Total pages in book: 65
Estimated words: 61767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 61767 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 309(@200wpm)___ 247(@250wpm)___ 206(@300wpm)
“I will be right back!” I tell Solana and go back outside, the bell over the door irritating now. Opening the hatch, I lift Kali out. I should put her down in case she needs to piss, but instead, I grin and walk back inside the shop, forcing myself to smile at the customer leaving with her purchase, then set Kali down.
“Aw!” Solana’s face breaks into the biggest smile as she comes rushing to the puppy. “Oh my goodness, aren’t you the cutest thing ever! Georgie is going to love you!” She picks the puppy up, hugs her tight, and Kali licks her face, and it fucking pisses me off.
“What was your text about?”
She straightens, holding on to Kali. “Judge, you do not strike me as a puppy-loving kind of guy honestly. Don’t take that the wrong way.”
Does she hear the rattle in my chest? If so, she clearly has a poor sense of danger. Because she just smiles wider.
“What the fuck did you mean?”
“Let me take the puppy outside. I think she needs to use the facilities,” Madame Dubois says, slinking over to take the dog. These people are going to fucking kill me.
“You should get some sleep, Judge. You really look like hell,” Solana says once we’re alone and she’s moved behind the counter to put some things away in the display case. “I do have something for that.”
I inhale deeply. “You are testing me.”
“What?”
“What. Was. Your. Fucking. Text. About?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “What I said. I thought it was pretty self-explanatory.”
I grip the counter and count to ten. “Do a better job of explaining.”
“Clifton Phillips is an old flame of hers, am I right?”
“Clifton fucking Phillips? A flame? I don’t think so.”
“I mean, he’s cute, I guess,” she wavers. “If you like that type. Although I guess you worked the brooding, domineering asshole type out of her system.”
“When did you meet him? Was he invited to one of your little events the three of you have?”
There’s that grin again. “No, I met him here. He tracked Mercedes down. Romantic, am I right?”
I feel my brain rattle against my skull.
“And then he proposed to her! Right here in my shop!” She sighs with a big smile on her face, but something is off.
“He did what?”
“It was something to see, that’s for sure.”
Madame Dubois returns, and Kali’s nails click on the floor as she returns not to me but to Solana.
“What did she say?”
Solana picks Kali up and cocks her head at me. “You don’t look happy for her, Judge.”
“What did she say?”
“I’d think you would welcome a proposal from a Sovereign Son. I mean, you’re the big shots, right? The upper echelon of your creepy little Society?”
“Solana. I am going to ask you one more time. What did she say?”
“She’s thinking about it. But I’m guessing we may be hearing wedding bells soon. I’d get on that if I were you, Judge.”
The bell over the door rings as if taunting me, and I turn to find Georgie walking in. He gives me his usual glower for a greeting, then beams to Kali. I don’t wait for him to even get to her, though, before I snatch her from Solana’s arms, to the protest of both dog and woman, and stalk out of the shop thinking of how exactly I’m going to kill Clifton Phillips.
19
MERCEDES
“Soooo?” Solana’s stare burns a hole into the side of my face as we sit on the sofa watching a trashy reality TV show. I think the entire premise is that everyone just gets drunk every night and makes bad decisions, but I’m not entirely certain.
“So what?” I toss a piece of popcorn into my mouth and chew on it.
“Nothing to report today?”
I turn to her, arching an eyebrow in question. She’s been acting strange since she got here. Almost like she’s expecting something, but I don’t know what.
“Will you just tell me what’s on your mind?” I groan. “Clearly, there’s something.”
“It’s nothing.” She shrugs a shoulder innocently. Too innocent if you ask me.
“It’s something,” I mutter.
Pestilence settles into my side, laying his head over my lap while he eyes the popcorn bowl.
“You’re in a mood.” Solana plucks a piece of popcorn from the bowl and feeds it to the dog. “Did something happen with Judge today?”
“You mean other than him trying to lure me back to his house with a puppy?” I remark dryly.
“I think it’s kind of cute.” Solana scratches Pestilence’s head and wiggles her brows. “I wouldn’t mind a hot guy trying to lure me back to his place with a puppy.”
I toss her a glare. “Did you just call Judge hot?”
Another innocent smile. “Why, does that bother you? He is hot. I have eyeballs. Can’t I just make that casual observation?”
I drag my annoyed gaze back to the TV and pretend to watch the cast fight about who slept with who last night. Solana knows she’s getting under my skin, and she’s doing it intentionally. But the question is why.