Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110549 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 368(@300wpm)
“So how did she finally land in juvie?” I asked him.
Jessie downed the rest of his beer. “Her mother and her fucking ex. I’m not telling you how or why—not my place.” I respected that about Jessie. You could always rely on him to be loyal, to never break your trust in him. “As far as I knew, Jay left town when she got arrested. He never visited her in juvie. I was the only person that visited her in there, wrote her, talked to her on the phone.”
“So, what’s got you thinking something happened last night?” I asked him.
“West is smoking again. I caught her on the porch this morning when she was waiting for me to take her to school. I know she hasn’t run into her mom yet—she would have destroyed a few things in my place if she had.” He shook his head. “Nah, this shit runs deeper for her. She was unnecessarily quiet on the way to school this morning. And there’s only one person who can put her in that kind of mood.”
“Jay?” I asked.
Jessie nodded. “I haven’t seen the fucker around lately, but I have no doubt in my mind that she ran into him last night.”
“Girl’s got a backbone on her, Jessie,” I reminded him. I shrugged and turned back to what I was doing. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.”
“Not against him,” he grumbled.
2
West
I slid out of Jessie’s car, shielding my eyes against the sun as I looked toward the garage. Lincoln was currently leaning against one of the bay entrances with a bottle of soda in his hand, watching me with unreadable eyes.
I had to admit that he was extremely good-looking. He was well built, not a hint of fat anywhere on him. And even covered in dirt and grease, he was one of the best-looking men I had ever laid my eyes on. Normally, the blonde-haired blue-eyed thing didn’t really work for me, but he had a ruggedness about him that drew me in.
His eyes met mine, his eyes as guarded as mine currently were. Tearing my gaze from his, I pulled my cigarettes from my pocket, lighting one up and taking a much-needed drag of nicotine.
I strode past Lincoln into the garage, already in my work clothes, having changed into them before I left school. I heard Jessie acknowledge him as I headed for the Explorer. There wasn’t any talking for a while, nothing but the sound of power tools, metal clanging, and rock music blasting from the speakers filling the silence around us. But the air was thick with tension—Jessie wanting to ask me questions, but knowing not to push me.
I looked up as a shiny Mercedes pulled into the lot. I remembered that Mercedes all too well, and instantly, all of my walls came up hard. I shut all of my emotions off as a defense mechanism against her.
“Oh, fuck no,” Jessie snarled as he pressed a button on the remote in his pocket, turning the music off. He looked at me. “Go in the office and stay there until I come get you, West,” he ordered.
Jessie may be hot as hell when he’s barking orders at me, but I had never been one for obedience.
“Like hell,” I snapped back at him. I was not hiding from her.
“Goddamn it, West!” Jessie roared at me. I swallowed thickly, not used to him raising his voice at me. “Get in the fucking office!”
I crossed my arms over my chest defiantly, ripping my eyes from his enraged ones to watch my mother slide out of the driver’s seat of her car. She was wearing a pair of cut-off shorts way too short for her with a flannel shirt tied up under her breasts, none of the buttons buttoned so the edges of her lacy black bra could be seen. She had on a pair of cowgirl boots to go with the entire outfit, a baseball cap settled on her head with a pair of Oakley shades covering her green eyes.
“Baby!” She exclaimed, a fake smile on her face. I just blankly stared at her. “Oh, honey, I’m so happy that you’re home!”
She stepped forward into the garage, and I took an automatic step back from her, clenching my jaw angrily. “I can’t say the same.” That fake smile of hers faltered the slightest bit. “What the fuck do you want?” I demanded.
She pouted at me, but I saw the twinkle in her eyes. And somehow, I knew Jay had sent her here. The thought made my hands clammy with sweat, and I had to resist the urge to rub them on my shorts.
“You didn’t miss your mom?” she asked me, a taunting lilt in her voice.
She took another step forward, and Jessie stepped in front of her at the same time Lincoln stepped up behind me, his hand gently resting on my upper arm. I jerked away from him, panic tightening my chest muscles. I instantly dropped my arms from across my chest, getting ready to defend myself. My heart was pounding hard against my breastbone, and my body was tight with tension when I jerked my head to the side to look at him.