Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 68814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68814 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 344(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
At first, he’d thought I was interested in one of his sisters that wasn’t Hades.
But then, when he found out it was Hades that had drawn my eye, he’d gotten even more distant from me. More or less, he’d told me to fuck off, and don’t talk to him again.
So I hadn’t.
But we had run into each other from time to time, and one of those times had been when I’d gone with my twin brother to the circus.
Sure, I’d been the one to recommend we all go.
And sure, I probably should’ve mentioned to my brother that I might be causing a little bit of trouble.
But I hadn’t.
What I had done was make sure to find Hades just so I could see her in person.
And her captivation of me hadn’t reduced with time. In fact, seeing her in person had only solidified my desire to meet her. To get to know her. To want her.
We’d met for a handful of seconds that night before Keene had thrown a fuckin’ fit and kicked me, my brother and his kids from the circus.
But it was worth it.
Even Keene all but telling me if I came around her again, I’d pay for it in lashings from his ringmaster whip didn’t deter me.
I still wanted her.
And seeing her now, standing in front of me…let’s just say it was a dream come true.
“She yours?” Crew asked, sounding somewhat interested.
I flashed him a glare. “She’s mine.”
“I thought you said you didn’t have anyone,” he pointed out.
I shrugged. “I didn’t until she got here.”
Crew chuckled as he said, “She’s coming this way.”
She sure was.
I watched her walk toward me, her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
She was wearing short shorts that showed off her incredible legs, combat boots that came up over her ankle, and a black tank top that was just showing a hint of midriff.
She came to a stop directly in front of us, and didn’t spare Crew a single word as she said, “You remember me, right, Hannibal?”
I nodded.
What was she doing here?
“I’m Crew,” Crew drawled, bringing Hades’ attention to him.
“I need a job, Drew,” Hades murmured. “Can I have one?”
“Crew,” Crew corrected her. “And I am always looking for workers. Have you worked in a circus before?”
Hades snorted as she said, “More than I’m willing to admit.”
Crew tilted his head and said, “Why do I know you?”
“Because you literally just met me like a month ago,” she pointed out. “Your friend, Banner, and y’all’s entire crew came to spend a little time with Coffey.”
Crew narrowed his eyes. “I don’t think I met you.”
Hades sighed. “That’s because I’m easily dismissible.”
No, no she fuckin’ wasn’t.
At least not to me.
“I doubt that’s the case,” he murmured quietly. “What can you do at the circus?”
She dismissed him and then looked at me. “We need to talk about my sister.”
I studied her blue eyes and wondered what, exactly, she thought I could do.
I mean, sure, I was in security.
I was damn good at it, actually.
But if Keene didn’t want me there, then I wouldn’t be there.
Which I told her in the next second.
“What’s wrong with your sister?” Crew asked.
Before Hades could glare at him like she was doing to me, I answered.
“Hades’ twin sister has a stalker, and they can’t find him because they move around too much, and this mysterious stalker knows exactly where they are and what they’re doing, and can bypass all their security measures. Well, what measures they’re able to put into place when none of the sisters listen to Keene,” I said to him. “But he’s not proven violent as of yet, and Keene assures me he can handle it.”
“Keene can’t handle shit,” Hades snapped.
I would’ve laughed at her outburst had her anger not been palpable.
“Keene was in the military for years, Hades,” I pointed out. “If he wanted to fix it, he would.”
“Well,” Hades’ eye twitched. “He’s too busy trying to run the circus to think about his sisters.”
Did I note a hint of anger at how her brother was overloaded? The man was only one person. And from what I could tell, Ansel Singh, their father, hadn’t left the circus in good repair. Keene was fighting a losing battle. I wasn’t sure any of the sisters knew anything about the troubles that the circus was going through, and he was keeping them out of it as best as he could. But one day, it would boil over.
“I’m sure that he’s thinking about y’all,” I pointed out.
“I’m sure that I know what I’m talking about, and you don’t spend hours and hours with him when he assures me he’s going to fix it, then doesn’t,” she countered.
Crew whistled under his breath, one of those long, low things that said, ‘you’re fucked.’
I shot him a look that clearly said he needed to leave, and Crew’s eyes crinkled at the edges as he said, “I’ll just be right over here.”