Total pages in book: 160
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 149137 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 746(@200wpm)___ 597(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“All right, let’s get this show going,” Keller said. “Hernandez, do we have guests?”
Hernandez was already at the front door. “You know the bastards listen in on the radio. I count two news trucks and three indie vultures. Let’s get this over with. What do you want me to say, Josh?”
“There’s press out there?” How had they gotten here so fast?
Josh was staring at the door as though imagining what was behind it. “They’re always close by, always waiting. The word vulture is suitable since they circle overhead constantly.”
Dec sighed. “I’ll take door duty.”
“Say it was all an accident,” Josh told the cops. “Mr. Houston was walking on the beach and didn’t understand the tide was coming in. When he tried to avoid it, he tripped my alarm. Everything is fine and you’re giving him a ride home.”
She saw flashes as the door opened and there were at least ten people standing in the tiny front yard. The cops pushed their way through.
“Hey, move those trucks,” Hernandez yelled. “Move them or I’ll have them moved for you.”
“He’s so nice,” Allen was saying to one of the reporters. “Joshua Hunt is a great guy.”
Shane sighed as the door closed. “Well, that was smart as hell. The man won’t say a word against you now and the reporters won’t have a story beyond Joshua Hunt helps out lost man.”
Josh stared at the door for a second longer before sighing. “Yeah, I know how to handle the press at least. I’ve learned that being a nice guy makes for a shitty story. Why were you so concerned about who riled that man up, Kay?”
She looked over at him. Now that the doors had closed, a tension had crept back into his stance. She wasn’t about to crank him up more. It also wasn’t like she could blurt out hey, I wonder if the CIA is involved in tonight’s clusterfuck. “I’m curious about who would send him your way.”
He shook his head. “Like I said, some real-life troll. Or a reporter. He was very likely standing outside waiting to see if he could get some exclusive photos. Calling me a liar and a thief always sells papers. I didn’t recognize the name. I’m not going to worry about it. I have lots of other things to worry about. Shane, we’re going to bed. Thank you for your work this evening.”
“Dec is taking the night shift. He’ll be up and monitoring the security system. I’ll see you two in the morning when I take over,” Shane said as he turned to go back to the east wing of the house where the men were sharing a room. “Kay, ping me if you need anything.”
Silence descended as Shane walked away, leaving them alone.
She stared at him for a moment and wondered if he’d really done it to manipulate the press. Nothing about how he’d acted in the last half hour told her he’d been lying to Allen Houston. “That was enlightening, Joshua.”
“In what way?”
“I think you were telling that man the truth. I think you let him go because you know what it means to be desperate. It was a very nice thing to do.”
His face went blank. “Was it? Don’t think I’m some sort of nice guy. I do know what desperation feels like. I won’t ever go back there again, and don’t think for a second I wouldn’t squash that man like a bug if he truly threatened me. He’s nothing to me, but I’m smart enough to know that it’s better for me if he shuts down the trouble himself rather than gets filmed being hauled off my property kicking and screaming. Now take it off and let me see it.”
There was no pretending she misunderstood what he wanted. He’d been fixated on her neck since the moment she’d walked back in wearing the scarf. He wanted to see it, she would let him. She unwound the scarf and let her head fall to one side.
He moved in, his fingertips brushing the places where he’d lightly bruised her skin. He stepped back and seemed to have lost a lot of his coloring. His skin was a pasty white in the low light. “It should heal in a day or two. It’ll be worse tomorrow.”
“It’s not a big deal.” She could wear the scarf for a day or two if she had to, but she’d looked at it herself and didn’t think it would bruise badly. After all, this wasn’t her first rodeo. She knew what her skin looked like when someone brutalized her, and this wasn’t it.
“Yes, it is. I think you should go to your room now.”
She didn’t want to leave him alone. She wanted to get at least partially back to the intimacy of earlier. They’d been working toward something. “You know what would make me feel better?”