Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 73208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73208 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
“Storm, what a surprise,” I drawled, leaning against the door casually.
He shot me an annoyed glance, then walked past me, barely grazing my arm as he stepped inside my apartment.
“Entering uninvited. Guess you’re not a vampire then. I’ll have to scratch that villain off my list.”
There was no amusement on his face as he took in the living room as if the secrets to my life could be found here.
Sorry, buddy. I’m smarter than that. No mantel photographs for me.
“Your tires are fixed. When do you work again?”
“I’m off the next two days.”
He turned his attention to me then. “I need to handle some things in Ocala. I want you to go stay with Pepper.”
My eyebrows shot up. “You want me to?” I let out a laugh. “I’m sorry. I don’t remember when I started taking orders from you.”
His eyes darkened. “I can think of when you took orders without that fucking sassy mouth only a couple of hours ago.”
Shut up! I’d walked into that one. Please don’t let Dovie have heard that. Change of subject. Just agree and get him out of here.
“Whatever, fine. I’ll go to Pepper’s.”
That was too agreeable. I could see the way his eyes narrowed. Dammit, I was better at lying than this. I needed to get it together.
“Fine. Get your things, and I’ll take you.”
Shit. Of course he was going to make this difficult.
“I need to do some laundry, clean the toilets, and get my things together. I can take myself to Pepper’s. My tires are fixed, remember? Besides, I need to call Pepper and ask if I can stay there.”
“You can stay. I’ve already spoken to her. Get your things. The rest can wait.”
I was real close to hitting him. I swear to God, this man was driving me crazy.
“I will go when I am done here.”
“Get your shit. Last chance before I throw you over my shoulder and take you out of here.”
UGH! What was I supposed to do now?
“Okay, listen. You have a tracker on my car. I can’t go anywhere without you knowing. Please, I just need to do some things here before I go. This is my day off, and I have a list of things I want to do here.”
Storm’s scowl meant he was as annoyed with me as I was with him. I wasn’t hiding Roger! Why couldn’t they leave me alone? The man was dead, and I was going to relive the moment my bullet had gone into his head and he fell to the ground for the rest of my life. He’d deserved it, but killing someone changed you. It left a mark on your soul. I would do it again, but damn if I’d lie about something like that.
“If you weren’t lying to me right now, then I might believe you. But you’re hiding something. I’m real fucking hard to lie to, Briar.”
My heart beat fast against my chest. Panic. I was starting to panic. He was too close to this. I’d let him get too close. Entirely too close.
Placing my hands on my hips, I tried to think of anything to get him to leave.
“What I am not hiding is Roger. IF I am hiding something else, it isn’t your business. It doesn’t affect you. So, leave me alone!”
He took a step toward me. “You’re working for Pepper. She’s our business. Someone is after you, and you’re leading it right to her door.”
“Then, WHY send me to her house?! Isn’t that leading my danger right to her?” I was yelling. I needed to calm down, but he was making me so mad.
He didn’t answer that one right away. If I wasn’t so angry, I’d relish the fact that I’d turned his own words against him. But seeing as I hadn’t won this yet and he was still in my apartment, I didn’t have time to enjoy anything.
“Do you know who is following you? Is that it? Some spurned lover trying to scare you? Get you back?”
“It wouldn’t be the first time,” I lied. Until now, I had never had a man chase me down like this.
Storm’s scowl deepened, as if that angered him. “Who is it then?”
I threw up my hands. “I don’t know! Jameson?”
“He’s out on bail. If he leaves Atlanta, he’ll be found and put back behind bars.”
Oh. Okay. That was news. Out on bail for what? That was not the point. I didn’t care.
“I do not know!” I couldn’t think of one man from my past who would follow me. But their wives … “Maybe it isn’t a man.”
Storm seemed to understand my meaning without me spelling it out for him. He let out a sigh and ran his hand through his hair, muttering a curse.
“Fine. Stay here. Do whatever you want. But if you’re lying about Roger, then we will find out.”