Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 182641 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 913(@200wpm)___ 731(@250wpm)___ 609(@300wpm)
“Bass.”
He frowns instantly and a low laugh leaves me as I tip my head to the side.
“Bastian.”
His eyes spark with satisfaction. “You didn’t think a couple of scrapes and bruises would be enough, did you?”
I catch on fast. “You’re trying to turn the troubled two?”
“No turning. We’re on the same side, me and them Greco brothers.”
“Are we now?” I hold in my smirk but keep my gaze stern, Kylo’s words circling back to me. “They said they had permission to be in my space.”
“They did. Mine, and I gotta say … not happy to learn you live with all of them, including Damiano. He is not allowed in your wing, Little Thief. No exceptions.”
I ignore his Damiano comment. “You cannot have my men, Bastian.”
“I am your man, Rich Girl, so watch your words.”
My tongue rolls along the backs of my teeth. That line shouldn’t send little flutters through my rib cage, yet here I am, suddenly victim to girly shit I wasn’t sure I’d ever like the feeling of.
It’s not enough to distract me from the purpose of this conversation, though. “The boys choose to pledge themselves to us, so this is where their efforts and loyalty must be, even if I’m still unsure I want them here. If they lose focus, they will be gone, and the Grecos have nowhere else to go. Their mother is dead, and they worked for another prominent family, which is how we found them.”
Bastian frowns, leaning forward. “What the fuck does that mean? You’re unsure you want them there?” He latches on to one part of what I said. “Then why are they? What did they do?”
“They haven’t exactly done anything,” I start honestly but think better of it. “Well, you and the counterfeit money are a big fucking deal Dom’s working through, but other than that, it’s been nothing more than boys being boys. Pranks and things that cause no real harm but take time to amend.”
He sits on that a moment, his tongue flicking his lip ring in thought. “So you don’t want them there ’cause they’re different? Not robotic and Ken doll dull?”
“That’s not what I said.” I frown.
“Then why? I see the way you like being around me outside all that shit, so you not likin’ those two for being a little rebellious like you crave to do makes no sense to me.”
Call me out, why don’t you?
My muscles clench a little as his words fall into me, all true, as much as I hate to admit as much, and sharing this next part isn’t exactly going to paint me any different than the judgy bitch he describes.
“My dad doesn’t trust them. He didn’t want them here; he can’t stand the sight of them actually, says they will bring chaos we can’t control, and he’s never wrong. Ever.”
My words hang like a weight between us, and slowly, Bastian nods, looking away.
After a moment, his crystally eyes come back. “If I wanted to take the Greco brothers, I would do exactly that, and they wouldn’t be able to tell me no, but for now, I will use them when I need to.”
Anger flares in my stomach at his very Rayo Revenaw-like statement, but it doesn’t spread. It’s a softer heat settling in my bones. “What’s the matter, can’t sneak your way to me anymore?”
He eyes me a moment, and I grow anxious, which is irritating, but I know he’s seeing what I’m not saying, his next words confirming as much, shocking me in the process.
“Wanna see you too, baby.”
An instant fluttering races through my abdomen like bees fleeing their hive. My fingers tighten around my phone, chin subconsciously dipping, eyes still locked on his, but through a shadow of my lashes.
Baby.
Not Rich Girl.
Not Little Thief or Rocklin.
Baby, and he misses me. He misses me, and he hardly knows me, and he wants nothing from me but me. My teeth sink into my lower lip, and his gaze flashes to my mouth.
“Stop,” he rasps. “Don’t treat my lips like that.”
Now it’s heat that spreads, and I shift beneath the water.
Bastian’s eyes narrow knowingly. “I can’t get to you tonight.”
“Why not?”
He licks his lower lip. “Some shit happening over here.”
“Tell me.”
He looks off a moment and then starts walking. “Guys I work for are brothers going through some shit, and my homegirl has been living with them a minute now. They got some family stuff going on, and since I’m on their payroll, they’re keeping me busy. Which reminds me, I need to give my sister a call.”
“Sounds boring, aside from the sister part.”
He chuckles, eyes falling to the bubbles begging to separate near my chest. “I can definitely think of something a lot more fun.”
His expression gives him away, as does the flick of his lip ring and low rumble that muffles through the microphone.