Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68058 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
There was only one way to find out the truth, and that was to contact X. It was a complete betrayal of the family code to tell our personal business to an outsider, but if my aunt was right, my father, my brothers, and I were all in danger. Someone from the outside had the best chance of investigating without being discovered. The only way I could do as Van asked was to bring someone else in, and the only person I trusted to help me with the situation was X.
You could always ask Grant. X trusts him.
I’d made it clear to Grant that I was capable of handling things on my own. I’d told him I didn’t need to be here, which was apparently even truer than I’d realized. I needed to be back home shredding Franco into tiny pieces. I should have shot him months ago when I had the perfect chance.
I did have one other option. I could get the hell out of here, show up at Aunt Van’s house, and take her away with me. We could disappear. I still had enough clout in the family to know how to move some money around… But that would still lead to asking X for help. As much as I wished there was a way I could get out of this mess on my own, there wasn’t.
I was learning a lot about needing people these days. I thought of Rhys and how much I needed him. I couldn’t even resent him for it because it was just so damn good when we’d come together, but no matter how strongly I felt about him, I didn’t need him to survive. I just needed him for pleasure.
Are you so sure about that?
I ignored that disturbing little voice in my head. I needed time to think. This wasn’t a decision I could make rashly. This mission had to be planned as thoroughly as I planned my kills. I always went in prepared. I always knew what would happen step by step, and I never failed.
The ranch had been working its damn magic, and I’d started to enjoy moving around in the fresh air. Maybe a walk would help me think. Chopping more wood or tearing something the fuck apart would be even better. Either way, I had to do something other than sitting and brooding about how much I resented my father and the position he’d put me in. I was going to enjoy killing Franco slowly and painfully.
I wandered farther from the house, not sure of my destination. Rhys was in the outdoor ring working with one of the horses he was training. Without meaning to, I found myself headed that way. There was a part of me that wanted to tell him everything: my suspicions about my cousin, my relationship with my father, the way my aunt had always looked out for me. Even if I thought he was lying about hating me, I knew he hated my family.
For weeks, I’d made a habit of watching him whenever I could. I enjoyed the way he moved and the way he balanced firmness and gentleness with the horses. There was also the bonus of it pissing him off. Usually, I teased and flirted with him, making it my mission to get him to order me to leave.
Today, I didn’t have the energy for that. I climbed up on the fence in the same place as usual, but all I did was watch. I compared the way he moved on a horse to how his body had moved under mine.
I wanted to feel that again. I wanted to try every kinky thing I could think of with him. I watched him intently until, finally, he turned around and glared at me. I didn’t say anything. I just kept watching him while in the back of my mind, I sorted through the tangled web of shit my family had gotten into.
16
TJ
I watched as Rhys dismounted, giving me an excellent view of his fine ass. Then he clipped a lead rope onto the horse’s bridle and headed toward the gate. When he was a few feet away, he gave me his full attention. “What’s wrong?”
I shifted my gaze to the mare. “Nothing.”
“Liar.” His sharp tone made the horse shift restlessly behind him.
“What makes you think something’s wrong?”
“You’ve been watching me for close to an hour, and you haven’t made a single lewd comment or insult. Something’s wrong.”
“Maybe I’m over you now.”
“Then why are you hanging out in the barn?”
I shrugged. “I like watching the horses.”
“There are horses out in the pasture.”
“Want me to help you bring them in?”
Rhys narrowed his eyes. “You hate horses and me, yet you’re offering to help? Now I know something is going on.”
“Why are you asking? Are you hoping to have something else to laugh about?”