Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146666 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 733(@200wpm)___ 587(@250wpm)___ 489(@300wpm)
“You think I want to rush off?” Cash turned to give her a worried look. “Greer-bear, I wouldn’t rush off if it wasn’t important.”
More important than her?
Hurt thrummed through her. “I understand.”
Hack was scowling up at Cash.
“But think about coming back to stay,” she said. “Aidan won’t mind. He obviously gave you a key. Nice of him to give me a head’s up. You almost scared the shit out of me when I came back to find you in the house.”
Hack stiffened. “What?”
“Yeah, Greer-bear, he didn’t exactly give me a key,” Cash said sheepishly.
At that moment, he looked so much like he did as a teenager that her heart nearly broke.
“Huh? Then how did you . . .” she gasped. “Cash Savage. You broke into your brother’s house?”
“I was looking for donuts.”
“Yeah, there’s none.” She was super sad about that.
“I need to go, but I don’t like leaving you here with him.” He shot Hack a look.
“Hack won’t hurt me.”
“You can’t be so trusting, Greer,” Cash said harshly.
She shied back, wincing as the movement caused her head to throb.
“I . . . I know that.”
Hack stood, glaring at Cash. “I know you think you’re looking out for your sister, but you don’t get to talk to her like that. When her car broke down in a snowstorm, I went and got her. I looked after her. At this point, she knows and trusts me far more than she does you.”
She winced at that. Ouch.
Cash scowled at Hack, then turned his gaze to her. She tried not to shrink into herself.
Did he think she was an idiot? She wouldn’t be comfortable with Hack on her own unless she trusted him. Although, it was kind of crazy how much she trusted him.
Besides, Greer knew all too well that it wasn’t just strangers that could cause harm. Sometimes, it was the people who were meant to care for you that caused the biggest hurt.
Did that mean she was meant to live her life scared of everyone? Maybe.
“I’m sorry, Greer-bear.” Cash suddenly kneeled before her, gently grasping hold of her uninjured hand. “I keep fucking everything up. You were in a snowstorm? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine.” Now. “Hack was with me. He took care of me. He’s a good guy.”
Yeah, her brother didn’t look at all convinced. She sighed. “What’s going on, Cash? Are you in trouble?”
“No. I’m good. I promise. I wouldn’t be here if there was any danger to you, okay? You and Aidan are all I have. I will always keep you safe. But I do have to go. Give me your phone and I’ll put my number in it.”
“I don’t know where it went. I think it might be outside, along with my handbag.”
“I’ll find it for you.” Cash disappeared.
“You doing okay, Ladybug?” Hack asked.
“As well as I can be.” She made herself smile at him, but he didn’t look convinced.
Cash returned with her phone and handbag.
Walking over, he passed her handbag to her. Then he reached down and kissed her head. “Missed you, Greer-bear.”
Her happiness at his words was tinged with sadness. “Missed you too.”
He stood and tapped on her phone after she gave him her code to get in. “Okay, I’ve put my number in. Call me if you need me.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
Sadness filled her. Why did it feel like she was never going to get her brother back? At least not the one she’d known before? She guessed that was what happened in life, though.
It wasn’t like she was the same girl, either. She was damaged, broken, and patched together, a bit like her poor car.
Cash glared down at Hack. “You harm a hair on her head and they won’t find enough pieces of your body to need a shoebox for a coffin.”
With that charming thought, he was gone. She stared after him for a long time, worry filling her.
“Hey, look at me,” Hack urged.
She shook her head, wincing slightly.
“Greer. Look at me.” There was more dominance in his voice now and she raised her gaze to his without delay.
“His choices are his own. And you can’t spend all your time worrying about him. It’s not healthy or fair to you.”
“I’m his big sister. It’s my job. I feel like I didn’t worry enough, you know? I should have known he was still alive. I would have done more, looked everywhere for him.”
“Whoa, no. You had no way of knowing he was still alive. He did a great job of making sure you didn’t know.”
“But why?” She pressed her nails into the palms of her hands, needing a way to let out some of the emotions overwhelming her. She ignored the way her wrist protested the movement.
“Uh-uh. No.” He drew her hands apart, looking down at where she’d pushed the nails so far into the scrapes that they’d started bleeding again.