Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 105921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 105921 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Tenn gave me a sly smile before looking back at his brother. "Yep."
Griffen nodded again and turned his attention back to me. "Looks like you'll be a guest of Heartstone Manor for the foreseeable future."
"You can't—"
Griffen cut me off. "I already am. I'm done with people who think they can fuck with my family. I lost one brother. I'll fill the woods with bodies before I lose another. No one is going to hurt you or August. I can promise you that. But as long as you're all that stands between Tenn and joining Ford in prison, you're not going anywhere."
Tenn shifted beside me, a stunned look in his eyes as he watched his older brother. He shifted his gaze to me and it was gone, replaced with a teasing expression I didn't know how to process. Another blink and he'd fastened the other end of the cuffs back on his wrist.
I ignored him and met Griffen's eyes, steeling myself to negotiate. "And if I cooperate, you won't press charges for the trespassing and the rest?" A nod of agreement from Griffen. I might have been a peasant petitioning the king. "Fine. But you don't keep my son from me."
"He'll have fun with Nicky, and Savannah and her mom are good with kids," Hope put in.
"That's great as long as I can see him whenever I want." I lifted my cuffed wrist. "And I am really done with these. Where am I going to go? Tenn said you have top-notch security."
"Don't forget that as much as I need you, whoever killed Vanessa will want you gone as soon as they find out I'm not under arrest." Tenn's eyes on me weren't cold or teasing. He almost looked like he cared.
"I gave the police chief my statement," I protested. "Why wouldn't that be enough?"
I could see the danger Tenn was in. Beneath the crap sandwich of Thatcher's mess, I was deeply glad I'd been there to save Tenn from a murder charge. Another few minutes either way and he'd be in serious trouble. I didn't even know him, and what I did know I wasn't sure I liked.
Liar, a voice whispered in my head. It didn't matter if I liked Tenn or not. No one should go to prison for someone else's crime.
Tenn's problem, I understood. In all the worry over Thatcher, I hadn't really absorbed my own. As bad as those charges would be for my career, that wasn't as dangerous as being in the crosshairs of a murderer.
Tenn's next words drove the point home. "West has your statement, but what's that going to be worth if you disappear? The DA isn't the biggest fan of the Sawyers right now. I can guarantee that West is going to turn up at least one guest who witnessed my argument with Vanessa. Even if they couldn't hear me, things got a little physical—"
"What happened?" Royal cut in.
Tenn shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh. "Typical Vanessa. When I wouldn't hand over the pile of cash she wanted, she tried to screw it out of me. Right in the middle of the garden path. I had to shove her away. It probably looked worse than it was from a distance."
"Unless the police find evidence of another killer," I finished, "everything will point to you."
"Exactly. And you fell on the scene. Literally. Who knows what evidence you destroyed?"
"Maybe if you hadn't been manhandling me, I wouldn't have destroyed the scene," I shot back.
"Maybe if you hadn't been trespassing, I wouldn't have had to manhandle you."
We glared at each other, faces so close I could feel his warm breath on my skin. I leaned in, once more not sure if I wanted to slap him or kiss him.
Nope, still firmly on the side of a good, hard slap.
Daisy let out a low whistle, shattering the mood. Biting my lip so I wouldn't be tempted to say anything, I scooched as far away from Tenn as I could get.
"Maybe Hawk should take charge of the prisoner," Daisy said, laughter in her voice. "Otherwise, they're going to kill each other. Or, you know—"
"No," Tenn interrupted before Daisy could finish. "Scarlett's fine with me. West wants me to stay here for a few days. He thinks it's better if we're not visible. Might as well keep an eye on Scarlett while I don't have anything better to do." He shot me a grin. I shook my head as I fought the desire to grin back. What was it about this guy?
"Handcuffs?" I pressed.
Tenn leaned in, his mouth only inches from my ear. "We'll talk."
Pretending that was good enough, I lifted my coffee cup and sipped. The memory of that neat red hole in Vanessa's forehead kept flashing into my mind. Whatever else was going on, I couldn't let that happen to me. August and I were safer here, handcuffs or not.