Total pages in book: 147
Estimated words: 142801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 142801 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 714(@200wpm)___ 571(@250wpm)___ 476(@300wpm)
“Nora.” I turn my attention her way. “Truly, I’m confused.”
“Down with the bourgeoisie!” she yells in response. And right in my face.
“Why don’t we go inside? We can deal with whatever this is calmly. Perhaps over a cup of coffee.”
“You got any cookies?” The kid with the scarf jerks sideways as he’s elbowed by the girl next to him.
“No fraternizing with the enemy,” she hisses with a scowl.
“I’m going through a growth spurt!”
This is like a fucking circus, I think as I gesture to the building. “Shall we?” Please leave your monkeys behind.
“No.” Nora juts her chin pugnaciously. “Anything you have to say, you can say out here.”
I shrug. “I’m not quite sure what it is I can help you with, though I’ll try my best.”
Next to her, Yara snorts. “You could start by telling her why you put up that industrial fencing.”
“I . . . put the fencing up?” There was new fencing when I visited last, I recall. The place was very secure, but I didn’t pay attention beyond the fleeting thought that how Nora chose to spend my donation was up to her. “I’m not responsible for any fencing.”
“Must’ve been the fairies, then.” Nora’s fingers tighten on Bo’s leash, their color livid. “I ain’t got money to spare for fences.”
“Though she did use some of her most recent donation to buy a new padlock,” Yara puts in. “And motion sensors. And an alarm.”
“Very sensible,” I hedge. Not that I’m about to break in.
“The rest she’s going to give to a lawyer to rip you a new arsehole.”
Both women seem like they’re looking forward to the prospect, and my adamancy begins to wane. Choices I made. Directives I issued. The sinking realization that things might not have gone quite to the timeline.
“Turns out, he is that stupid.”
My attention twists sharply as I realize Fin is speaking to Matt. “What the fuck, Phineas?” I demand.
“Eve came to me. I told her I’d help her find out who was behind the fencing. I just didn’t expect it to be you.”
“You told her?” No one was supposed to know.
“Sure. Along with making money and drinking expensive whisky, I told her puppy abuse was your favorite thing.” His expression twists as he adds, “Asshole.”
But my mind has already moved on. Perhaps she . . .
No. Eve wouldn’t leave me over a misunderstanding. Would she?
Oh, fuck.
I whip around to face the crowd, a surge of adrenaline coursing through my veins. Not just a misunderstanding, but perhaps it was the final nail in the coffin. I’d told her I was no good—proved it to her again and again. Before I fell in love, and everything changed. If only she’d waited. If she’d come to me. Except, on that stage, I hadn’t given her that chance.
“This is a misunderstanding.” More like a clusterfuck I’ve brought on myself.
A wave of dissent sounds through the rabble’s rank.
“Let me explain.” I can absolutely explain, even as words crowd my throat. I swallow over them. I doubt I’ve ever wanted to account for myself as much as I do now. I must get her back. “You see, you were in jeopardy of losing the sanctuary.”
“Is this bloke a few sandwiches short of a full picnic, or what?” Nora turns to her jeering crowd. “That’s why we’re here—I’m at risk of losing it to you!”
“No, you don’t understand—with the owner dead and no living relatives, anyone could’ve claimed the place.”
“But no one did,” Yara says simply. “Not until Nora got your threatening letter.”
“It wasn’t threatening.” Or it had better not have been. How the hell has this happened? My instructions were explicit. “But it was premature. My legal team weren’t supposed to act on it until I’d spoken with you.”
“Spoken with me!” Nora shrieks.
“That letter all but said they were chucking her out.” Yara’s words might be impassive, but her expression is anything but.
“I’ll blow the place up before I give it to you.”
“You’re not listening.” I try very hard to keep a grip on my rising frustration, my panic at this glimmer of hope. If there’s a chance to learn where Eve is, I’ll do whatever it takes. “I don’t want your land. I was simply trying to protect it.”
Nora’s face twists, and Yara huffs in disbelief.
“On Eve’s behalf. And, yes, I was trying to do something that would impress her.”
“To earn boyfriend points,” Matt adds in solidarity.
He gets it, at least.
Yara juts out a hip, leaning her weight onto it. “Explain.”
“Someone made a mistake.”
She snorts, and someone else shouts “No shit,” but I carry on.
“I made a mistake—I was trying for the element of surprise.”
“You bloody well achieved it!” Nora incredulously puts in.
Heads will fucking roll for this. “The land belongs to no one at the minute.”
“No, possession is nine tenths of the law—that place belongs to me!”
“Nora, nine tenths are worth nothing when battling someone with more money. Someone ruthless.” A hiss goes out, and the remains of a store-bought sandwich are aimed at my head. “Yes, I am ruthless,” I admit, glaring at the perpetrator as I pluck lettuce from my hair. “But I am also in love.”