Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 82973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82973 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 415(@200wpm)___ 332(@250wpm)___ 277(@300wpm)
“Fine.”
The way he answered, she didn’t really believe him. “Liking the job?”
“Love it. Everyone I work with and for are great. From what I hear, the bosses got off to a rocky start the first year they owned the business. They accused Trees of selling insider secrets and coerced Zy into spying on him, then played one against the other while treating One-Mile like he was special—”
“Well, Pierce is. Only a handful of snipers in the world can pull off that kind of kill shot, right?”
“True, but I meant the kind of special that radiates toxic waste. The Edgington Brothers and Joaquin Muñoz had heard plenty about One-Mile’s attitude, and my buddy didn’t disappoint. Guess it didn’t help that he pursued Brea hard and without apology, despite everyone believing she belonged to a former teammate.”
“Cutter, right? Isn’t he the guy who married Shealyn West?”
“Yeah, and they’re happy as hell apparently. And anyone who spends five minutes with Pierce and Brea knows he thinks the sun rises and sets on her. They have three kids now. Can you believe it?”
“That’s great.” Then she flashed a little smile. “They know what’s causing that, right?”
Matt grinned. “One hundred percent. I think Pierce takes particular delight in knocking up his wife. Brea says she just wants a girl, but I think she likes it, too.”
Madison stifled her envy. She’d love to have a husband she adored and a passel of kids. Honestly, after the weekend she’d spent with Matt following Trees and Laila’s wedding, she had hoped he would be her forever man. He’d certainly felt like it. She had surrendered her entire self to him because of that. She’d never imagined that the consuming kiss full of promise up against her crappy little sedan that Monday morning would be their last. “I hope she has that daughter. What about the rest of the gang? I’ve lost touch. They post personal stuff every now and then, but…”
“It’s been raining baby boys at EM Security. Zy and Tessa have a son together. Knox is almost two. Tessa left the company to be a stay-at-home mom, but you know her… She’s clever and artistic. She started a Mommy-blog thing under another name on social media, and now she’s everywhere. People pay her good money to film videos about their products and recommend them to other parents.”
It didn’t hurt that Tessa was beautiful and would only ever give her endorsement to products she loved. “Good for her. She’s a great mom, so I’m not surprised. I’ve seen a few pictures Tessa has posted on her personal account of her baby boy with her daughter, Hallie. They’re so precious.”
“They are. Trees and Laila have three boys now—the oldest barely two and a half. The rest of the guys have a running bet on when he’ll get her pregnant again. You and Todd chose not to have kids?”
Another hole in her heart. Growing up an only child had been a little lonely, so she’d always wanted a big family. Todd had killed that dream. “He never wanted children. Baggage, he called them. And I never wanted kids with him.”
Matt hesitated. “Do you want to talk about what happened with you two?”
Confess everything awful to the man she still carried a torch for? Who was smartly sending her away the first chance he got? “No.”
“Okay.” His reply said he accepted her answer; his tone made it clear he didn’t like it. “Let’s talk about the Pershings. You know them better than anyone, so you know what they’re capable of. What’s your best guess on their next steps?”
“They’re tracing my moves. By now, they know I’ve skipped DC. They’ve probably figured out that I took a train to Atlanta. They’ve likely guessed that, from there, I hopped a bus to Louisiana. I’m sure they assume I’m somewhere in town.”
“That’s my guess, too. Todd wants to kill you. What do you think the rest of the family will do if they find you?”
“Todd’s parents…” Madison let out a pensive breath. “Let’s just say that Roger does exactly what the senator tells him to or he’ll be cut off. Cynthia is too delicate for a life in politics, so they keep her mostly medicated. Whatever spin they’re running with about my disappearance…that will give us a clue about the family’s intentions.”
“And Winston Pershing himself? What do you think he’ll want to do about you?”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. Obviously, it’s messier if they, you know, unalive me, but that impediment isn’t impossible to overcome. I’ve tried to look at how they spun Brent Westbrook’s death, but it’s been eerily quiet.”
Matt grabbed his phone, thumbed around a bit, then came up cursing. “According to official sources, Brent died this afternoon in an unfortunate car accident.”
“It’s hard to drive when your head has nearly been severed from your body.” As the humorless joke fell silent, she shuddered. “They’ve made a cousin’s murder just…disappear. I’m afraid of what they could do with mine. Have they mentioned a funeral for Brent?”