Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 132321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 441(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132321 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 662(@200wpm)___ 529(@250wpm)___ 441(@300wpm)
“Jigsaw, what’s up, brother?” He holds out his hand and I clasp it quickly.
Z wants me to help mentor the support club—which includes Remy—so I allow the “brother” greeting. “Just stopped by for dinner.”
“Yeah, you got it.” His gaze strays to Margot and I reluctantly make the introductions.
Remy nods slowly. “Yeah, your dad took good care of my grandparents. How are you, Margot?”
Christ, this is a small world.
“Remy…Holt, right?” she asks. “How’s your sister?”
“Graduating from high school soon.”
Margot smiles wider. “That’s wonderful. It’s good to see you.”
He waves his hand toward the seating area where most of the tables are open. “Sit anywhere you like. I’ll send Lynette over to take care of you.”
“Thanks.” I dip my chin at him and curl my arm around Margot’s shoulders. “You have a preference?” I ask her.
“A booth, maybe?”
We take one in the back corner. I don’t love putting my back to the rest of the bar, but I want to tuck Margot away from the world and keep her safe.
Lynette stops at the edge of our table, hands us menus, and smiles down at us. As the only full-time waitress working here, I recognize her right away.
“How you doing?” I ask.
“Not bad, Jigsaw.” She beams a sweet, motherly smile at me and shifts her gaze to Margot, like she’s happy to see me out with a nice girl. “What are you in the mood for?”
I shoot a glance at Margot. She shakes her head and sets the menu down. “I trust you.”
Every time she says she trusts me, guilt or disbelief punches me in the gut. What’d I ever do to earn this woman’s trust?
“Pizza and wings.” I hand the menus back to Lynette.
“Ginger ale?” Margot asks.
“Sure thing.”
Lynette hurries away and I focus my attention on Margot.
“Tell me about your week,” she says.
“Uh, nothing interesting.” I flash a quick grin. “Trained one of the guys on laundromat maintenance.” Avoided some blow jobs.
Her lips tilt into a sly smile. “Did you show him how to clean up his act?”
A sharp bite of laughter bursts out of me. “Cute.”
She tilts her head and lifts one shoulder.
“Sounds like your week was rougher. You want to talk about it?”
“No.” She reaches across the table and slides her warm hands over mine. “But being with you has already lifted some of the darkness.”
Usually I bring the darkness wherever I go. How did taking her out make things better? Fuck it, the warmth in my chest doesn’t care.
I stare into her pained eyes. “Babies and kids.” She takes a deep breath and blows it out slowly. “They’re the hardest. When bad things happen to innocent people…” Her voice trails off and she drops her gaze to the table.
The pain in her voice is real and I don’t know what to do to make it better.
“Whatever happened,” I say, “I hope karma deals with them accordingly.”
A slightly unhinged smile curves Margot’s lips for the briefest second. “Karma takes too long for my taste, sometimes.”
If I didn’t know how sweet she is, that statement might be unsettling.
Margot
Being with Jigsaw tonight feels like holding open a curtain that keeps the light pouring in, so I can’t drown in the darkness of the week.
My murderous plans come to me in bits and fragments in between our conversation. It has to be quick and unfortunately somewhat painless. It can’t be bloody.
By the time we finish our pizza and wings, I think I have a plan.
Jigsaw swipes his napkin over his mouth. “You good?”
When I nod, he collects our plates and pizza tray. “I need to talk to Remy for a minute. Are you all right here?”
“Sure.” I frown at him. “Are you clearing the table?”
He shrugs. “I’m going that way, anyway. Might as well save Lynette the trouble.”
How can he look so scary on the outside but be so thoughtful? Not only to me but others as well.
What does this outing mean? We were only supposed to be about sex. Well, teaching me about sex. As soon as I told him I wasn’t up for it tonight, I expected him to leave. Not be mean about it, but I certainly didn’t think he’d stick around. That’s not what our relationship is about, so I wouldn’t have been mad. But he took me out for dinner and light conversation instead.
Lynette swings by our table and sets a white box in the middle. “Some cookies to go. Dark chocolate chip, and white chocolate chip pecan.”
“Oh, wow. Those sound amazing.” I pull my purse into my lap. “Do you have our check?”
She waves her hand through the air like it was a silly question. “He already took care of it.” She leans down and whispers in my ear, “He’s a keeper, honey.”
My body freezes, except my mouth, which twitches into a hesitant smile. She winks and heads for the kitchen.