Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 76203 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 381(@200wpm)___ 305(@250wpm)___ 254(@300wpm)
“Can’t be that many. Talk to Everleigh. I’ll have my people look into it too. Good job. If there’s anything else, let me know.”
He hung up then.
And I drove back to Shady Valley, taking a minute to drop in to the karate studio to find Rook wasn’t pretending to work there.
“Open up. I got a job for you,” I called through his door.
“Thank fuck,” Rook said, swinging open the door.
His place was sparse and surprisingly neat, considering how big a mess he could leave at the clubhouse at times.
He was likely used to not having much while inside, and was still learning to adapt to being outside. Eventually, he would buy more shit, would make this place feel more comfortable. Maybe even let a mess form, knowing a C.O. wasn’t going to get on his ass about it.
“There are rules,” I told him.
“Always,” he agreed, walking through his apartment to grab a shirt, pulling on a wrinkled white one from a laundry basket. “What am I looking for?”
“You’re looking into Gray Beacher,” I told him. “Anything you can find about his life the past few years.”
“What’s he into?”
“Drugs,” I told him.
“How’s he swinging that in this area?” he asked. “What with Czar and Erion cornering that market.”
That was… a good point.
I made a mental note to look into that some more if it became necessary. If we could pin this on Gray and exonerate Everleigh and Gav, that was the cops’ job to figure that shit out.
“I dunno. But my concern is Gray and whoever he is working with. Especially if you can get him on camera doing shady shit.”
“And what are the rules?”
“You work downstairs in the studio. No bringing the laptop up here. No looking at shit on your phone. Nothing that could give Nancy a reason to lock you back up again.”
“Got it,” he agreed, nodding, as he shoved his feet into shoes. Grabbing his keys, he followed me out. “Anything else?”
“Time is of the essence. I gotta get this information to Everleigh’s lawyer before a court date is set.”
“Then I am gonna hit the store to grab some energy drinks before I get started,” he said, passing the studio and heading toward the grocery store.
“I will be in touch. Don’t call,” I demanded.
We tried as much as possible not to let Rook have any technological trail that could lead back to him.
Finished with that, I glanced toward the clubhouse, feeling my lips curve up at the idea of getting to spend some time with Everleigh again. After I gave her the good news about a lead.
I was starting to wonder if maybe, just possibly, this thing between us could actually go somewhere. If Coach was right about me letting her make the decision if she wanted to be a part of this life or not.
After all, she’d been settling in just fine.
No, she wasn’t into the parties. But neither was I. That didn’t make me any less a member of this big family of ours.
Besides, if we started to get serious, build a future, we wouldn’t be living at the club anymore. We’d get a house. Maybe in the ‘burbs. Room for kids. A nice yard. That kinda thing. The parties wouldn’t matter so much anymore.
That was what my mind was on as I made my way into the clubhouse.
I’d been expecting to find her there waiting for me. What I found instead was touches of her all around. The neatly arranged random items she’d found lying around, the scent of all surface cleaner and fabric spray, the line of sports drinks on the island.
Maybe she was waiting for me in bed instead.
Which was even more exciting.
I dropped my keys and made my way upstairs.
But my room was empty.
So was hers.
And the bathroom.
“Everleigh?” I called, walking down the hall, wondering if she was hanging with one of the girls somewhere. “Ev?” I called.
“Hey, hey, what’s with all the hollering?” Raff asked, blinking red eyes at me from the doorway a room.
“I’m looking for Everleigh,” I said. “Have you seen her?”
“Since she forced me to hydrate this morning, you mean?” he asked.
“Yeah. Since then.”
“She… she took a call outside,” he said. “Riff said her phone was ringing. So he brought it to her. She said she had to call her mom back, then went outside.”
That made sense. She wouldn’t want her mom to hear the various racy shit that went on in the club.
“Thanks,” I said, nodding, and making my way back downstairs.
It wasn’t until I stepped around the back of the building and saw… nothing, that I felt the prickle at the back of my neck.
“Ev?” I called, startling a chicken who was near my feet enough to get an indignant balk out of her before she rushed off to find her friends. “Everleigh!” I called, panic rising through my system.