Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 122074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122074 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 610(@200wpm)___ 488(@250wpm)___ 407(@300wpm)
“Molly.” His voice was breaking. “I hate to see you like this. I—what can I do? Tell me what I can do. I’ll go to Walden. I’ll get him to give it back. I’ll—”
“Who killed Justin and Kelly?” The words ripped out of me, and I was saying things before knowing I was even going there. None of this was planned.
“What?” He started to drop his arms, straightening back up.
“Who killed them? You find out, and I can use that to get Easter Lanes back.”
“Honey, I—”
“Who killed them?”
“I don’t know!” He threw his hands up in the air. “I don’t know.”
“But you can find out.”
“What?” He turned, shaking his head. “Don’t ask me to do that. That’s serious business. That’s—that’ll put you in danger.”
I threw the broom at him.
“Come on!” He ducked but glared at me. “Why do you have to do that? I’m your father.”
“I grew up in foster care.”
“I—” He winced. “Well, maybe you had it better there than with me. Maybe I was doing you a favor? Ever think of it that way? I was doing you a favor—” He ducked again because I threw a shot glass at him. When his head popped back up, I had another one already in the air. He threw his whole body to the side to avoid it. “Come on, Molly! Stop it! You’re going to have to pay for those!”
“I don’t care.” I jumped to the top of the bar. I was about to launch my whole body at him when he saw and he cursed, rolling backward.
“Molly! Stop it!”
I was going to use my elbow. I would jump, my body would land next to him, and I’d slam my elbow into his face. That’s what I was going to do, and I bent my knees, readying.
“Okay! I’ll do it.”
I froze. “Do what?”
He shot his hands in the air from the ground. “I’ll find out who killed them, but when I do, you can only tell Walden. You hear me on that? You can’t say a word to anyone else. You’ll get yourself killed.”
“Okay.”
“I mean it!”
“Yes! I know.” I growled, reaching for another shot glass.
He saw it, jumping to his feet. He pointed at it. “Hey, now. No more of that.” His hands were up, his palms toward me, and he began edging to the door. “You want me to find out who killed your friends? I’ll do that, for you, but no one can know. I mean it, Molly. No one.”
I nodded. “Yeah.”
“I mean it!”
I growled and let loose with the shot glass.
My dad ducked, opening the door and jumping out of the way. It smashed into the doorframe.
“I’ll start looking today,” he yelled through the door. “I can see you’re still upset with me, so I’ll let you cool off, and I’ll find out what you want. I’m doing this for you, honey. I love you! I’m a good father, in my way. I know you know that—” Shatter!
Another shot glass shattered against the door.
He was quiet before he said, “I love you, honey. I’ll be in touch.”
I was still raging inside. Wanting to cry, wanting to commit murder. I was a whole mix, and I was suddenly and completely exhausted, too, but I didn’t move from the bar top. I couldn’t.
I sat there, moving to sit cross-legged, and I pulled out my phone.
Me: It’s done. He said he’d find out.
Me: I should’ve played softball growing up.
Ashton: Keep your head down from here on out.
He didn’t reply about the softball, but that was okay. I knew I was right. I would’ve been amazing.
I promptly started crying.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ASHTON
“One of our judges got picked up by the Feds.”
Marco was on speaker as I was at Katya, a nightclub Trace and I owned. The same nightclub where Jess’s second job had been as well. I was in our private area, the windows overlooking the club below. We had a box to the side with a patio that extended out with a bench by the back wall. I was standing at one of the walls overlooking the section that Jess Montell used to cover. It was being handled by another bartender, but not one as good as Jess. I never cared much for the employees at Katya, one of the legit businesses that Trace and I both owned. It seemed pointless. They were fine. The business was fine. There was no worry about it. My attention went toward our other endeavors or the family business because I’d always been more active than Trace had been in the earlier days. And by earlier days, I meant in the time before the Worthing family put out a hit against both of our families.
Those days. Back when we still thought we had a choice.
I missed those days, and I hated to admit it, but I missed seeing Jess’s disapproving face behind one of our bars. The guy working there now was fine. Steady. But he didn’t have the attitude of threatening bodily harm like Jess Montell had.