Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 98264 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 491(@200wpm)___ 393(@250wpm)___ 328(@300wpm)
But it was the promise of one thing that put a shit-eating grin on my face.
“He’s done,” I stated. “There is no coming back from all of that. He’ll be lucky if he ever gets out of prison, and messing with the cartel like he has won’t make his stay very comfortable, either.”
He deserved everything that was coming to him and more.
Aiden barked a laugh. “That man is lucky he’s still breathing. An order was given to take him out last night. Long story short, you beating the shit out of him back there might have saved his life. Don’t let the motherfucker say you never gave him anything.”
Nora tilted her head back. “It’s over?”
“It is.”
She beamed up at me, the return of her smile—although wobbly—breathing new life into my soul. “Like, really over?”
“Yeah, babe.”
And it was.
All our pain.
All our suffering.
All our heartache.
With Jonathan behind bars, it was finally fucking over.
My head snapped up. “I want his computer seized. He has videos—”
Aiden lifted his paw in the air. “Way ahead of you. Apollo is over at his place now. Nothing he has will ever see the light of day again.”
I dipped my head with gratitude, and about that time, Ramsey and Thea came walking back over. Thea appeared slightly calmer; meanwhile, Ramsey still looked like he might puke at any second.
“Hey,” he breathed, giving his sister a head-to-toe. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Nora flashed him a smile. “I promise.” She lifted a pinky in his direction, and he fought some serious emotions back before hooking his finger with hers.
After Aiden excused himself, the four of us stood there. Ramsey and I were like bookends while Nora and Thea hooked their arms in the middle.
That day could have ended in disaster. One slip of his finger, one wrong move, and all of our lives would have been irrevocably changed.
But, every now and again, something good comes from all the bad.
Arm in arm, we watched Jonathan Caskey kick and cuss as they loaded him into the back of a police car.
With the click of the door behind him, four people who had crawled through hell on their hands and knees were finally set free.
I clung to Camden’s arm as he tried to get out of bed. “Don’t go.”
He laughed and stood up despite my best efforts. It wasn’t often when I missed the days of him being scrawny and clumsy, but being able to overpower him long enough to tie him to my bed so he could never leave held a lot of promise.
“Trust me,” he said. “This isn’t my idea of a good time, either. But if we don’t hurry, I’ll miss my flight.”
I sat up, crisscrossed my legs in front of me, and pouted. “You said no more goodbyes.”
“I did. But then someone who shall remain nameless decided they wanted to finish the last two months of the school year before moving. And I realized my cruel and unreasonable boss won’t pay me to lie on her couch, waiting listlessly for her to come home and get naked.” Resting his palms on the bed, he bent and kissed my nose. “Relax. I’ll be back next weekend and then you’re coming to New York the following and so on and so forth. By the time June hits, you’ll be sick of me and begging for a goodbye.”
I tugged on the front of his shirt, dragging him back down. “Blasphemy. I’ll never get sick of you.” My lips twisted. “The leaving-the-toilet-seat-up thing though…”
He smiled, wide and life-changing—or at least it was for me. “I’d apologize, but I have a very riveting game of Is-that-a-dead-rat-or-just-the-hair-Nora-left-in-the-drain to play before we can leave.” He pecked me again, this time on the mouth, and I reluctantly let him go.
“I hope it’s a rat this time!” I called as he disappeared into the bathroom.
It had only been two weeks since Jonathan Caskey was arrested, and while it seemed like the days had flown by, we’d crammed a lot into that time.
As soon as news of Jonathan’s arrest broke, Clovert’s gossip mill exploded. Partially because, within a matter of hours, his father was taken into custody on embezzlement charges after Jonathan had sung like a bird on the entire family. Seriously, the Caskey family was a shit storm, but for once, it wasn’t raining down on me. By the end of the week, Camden’s grandparents had pulled up roots and moved to Florida, and despite the dozen shrieking threats she’d left on his voicemail, Camden’s mom steered clear of Clovert too.
With help from a sexy attorney who I later stripped out of a tailored, navy suit to show my undying gratitude, the prosecution dropped all charges against me. My principal canceled my suspension, but I took a week of personal leave anyway, because.… Well, I deserved it. Also see the aforementioned part about the sexy attorney who was no longer in the navy suit but still working remotely from my dining room table.