Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 71911 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 360(@200wpm)___ 288(@250wpm)___ 240(@300wpm)
Just as the running water got warm enough for me to step inside, my phone dinged, alerting me of a message. I turned to glance at it and make sure it wasn’t Cam. A strange number was on the screen, and I reached for it.
I’m glad you like the light blue. —D
The bastard had gotten my phone number from my lease agreement. I dropped my phone onto the counter and got into the shower. I was not going to respond. Maybe he would think I had changed my number.
five
dean
One quick call to Maegan, the building manager I had hired, and she gave me the list of residents, their apartment numbers, and their phone numbers. I didn’t need all of them. Just Brielle’s. Because I was curious. She entertained me. I wasn’t going to do anything about it because of her age, but I could have a little fun.
Poor Cam didn’t know that while he was apparently out of town, she was going on a date with one of the men from the construction crew I had hired. Sure, she could bitch Cam out for not texting her, but she’d cheat on his ass real easy.
I shook my head at the thought. It was a shame. I had hoped she might be different, but she wasn’t.
The door to my private entrance swung open, and I turned to see Kiro walking into my penthouse. He was wearing a ripped T-shirt, black leather pants, and combat boots. I hadn’t been expecting him. He reached up and jerked his designer sunglasses off as he looked at me.
“Why the fuck do you live in this hellhole?” he asked, then scanned the area. “Where’s the whiskey? There isn’t even a proper bar in this place.”
“No whiskey, but there is beer in the fridge,” I replied.
He raised his eyebrows. “Why the fuck don’t you have whiskey? Jesus, man, get back to the Hills, where you belong.”
Kiro was in Rosemary Beach more than he was in Beverly Hills these days. He knew why I was here, and it was the same reason he kept returning. His granddaughter, Lila Kate, and his daughter, Harlow. He had more grandkids and two more children—that we knew of—but he wasn’t as close to them. Harlow was the child birthed by the only woman Kiro had ever loved. She was the kid he cared about the most.
“Stopping by to see me on your way to Rosemary Beach?” I asked him as I sat down on the sofa.
“Don’t fucking go pointing that out. Visiting family is different than moving to this hellish part of the US. I can’t breathe out here. The air is too damn thick,” he said as he walked past me. “Where’s the damn kitchen?” he asked as he headed in the direction of the master bedroom.
“The other way,” I told him.
I’d ask him how he’d found me, my private entrance, and known the code to enter, but I already knew the answer—Maegan. She had been fucking Kiro back in LA, but then he got bored with her, and I offered her this job. She wasn’t some groupie. She’d been our estate manager until Kiro decided he was done with her and wanted her out.
I heard him curse while ranting about my kitchen being too small, and I smiled. He would always be Kiro Manning, rock legend, lead singer of Slacker Demon. Not even sweet little Lila Kate could change his persona. His granddaughter, he worshipped. She looked so much like her mother at that age. He watched his cursing around Lila Kate, but that was about it.
When he arrived back in the living room, he held up the beer, scowling. “You can do better than this shit,” he said, then sat down across from me.
“I take it, you are talking to Maegan again,” I said.
He let out a short laugh. “Hell no. She was too attached. That’s a closed fucking book.”
“But you called her to get my information,” I pointed out. “And she gave it to you.”
He shrugged. “So? You and I have lived together since we were twenty years old. We own a house together. She knows that. Why wouldn’t she give me the code to your penthouse?”
Because he didn’t own this place. But I didn’t say anything. It wasn’t like Kiro was going to be visiting often. He hated the Florida heat and humidity. Besides, with him here, I wasn’t alone.
“You want to head to Rosemary with me? Visit the kids?” he asked.
I shook my head. “Rush just left a few hours ago. I told him I’d be there sometime next week.”
Kiro waved his beer around. “What the fuck you gonna do here?”
I had been debating on checking out Brielle McGinnis on social media. See if she had an Instagram or even a TikTok. I was more intrigued by her than I needed to be, but who the fuck could blame me? Her barely covered ass down at the pool had taunted me. I liked her sass and attitude. Then, there were her tits. Damn, I liked big tits, and she had an excellent set. Even if she was a cheater … but then maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she and Cam had an open arrangement. Who was I to judge? Especially after the shit I’d done.