Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 133738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133738 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 669(@200wpm)___ 535(@250wpm)___ 446(@300wpm)
Like he could be that kid again who didn’t live knowing what absolute, unqualified shit some people out in the world lived.
Especially women.
But in this instance, with his finger in her belt loop, her close, he felt her calling him that name in his throat and chest and regions south.
He had to focus, so he lifted his gaze to hers.
“You’re not comfortable staying here, then I’ll take you wherever you wanna go, but a caveat to that, baby, is that, if where you wanna go I don’t deem safe, we’re coming back here,” he offered.
But she stood there and said nothing.
“So, I’m guessing from what little you said, your dad is out,” he prompted.
Suddenly, she couldn’t meet his eyes and she was stammering again.
“I…maybe I…well, what I mean is, maybe I can stay tonight, in Mo’s old bed,” she said the last four words very fast. “And tomorrow, I can figure out what I’m gonna do.”
She didn’t have anywhere else to go.
She didn’t have anyone to look after her.
He remembered then all she’d said about her family.
“Are you keeping them safe from this shit?” he asked, in case he’d assumed wrong.
“My stepdad, Rob, has guns, but if he knew this degenerated the way it has, he’d take them to the county jail in order to try to shoot Mick and at this current moment, I can’t deal with two family members in the pokey. One was already too many.”
At least her stepdad didn’t sound like a jackass.
Though she’d said the man was a cheater, so strike that.
It was then he noticed what she was wearing.
“What’s Computer Raiders?” he asked.
“My second job,” she muttered.
What?
“You got a second job?”
“Tuition doesn’t pay itself.”
He stood solid as it hit him, she did not have anyone looking after her.
Mac had told him she was twenty-seven, so not the usual age of a kid out of high school hitting a university with her parents’ help.
But she also didn’t demand he take her to her mom’s and her dad sounded like a dick.
So, she didn’t have her parents’ help.
She didn’t notice his reaction.
She spoke. “Okay, so, um, we have a plan. I’ll sleep on it tonight, here, thank you for offering. And I’ll come up with a plan to tackle this situation tomorrow.”
He’d take that because he knew she’d sleep on it here for the foreseeable future.
But if he had to see to her doing that one day at a time, then he would.
“Yeah, we have a plan,” he agreed.
“Is there a drugstore close? I should get a toothbrush.”
He tugged her belt loop and brought her a little nearer.
But he didn’t push it, stopped and said, “You hang with your new pal, Fireball, and I’ll go out and get you one. You had dinner?”
She nodded. “But I can go with you. And we’ll get you something to eat.”
He’d boil some pasta.
“I’m covered.”
“Danny—”
“Babe, I got food here. I’m good. You want a toothbrush, I’ll get you a toothbrush. Then we can hunker down and regroup to tackle tomorrow.”
She nodded then looked him up and down, turned her head to take in the room, came back to him and stared at his chest a beat before she lifted her eyes to his face.
“Why were you there?” she asked
“Where?”
“At my place after I…after what I said last night?”
It was moot now, why he was there.
“I think I mentioned I like you.”
“Danny,” she whispered.
He decided to let her in on his plan.
Kind of.
“We’ll get you through tonight. Then we’ll get you through tomorrow. And onward. One day at a time, Evie. Now call Smithie and let him know you’re not gonna make it tonight.”
“He’s gonna freak,” she muttered. “He doesn’t like his girls in jams.”
Mag knew the feeling.
“He’ll be more pissed you kept it from him. Call,” he urged.
She nodded, then, when she bent her head to open her little bag, he reluctantly let her belt loop go.
She stepped away to make her call, so Mag pulled out his own phone and texted Mo.
Word?
“It’s okay, Smithie,” he heard her say as he turned to the pantry to find some pasta. “I’m with Danny.” Pause then, “He’s a friend of Mo’s.” Pause and then a soft, “Yeah.”
That made Mag grin.
And his night continued its upswing, which was the only way it could go, when he got Mo’s reply.
Hawk’s making the calls.
Hawk would get him in to see her brother.
Then Mag would find out what the fuck was going on.
He’d take care of it and make Evan safe.
And then he could focus on other things concerning Evie.
Like her second job.
Her fucked-up family.
And getting her back to school.
Chapter Seven
Do Over
Mag
To say Mag was antsy and getting more pissed by the second was an understatement.
He, Mo and Hawk were standing in a room at the county jail, waiting to be shown to another room that had Evan’s brother in it.