Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146392 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Or he could stop somewhere and pick up some exotic lube and make her asshole burn so she didn’t leave him a freaking text again.
Bud raced ahead and started his doggy dance at the front door, letting him know someone was there.
Not a package, then. TJ glanced at the video screen attached to the security system so he could decide if he wanted to open that door or if he needed to grab a gun.
TJ’s stomach dropped. He didn’t want to answer that door. Nope. He also would never pull a gun on the man standing there.
Bud barked and jumped at the door, and there was a sharp bark echoed back.
So the big man hadn’t come alone, but then he rarely did. He always had some combo of his never-ending menagerie with him. He’d shown up at Thanksgiving last year with a potbellied pig in tow because the little guy had separation anxiety.
Actually, from what TJ had heard, he’d adopted a bunch of pigs. Didn’t pigs make for easy body disposal? Would he end up as pig chum? That probably wasn’t the right word, but it properly described what the big guy might do to him.
The chime rang again.
There was nothing for it. The man had a freaking key, after all. Was he going to hide in Lou’s shower and pray her father didn’t find him there, or was he going to man up and act like the future son-in-law he wanted to be?
He opened the door and Boomer Ward stood there, frowning in a way he almost never did. Boomer was the happiest of his honorary uncles, though he’d stopped using the honorific around fifteen when he knew for absolute certain that he didn’t even want to pretend there were blood bonds between him and Lou. Boomer’s vibrant blue eyes laser focused on TJ in a way that made him remember that Lou’s dad had once been the best sniper in the US Army. He could kill a man from over a mile away.
But he could do it up close and personal, too.
He also had a bird on his shoulder and a tiny elderly chihuahua on a leash. Bud was going crazy dancing around the other dog, who barked and tried to sniff his way-too-high-for-a-chihuahua butt.
“TJ,” Boomer said. “Are you going to invite me in? I think we should talk. Lou’s at the office according to her tracker, so I thought this would be a good time to have a discussion.”
“I thought the tracker thing was strictly for CIA use.” He needed to get a new one since the last asshole who’d kidnapped him had cut the tracker out of his bicep. And if everyone could track Lou, he wanted to as well, damn it.
“Oh, I assure you Big Tag shares that shit with me. It was part of our agreement when Lou joined up. He keeps me informed about her movements even though they’re classified,” Boomer allowed. “Which is how I know she recently went to Germany to rescue you, and I’ve been waiting for her to come home to inform us about the change in your relationship status. She hasn’t updated her socials, so I suspect she thinks we won’t find out. You should both have clicked that in a relationship button by now. So are we going to do this or should I head over to your parents and we can come up with something way more embarrassing?”
“I wasn’t trying to put you off. I was wishing I had a way to track her since she seems to slip away so easily. Please come in.” He was well aware he was inviting Boomer into the house Lou owned part of. He didn’t own a house. Didn’t keep an apartment. Just hung out here when he wasn’t on assignment. Was there a casual way to bring up the subject of his savings account? It was pretty healthy since he didn’t spend a lot on himself. He wanted to be able to buy a house when he got out of the Army. A house for him and Lou.
“Sorry to bring the crew with me, but they’re getting up in years, and Molly doesn’t like to be alone.”
The seemingly immortal monk parakeet on his shoulder perked up. “Hope you wore a condom.”
TJ stepped back and let the man in. Well, at least there was zero question he knew what was going on. Molly tended to parrot back the things she heard, and she was excellent at picking up on the embarrassing shit. “I did, sir.”
Boomer stopped and stared. “You did what, son?”
Damn, but the man could be intimidating, which was weird because Boomer was the dude who took in all the strays and who was always kind and patient.
“I…” What was he supposed to say? Maybe the truth would work. “I’m in love with your daughter and I think she might be using me for sex, and I’m trying everything I can to make her see that this can work, but I think she’s going to leave me and I don’t know what to do.”