Total pages in book: 77
Estimated words: 72895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72895 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 292(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
There was something about the way Father Ray looked at Virgil that set me on edge, but I tried to shake it off back then because I had to. He played a full season on that fucking team before I finally mustered up the courage to do something about the vacant, almost dead look in Virgil’s eyes. After practice, my son looked and acted like someone walking around dead. When baseball season rolled around the next year, someone torched the field and all the equipment.
The church sponsored a computer club that met at the Sacred Beauty Cathedral. Colm was convinced it was just the thing for Calvin. Again, I had no choice but to agree. But years later, I built Lucky Lopez on the land where Sacred Beauty Cathedral met its fiery end.
I learned a lot from my enemies. All of my enemies, even the one I shared a bed with. They taught me important lessons I used later in life to take the Ashby Organization to the next level.
The one and only lesson I learned from the likes of Father Sullivan and the Catholic church was to disguise my dirty deeds behind all of my good deeds so no one would ever question my actions.
That was my plan with Lucky Lopez and the Green Zone. The next time Beck thought to come after me, I, and not the FBI, would have public opinion on my side. Not that I gave a shit about public opinion, but the public sat on juries, and if it came to that, I wanted the deck stacked in my favor.
That, and the fact that no one would dare speak a word against Sadie Ashby or the Ashby Organization, when I made sure their bread was buttered each day.
The bitch had no evidence, making it impossible to make a move against Saint Sadie.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Sadie
“The wedding is a month away, Kat. What if you need to get a neckpiece specially made?”
Maisie looked up from the velvet settee at the high-end wedding accessories shop. She crossed her legs and arched her brows at Kat but turned to me. “Right, Sadie?”
Kat let out an unladylike snort. “A custom necklace? You must be high, Maze, if you think I’m going to waste time I don’t have looking for a piece of custom jewelry.”
“But the neckline of your dress means you’ll need something out of the ordinary.”
Kat shrugged, her smile a little dimmer at the mention of the wedding dress. She still wasn’t happy about it.
“If I don’t find a necklace that looks good with it, then I won’t get a necklace. Happy?”
“No,” Maisie said with a sigh, accepting the glass of champagne from the wedding consultant dressed in stylish black.
“You love Terry, and you can’t wait to marry him, but you’re acting all blah now. Why?”
My daughter’s eyes set on me instead of answering, and I shrugged my shoulders. “If you want me gone, Kat. Say the word.”
“No. I want you here. I’m mad at you, but I still want you here, Ma.”
That was something, I suppose. “Okay,” I said and settled back into the silk-covered chair.
“Okay.” She repeated the word as if it was boosting her confidence.
Then the door to the shop opened, and Kat groaned. “Fucking great.”
The three of us turned to see the redheaded FBI bitch walking inside. Alone.
“What do you want?”
Beck did her best to appear unaffected by Kat’s tone, but she couldn’t hide the physical ticks of stress.
“Not happy to see me, Katherine? I’m crushed.”
“Not yet,” I said with a smile. “But that can be arranged if that’s how you want this to play out.”
It wasn’t wise to threaten an FBI agent, but the fact that she was here alone meant she wasn’t here officially.
Beck turned to me with a slow grin. “Tell Jasper I said thanks for last night.”
I smiled. “Nothing gets my son fired up quite like an ugly fuck.”
Beck sucked in a breath, but before she could unleash her tirade, Kat and Maisie rushed across the room and were in her face.
“Back up, ladies,” was all Beck could manage before they descended on her.
Kat used her height against the smaller agent. “Who the fuck do you think you are, coming in here and talking shit about my brother?” she blared in her face, looming over her with hate blazing in her eyes. “Even if Jas did stick his dick in you, it won’t help you get what you want.”
“Yeah? And what do I want?” Beck’s words were cocky, but I could tell she didn’t really feel them, not when faced with this monstrous side of Kat.
I smiled at the way my girls came to my defense.
Maisie, too, stood close to Beck. “It seems to me like what you want is an ass-whooping.”
Beck laughed. “Are you threatening a federal agent? I thought you were the smart one, Maisie.”