Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89892 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 449(@200wpm)___ 360(@250wpm)___ 300(@300wpm)
I look away and get back to the subject at hand. “Jared was…is a fuckin’ weasel. He was running a Ponzi scheme. The Lawless MC and my brother, Preppy, along with King,” I look to her. “You’re from here, so I assume you know who they are?”
She nods.
“They had some excess cash that was already clean. It was my idea to invest and grow another line of legit income. I picked Jared to help us do that. At first, everything seemed good, but the statements we were getting weren’t real. The numbers on the return were way too high for the current state of the market. I checked the accounts, and I was right. The money was gone, and when I went to find Jared...”
I killed him.
“He was already gone,” she finishes.
Yeah, he’s gone alright.
“What about those guys at the party?” she asks. “What do they have to do with your friends’ money?”
“The reason why I invested with Jared in the first place is because he was already working with Tico Ricci, and I figured it was a safe bet because fucking over Tico means certain death, and not a painless one either. I assumed Jared knew how the game worked when getting into bed with people like us. He either knew or didn’t give a shit because not only did he fuck us over, but Ricci as well. He drained every fucking penny.”
She looks to her lap, and I can see her struggling with the information. “They can’t find Jared or the money, so now they’re looking for me.” Confusion lines her smooth forehead. “Why? It doesn’t make any sense. Why me?”
“They probably think you know where the money is or where Jared is.” I can’t bring myself to tell her that Jared is the one who pointed the finger at her. Knowing that he didn’t care if they killed her so he could save his own ass isn’t going to change anything besides make her hysterical, and that’s the last fucking thing I need right now.
“But, I wasn’t involved. I don’t know a damn thing. He was never even home. He went out of town all of the time. He stole from me, too. Left me with nothing.” She presses her head back into the headrest and closes her eyes. “I’m so stupid. How…why did I ever trust him? I should’ve known. Should’ve seen something to tell me he wasn’t who he led me to believe he was.” She lowers her voice and stares blankly out the windshield. “All those years…”
“Does it bother you that he was a liar and a thief?” I ask.
She thinks for a minute. “No, it bothers me that I never knew him at all. It bothers me that I’ve got mafia men after me because of him and…” She looks at me. “Shit.”
“What?” I ask, lighting a cigarette.
“I’m more stupid than I thought. Here I am wondering why a stranger would suddenly rescue me from dangerous men. Twice. Now, I know why you knew my name. You’re not trying to save me.” Her eyes go wide. “You just wanted to get to me first.”
She opens the door and leaps down, darting out into the woods.
I chuckle because Lenny is a lot of things. Quirky. Talkative. Naive. Sexy as fuck.
The one thing she’s not, is stupid.
LENNY
I don’t get far. My feet tangle in the underbrush, and I fall face first less than twenty feet from the truck.
He’s going to kill me. The man who saved my life twice is going to kill me.
In the face of death, I can’t help but feel embarrassed for trusting the wrong man once again.
I hear a chuckle and look up to see Nine standing over me with an amused look on his face. He crouches down over me. “You taking a break already?”
“Don’t! Please!” I beg as I try to disentangle my legs but only manage to make it worse. Thorns scratch my thighs and arms. My nails are caked in dirt as I try to crawl away, but I’m stuck.
Nine reaches down and pulls up the leg of his jeans. He removes a long, gleaming blade from the sheath tied around his ankle.
“No!” I scream and shut my eyes as his hand descends.
I wait for the pain, but it never comes.
I try to kick him off, but my foot only hits air.
Wait, my foot hits air. It’s free.
I open my eyes. Nine is standing with no knife in hand, his arms crossed over his wide chest, and an impatient look on his face.
“You done now?” he asks.
“That depends on what your plans are for my untimely demise.”
“If I was going to kill you, I would have done it long ago. Right now, I’m not going to do that unless you give me a reason.”
I meet his gaze and sit up. “Comforting,” I reply with the maximum amount of sarcasm I can put onto a single word.