the toaster, then went to the fridge, hoping he could find some butter. He couldn’t remember the last time there had been jelly in the club, which would make the toast more palatable.
When he opened the fridge, he simply stared at it in amazement.
“What are you staring at?” Wizard asked, walking inside the room.
“Milk. There’s two gallons of it—in date.”
Wizard came to stand next to him. They both stared at the fully stocked fridge.
“Kat said Arden went to the store,” Wizard told him. “She only noticed her face when she was putting the groceries away.”
So much for Kat being afraid of her name going in the punishment bag, Doom thought.
“That’s the biggest jar of grape jelly I’ve ever seen.” Awestruck at the massive size, he picked it up. Fuck butter. He was going to have jelly on his toast.
As he turned toward the toaster, Wizard opened the freezer door.
“Damn. This shit must have cost me a fortune,” Wizard complained.
Remembering seeing a receipt on the table beside the bread, Doom was curious himself after finding the bounty in the refrigerator. He picked it up, and his mouth dropped open at reading the huge total, and then coupons subtracted out, one after another. He handed the receipt to Wizard and found a plastic knife to douse his toast with jelly.
“Fuck. I hate eating my words,” Wizard said, stealing the other piece of toast. “But this time, I don’t mind. Arden can have my vote if she keeps buying groceries like this and saving me a butt load of cash.”
Stealing the plastic knife away from him, Wizard dropped a big dollop of jelly onto his toast.
“Damn, if those steaks in the freezer taste as good as they look, I might be in fucking love.”
Doom nearly choked on the toast. “She’s not your type,” he managed to get out.
Wizard reached for the loaf of bread. “She is now.”
“You’ll get over it when the groceries run out.”
“That’s the good part—she can go get more.”
Doom lost his appetite.
“I don’t see Mama and Arden being willing to share.”
“I don’t see why not? One likes to buy groceries, and the other likes to cook. It’ll be a win-win. I can have the best of both worlds.”
“I don’t know what world you’re living in, but it isn’t the real one.”
“Watch and learn.” Placing the bread in the toaster, Wizard gave him a smug smile. “Oh, that’s right; you’ll be leaving when Train calls. You won’t be around to watch.”
Doom was aware Wizard was baiting him. It wouldn’t work, though. Wizard had about as much of a chance of convincing the two women into a relationship with him as grass turning pink. Damn. The knots in his gut started tightening when he reminded himself of how Wizard had earned his nickname. He made the seemingly impossible, possible. How many women had ended up in Wizard’s bed when the brothers would have bet their life savings they wouldn’t?
Arden wouldn’t, would she?
The pain turned excruciating. Was he willing to take that chance?
CHAPTER 22
THE ATTACKER
Doom turned his engine off after guiding his bike into the parking space next to L.C.’s truck. The dark parking lot had one lone light that was flickering on and off.
The apartment building where Arden lived was a fucking dump. It was so bad it made the one he had grown up in look like a luxury complex. It didn’t take much imagination to guess most of the tenants had nowhere else to go. No one with any other alternative would choose to live here willingly.
He got off his motorcycle and headed in the direction L.C. had given him toward the apartment he had rented for him. Kicking a trash bag sitting in front of the stairs out of the way, he went up the steps and held his breath as the putrid smell of urine assailed his nostrils.
What in the fuck was Arden doing living here? Her family lived just ten miles away. No matter how bad her relationship with her family was, it had to be better than living in this dump that masqueraded as an apartment building.
At the top of the stairs, he read the apartment numbers. Arden’s door was the first one he passed as he walked down the walkway to the one at the end. He didn’t knock, seeing Cyrus had installed a camera next to the door. They had chosen this apartment for the view it provided of Arden’s door with the added benefit of seeing who was coming up the stairs.
L.C. opened the door for him.