Total pages in book: 169
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167671 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 838(@200wpm)___ 671(@250wpm)___ 559(@300wpm)
Get out, get out, get out.
If I get caught … I’ll die.
I sit up straight in bed, breathing wildly as the sweat tumbles down my forehead. I immediately look to my right, where Cora is still happily snoring away, and I smile at her content little face.
I wrap the warm blanket tightly around her little body and get up. Every time I wake up in this house, the unfamiliar feeling tightening like a noose around my neck strengthens.
It’s not safe.
But where else am I supposed to go?
A knock on the door pulls me from my thoughts. “Ivy, Cora, are you awake?”
It’s Max. “Come in.”
He opens the door softly and peeks inside, but when he sees her, he melts. “Aw …”
I put my finger to my lips. “Don’t wake her, please.”
“It’s been tough on her moving here, huh?”
I suck in a breath. “It’s not the first time she’s had to do it.”
He frowns. “Oh?”
Shit. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that.
I avert my eyes and clear my throat.
“So, uh, school,” I mutter.
He rubs the back of his neck. “Right, I almost forgot about that after this weekend.”
But I’m far too concerned about Cora to worry about what happened between us four. “What am I supposed to do about Cora? I can’t bring Mrs. Schwartz here.”
He steps inside. “You don’t want to take a break from your classes?”
I shake my head. “Not a chance. Going to this university means too much. I can’t waste this opportunity.”
He nods a few times. “I understand.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, you don’t want to jeopardize your future, and this college feels like the only way out. Did I get that right?”
My cheeks heat. “I …”
“You know what? I’ll ring my own au pair, Mrs. Davey.”
“Your what?”
“Au pair. A live-in-nanny,” he says, like it’s the most normal thing ever. “Mom hired one to take care of me and my siblings while she was at work. Mrs. Davey is such a sweetheart. She adores kids. I swear, you’ll love her.”
“Can I trust her?”
He pulls his phone from his pocket. “Absolutely. I’ll PM her right away. See if she can come today.”
I’m surprised he still knows her phone number after all these years. He taps away on the phone lightning-fast until he tucks it back into his pocket and says, “Done.”
My jaw drops. “Wait, what? You got her to agree to babysit Cora for me? That’s quick.”
He smirks. “Yup.”
I hold up my hands. “But that bill—”
“Taken care of.”
Wow. The confidence he says that with makes my spine tingle in such a good way I nearly want to do a little jiggle to get rid of it.
“I told you I want to help,” he says, tilting his head in such a sweet way that it melts my heart. “And if I can do anything to ease the load on the heart of the girl I love, then I will do it.” He winks. “Now, let’s get to class.”
“You didn’t tell me I was going to be turned into a bodyguard.” Heath takes a drag of his cig before he chucks it onto the gravel below his feet and stomps on it. “People will talk.”
“So?” Max shrugs. “I don’t see the issue, honestly.”
“What’s going on?” I ask.
Heath throws his arm over my shoulder, pulls me close, and points at Max. “That guy over there is using me.”
“Like you haven’t used me too,” Max retorts.
Heath narrows his eyes. “That was different.”
“You wanted me to seduce her, I want you to protect her while we get to class. We get to be obsessed. Any problem?”
“I never said I had a problem with that part,” Heath jests. “But the three of us together will definitely raise eyebrows.”
“Four,” Max says, wriggling his brows. “But who’s counting?”
Heath sighs and raises his brow at him. “You’re awfully content with yourself, aren’t you?”
The smirk on Max’s face is too cute. “I take pride in being as annoying as possible.”
“Good.” Heath releases me and rubs his fist through Max’s hair until it’s all messed up. “Keep it that way.”
“Goddammit,” Max growls, making me laugh.
“But where the fuck is Silas?” Heath asks, checking his watch. “He’s supposed to be here for his classes. They’re about to start.”
I pull my bag closer to my shoulder. “I haven’t see him in a while, actually.”
“I think he needs some time to think too,” Max says.
“About what? Murder?” Heath scoffs, snorting.
“Wait, he hasn’t talked to you guys either?” I ask, looking at them both.
They shrug in unison.
I frown. “And it doesn’t bother you?”
“That’s just how he is,” Heath says.
“Sometimes he just vanishes off the face of the earth for a couple of hours. Sometimes days.” Max looks around to see if anyone’s listening. “Maybe to get rid of his ‘urges.’” He makes quotation marks with his fingers.
“Whatever, it’s not our problem, and if he doesn’t ask, I’m not helping,” Heath says, throwing his bag over his shoulder. “You have class soon. You coming, or what?”