Total pages in book: 162
Estimated words: 158848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 158848 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 794(@200wpm)___ 635(@250wpm)___ 529(@300wpm)
God help Remy. He’s on his own.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Griff
Monday morning, I find Remy in the upstairs entryway dressed for a run, sneakers in hand and balls of brown wrapping paper at his feet. “Bro, do you know why all my sneakers have wads of paper stuffed in the toes?” he asks.
I squeeze my eyes shut and try to force my laughter back. “Guess you haven’t tried to make coffee yet?”
His confused frown deepens. “No, why?”
“Torch stopped by yesterday.”
He drops the sneaker on the floor with a thud. “And?”
“He couldn’t help mentioning your arrangement and Molly accidentally overheard him.”
“I’m gonna kill him,” he grumbles.
Not that I feel like sticking up for Torch, but. “I don’t think he did it on purpose. He seemed upset that he hurt her feelings.”
“No wonder she didn’t stop by and see me before she left.” He waves his hand at me in an irritated gesture. “Here I thought it was because she was spending every last second with your dumb ass.”
“I told her she should still go say goodbye to you. Said I’d go with her. But she didn’t want to cause a scene there.” I nod to the paper all over the floor. “This is her way to let you know what she thought of your plan.”
“Did you help her do this?” he asks.
“Nope. She was done in the kitchen by the time I found her.” It’s impossible to hold back my smirk. “I didn’t exactly stop her when she went after your shoes, though.”
“That’s just great.” He bends over and collects the paper. “What other surprises am I going to find?”
“Now what fun would it be if I ruined it for you?” I cross my arms over my chest. “I think you’ve learned a very important lesson here.”
“Yeah?” He rolls his eyes. “What’s that?”
“Your sister has a brilliant, evil side. Don’t piss her off.”
Even though he’s trying to keep a straight face, he shakes with laughter. “Fine.” He walks into the kitchen and tosses the paper in the trash and swipes his phone off the counter. “I’ll send her an apology.”
His phone buzzes in his hand. He checks the message and cracks up.
“What?” I ask.
Laughing too hard to answer, he passes me his phone.
Molly: Happy Monday! I hope you’re having the morning you deserve, brother dear!
A row of grinning emojis follows.
“See?” I hand him his phone. “What’d I tell you?”
The rest of the week goes by fast. I spend a few days at Jerry’s helping him get caught up on paperwork that he’s neglected. I take Molly’s advice and call Venom to catch up and to talk about what might happen at the reunion. His take: nothing good.
Every night I talk to Molly for at least a few minutes before she goes to bed, and she sends me texts and selfies throughout the day.
It’s not quite the way things were before I left. Actually, except for her being an hour away, things are even better than before.
At the back of my mind, I can’t help wondering if the reunion will be the thing that tears everything apart.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Griff
Supreme Fighter mansion—the last place I wanted to return. The actual “reunion” show is being taped at a studio tomorrow. But we were all asked to meet at the mansion the night before to “get into the same head space.” If that isn’t a red flag that we’re being led into a trap, I don’t know what is.
They offered to send a car for us. I declined.
Molly was too nervous about navigating the busier roads of downstate New York, so I’m behind the wheel of her car.
“It says it’s seven hundred feet ahead on our right.” Molly points at the windshield.
The car’s GPS system announces the same information a second later.
“None of this looks familiar,” I grumble, staring at the perfect green lawns and glimpses of estates hiding behind high privacy walls and iron gates.
“You were in a high pressure, disoriented state when you arrived—”
“And barely conscious when I left.” I slow the car and make the turn through the wide-open gates. “The day they let us ride the motorcycles, I was too worried about the camera crew in front of me and the other vehicles behind me.”
I guide the SUV into a parking spot close to the gate. Several other cars are already here. The detestable prison-style vans they carted us around in are nowhere to be seen.
“Wow.” Molly stares out the window at the sprawling mansion. “It’s…even bigger in person. And kinda tacky, honestly. All it’s missing is a big, gaudy fountain of cherubs out front.”
She nailed in five minutes what it took me weeks to figure out that I didn’t like about the place. “Inside’s not quite as bad.”
“You know Hayden looked it up.” Molly presses a finger to the glass. “They actually used this place in another crappy reality show.”