Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77980 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 390(@200wpm)___ 312(@250wpm)___ 260(@300wpm)
Beck was cocky enough that she would make a mistake too big to take back, and I was just the man to push her into that.
“The bigger issue is that someone’s been running their fucking mouth. We switch up shift times every few days, so how the fuck does Metro know when to come?”
If there was a fucking mole, I’d find them and make them regret it.
Terry nodded. “I’ll head over to Lucky Lopez now, and review the security footage to see who she’s been talking to.”
“Good idea. Talk to Thomas since he’s running the floors tonight. Tell him what’s going on. Make sure he staggers shift times of the dancers and staff. If he’s got any underage girls there, get them the fuck out. We don’t deal in pedophilia.”
“Got it. You gonna be all right here on your own?”
I glared at my best friend, who knew me a little too well.
“Don’t look at me like that. It’s obvious you got something else on your mind. You worried about someone finding the bodies of The Psychos?”
“No, should I be?” Our clean-up crew didn’t make mistakes like leaving any bit of evidence behind. I paid them well, so they knew better.
“Fuck no,” Terry smiled. “I chopped ’em up and left a big pile to keep the crew on their toes. What’s fucking with your head, if not The Psychos?”
I didn’t have time to bitch about Mo right now. “I’ll tell you about it later.” Terry nodded and left, and I picked up the phone to reach out to a few contacts on the Metro police payroll.
When my contact picked up, I barked, “Why the fuck did I have to learn about the Lucky Lopez raid from someone not at Metro?”
The officer on the other end of the line stammered, fearful and quiet, which was exactly the reason I’d called him on the precinct phone. “I just found out myself, Mr. Ashby.”
“More than five minutes ago?”
“About thirty minutes ago, yeah, but we just got our assignments.”
“Not fucking good enough, Stewart. This is the kind of shit that warrants a text message, no matter what the fuck you’re doing.”
“Understood.”
“Anything else I need to know?” I listened, pinching the bridge of my nose as he outlined the whole fucking night.
“That’s all I know, but you’ll be my first call if I find out anything else.”
“That’s what I want to hear,” I told him and ended the call. Goddamn Beck was determined to add as much stress to my life as fucking possible.
“Fuck!”
My cell vibrated across the desk, lighting up with an incoming text message. “Feel like shit. Not coming in today.”
Mo.
I was ready to lose my shit, and I couldn’t afford to have a mental breakdown. Not right now. After a quick pour of Velvet Fire, I knew what I had to do. Who I needed to see to find my equilibrium.
Sadie.
“Jasper.”
Thomas called to me from a bench surrounded by flowers just off to the side of the hospital, a thick cloud of cigar smoke surround him. “We need to talk.”
His words put me on edge, and it had nothing to do with his commanding tone, which I didn’t fucking appreciate.
“Not now, Thomas. I’m going to visit Ma.”
“We need to talk, Jasper.” There was something in his tone that had my feet moving toward him instead of the hospital entrance.
“Shouldn’t you be at Lucky Lopez getting ready for the raid?”
Thomas nodded slowly. “I spoke to Terry and made the changes you requested. I’ll be heading there soon. You realize we have no underage girls on the payroll, right?”
“I didn’t think we did, but you should be there, anyway,” I barked, angry that he was out here enjoying a smoke and the sunshine when every fucking thing was falling apart.
“Goddammit, Jas. We need to talk. About Sadie.”
“What about her?”
He sighed and removed his sunglasses to reveal red, puffy eyes. If I didn’t know better, I might think he’d been crying, but Thomas never cried, not once in all the time I’ve known him.
“The doctor said it’s time we consider our options. Sadie’s been in a coma for months. She’s not waking up even though she should already be awake and cursing everybody out. She’s healing fine, but she won’t wake up.”
“What the fuck does that mean? Consider our options?”
“It means either moving her to a long-term care facility or letting her go.”
“Go where?” My heart pounded against my chest at the implications of what he was saying. “I hope you’re not talking about killing my Ma because that’s not fucking happening.”
“You know I’d never suggest a stupid fucking option like that. But you’re walking around like an angry kid ready to set the world on fire, which is probably why the doctor spoke to me first.”
“Well, that’s not a fucking option.”
Thomas nodded. “I told him as much.”