Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74940 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 375(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“You know damned well what I mean. Everyone goes to you with their shit. Hell, I do too.”
“Brett, you never have any shit. The sun shines on you every day of your life.”
He stands, drains his second beer, and then he turns and looks down at me. “You’re fucked in the head. The sun shines on a pig’s ass more than it ever shines on me.”
I roll my eyes and grab the soggy tennis ball out of Ernie’s mouth. “You’re so full of it.”
Brett scoffs. “You think I like living in this hellhole town? You think I like—”
I stand and meet his gaze. “I don’t think you like your lot in life any more than the rest of us, but for God’s sake, Brett. You’re the brains of this group. You’re the one who gets straight As without even trying. You’re big and muscled without ever lifting a finger for it. Hell, Coach has been trying to get you to come out for football since freshman year. Most guys would love a chance to be on the team.”
“Football doesn’t make you a big shot.”
“It’s not about being a big shot, for Christ’s sake. Seb and I love it. It’s about being a part of a team. About learning to push yourself to your limits and then push some more. It’s about learning to rely on your teammates, and it’s about—”
“Getting all the tits and ass you want, Riv. I know you and Seb like that part of it.”
He’s not wrong, but Brett gets plenty of it without a football uniform. “I was going to say it’s about mental toughness. About quick thinking and adaptability. You’d be an asset to the team for sure.”
“I’ve got way bigger things to think about than football,” he says. “You know you’re like a brother to me, Riv. Quit with the recruiting talk. You’re just changing the subject. Tell me what’s going on with Jake.”
I draw in a breath. I want to tell Brett, and I trust him. He and I are closer to each other than we are to the others, despite the fact that we’re different as night and day.
“I don’t know, Brett.”
He shakes his head. “I hate it when you lie to me, Riv.”
That’s another thing Brett can do. He can see right through me.
“Fine. I can’t. Happy now? I fucking can’t tell you.”
“That’s better than lying, anyway.” He continues to stare at nothing in particular as the night breeze drifts over us.
“You told me you weren’t going to pry,” I remind him.
“I didn’t plan to, but this is big, Riv. And if Jake’s mind isn’t on what we’re doing, something could go wrong.”
My blood freezes. Something could go wrong? This doesn’t sound like Brett. He plans for every contingency. It’s almost supernatural how he’s able to see so many scenarios at once.
Brett still stares out onto the open land, the stars shining down. Ernie rubs at his legs, pimping for a pet, but Brett ignores him, which is off.
He turns to me then, and his blue eyes sear into mine. “You’re the keeper of our secrets, and I’m going to tell you a big one.”
“About what might go wrong tomorrow?”
He shakes his head, walks a few steps forward, and then turns to face me again. “Keep this secret, and remember when and where you heard it. One day I’m going to be so rich, this thing we’re about to do will be a distant memory. Something like a dream within a dream. One day, I won’t have to think about other people’s money, because I’m going to have so much of my own that I’ll never be able to spend it all in five lifetimes. And Riv, I don’t care what I have to do to get it.”
Present Day...
Keeper of the secrets.
Those words Misty used to describe me. They hit me hard...and now I remember why.
Brett used the same words all those years ago.
And we all ended up richer than we ever imagined, though Alex doesn’t write about pirates. He writes commercial thrillers.
But Brett was wrong about one thing. It never became a distant memory, a dream within a dream.
It became a nightmare that haunts us all to this day.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
The banging on the door and the movement of Emily’s naked body off my chest brings me back to reality.
“Give it a bloody rest, will you? I’m coming!” Emily scoots off the bed, throws her silk robe around her shoulders, and leaves me in the bedroom alone.
EPISODE 55
JUNE IS BUSTIN’ OUT ALL OVER
Ariel
June sniffs back her sobs after I pull her into my suite. Her satin robe is tied loosely, and she tugs on the ends of the sash to tighten it.
“June,” Alex says, “what’s wrong? What can we do for you?”
June shakes her head. “I’m freaking out. I just talked to Evangeline, and she... She...”