Total pages in book: 190
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 181992 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 910(@200wpm)___ 728(@250wpm)___ 607(@300wpm)
A fine line dented his brow. “What sort of problem?”
She sighed. “Mimi showed up at my place. She wants to stay over. Since I don’t like her habit of throwing crazy parties and all that stuff, I would have turned her away like always. But she’s beyond plastered; I let her in, hoping to sober her up.”
“She’s resisting, though,” Dax guessed, giving me the sense that he’d done this dance with Mimi himself.
“Yes. And she’s breaking my stuff for shits and giggles. There’s no way I’m letting her stay here, but I don’t want to toss her ass out while she’s in such a state. I’d never forgive myself if she ended up dead in an alley somewhere. I’d drag her into my car and drive her to a friend’s house, but I had a few cocktails earlier.”
Dax put pressure on the pedal, upping his speed. “I’ll be there in about twenty minutes.” He hung up and spared me a brief look.
I narrowed my eyes. “Don’t even think about taking me home before you go deal with this. I stand with and behind you, remember?”
His lips thinning, he jabbed a finger on the car monitor and scrolled down until he found Caelan’s name in his list of contacts. He then pressed “Call.”
The phone rang a few times before his brother answered, “This better be important.”
“Mimi showed up on Raven’s doorstep blitzed,” Dax told him, his hands flexing on the steering wheel. “She’s being … difficult.”
“Shit,” muttered Caelan.
“Raven wants to drop her off somewhere else, but she’s been drinking too so can’t drive. I’m on my way to her place now to pick up Mimi, but you’re closer. Can you head there so Raven’s not alone with her?”
“I’ll leave now,” Caelan replied, his voice curt.
When the call ended, I frowned at Dax. “Why wouldn’t you want Raven to be alone with her?”
He exhaled heavily. “Generally, Mimi is a happy drunk who wants only to sing, dance, and laugh. But sometimes, she can be mean and get handsy. That she’s breaking things isn’t a good sign.”
I scraped my teeth over my lower lip. “Do you think she’d actually hurt Raven?”
“Maybe not. But I’m not taking any chances. She took a swing at my mom once, but my father jumped between them. Another time, Mimi punched her own cousin. And all because they told her she’d had enough to drink.”
I whistled. “That’s nuts. Your mom would have kicked her ass.” I’d sensed that Kensey was no pushover. And, having been brought up in the rougher areas of Redwater, she was no stranger to physical fights.
His mouth slightly hitched up. “She would have. I think she was disappointed that she wasn’t given the chance.”
Soon, we pulled up outside his sister’s apartment building. It actually belonged to Dax. It was one of several that he owned. As such—knowing not only the entry code but the concierge—he entered the complex with no issue.
As we stepped into the elevator, I spoke, “Is it unusual for Mimi to turn to Raven for somewhere to stay?”
“No.” He jabbed a button on the keypad, and the metal doors soon after closed. “They were friends for a time.”
“I’m guessing Mimi’s homeless.”
“She is, but by choice.” He slipped his hands into his pockets. “She’s not struggling for money. Far from it. The inheritance she received from her grandparents is pretty hefty. She could hop from five star hotel to five star hotel if she wanted. But she prefers to stay with friends. Which, on the surface, seems sweet. Except she takes advantage while there. Throws parties. Lives like a slob. Brings home random guys to fuck. Even sometimes does drugs.”
Whoa. “How many times has she stayed with you?”
“Once. That was years ago. Once was enough.”
“What happened?”
“I told her she could stay for a few days. She made a pass at me. I turned her down. When I came home from work the next day, a bunch of people I’d never met were partying in my apartment. Music was blasting. The place reeked of weed, beer, and sex. She was lying on the living room floor letting guys snort lines of cocaine off her bare ass.”
I felt my jaw go slack. “Wow.” Rubbing at my nape, I added, “It sounds like extreme attention-seeking behavior to me.”
He gave a fluid shrug. “Whatever the case, she has sabotaged a lot of her friendships and alienated family members by acting this way.”
Ah, yes, I remembered he’d spoken of how she’d burned many bridges in Redwater.
The elevator came to a halt, and the doors glided open. I followed Dax down a hallway and round a corner. Finally, he stopped outside a door and wrapped his knuckles on it.
Moments later, it swung open to reveal Raven. She blew out a relieved breath and meekly greeted, “Hey.” As we shrugged past her, she took in our attire. Horror contorted her expression. “Please tell me you weren’t on a date and I cut it short.”