Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77576 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 388(@200wpm)___ 310(@250wpm)___ 259(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” she says. “That was just what I needed.”
“Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
“It’s just too much to process, Brendan. I do want to tell you everything. But I really need to go home. I have to be up early to open the bakery.”
“Can Luke or Maya open for you? Just once?”
“No, the place is my responsibility. I need to start the day’s bake early. So I should go home.”
“You don’t have to,” I say. “Just set an alarm on your phone.”
“I can’t sleep here. The sounds from the bar downstairs will keep me awake.”
I chuckle. “I guess I’ve gotten used to it over the years. I don’t even hear it. Does it really bother you?”
“Not overly, but I do need to get some sleep, Brendan. And I’m so afraid I won’t find any peace tonight. On a normal night, I might be able to tune out the noise from downstairs, but this isn’t a normal night. So much is going on in my head.”
“All right. I’ll walk you back to the bakery.”
“No, you don’t have to.”
“Ava, it’s after dark, and I know it’s only three buildings down, but—”
“All right,” she relents.
Interesting. I expected her to fight me on that, but I’m glad she didn’t. No way will I let her leave here alone.
I shove on some clothes quickly as she dresses.
“You ready?” I ask.
She nods, and without speaking to each other again, I take her out the back of the bar so we don’t have to walk through everyone.
The bar’s hopping tonight, which is unusual on a weeknight, so I figure I’ll check it out when I get back.
I walk Ava to the back of the bakery, where she lets us in, and I walk her to the door that leads to her upstairs apartment.
“You want me to come up?” I ask.
“God, I do, but if you come up, Brendan, neither one of us will get any sleep tonight, and I need to try.”
“We don’t have to have sex,” I say. “I’m happy to hold you. Do whatever it takes to help you sleep.”
“You’re funny. I wouldn’t be able to stay away from your hot body.”
I can’t help the smile that splits my face. “You said the right thing. I’ve never been turned down quite so nicely.”
“Oh, you’re not being turned down.” She runs her fingers over my chest. “I mean, this is just for tonight anyway.”
I give her a quick kiss on the lips, and when she unlocks the door, I kiss her again. I hear the door to the bakery lock as I leave, and I walk back to the bar.
I walk in, and the first thing I notice is Donny and Brock Steel sitting at the bar.
“Hey, Brendan.” Donny motions me over.
“Yeah?”
“How’s Ava?”
“She’s… Why do you ask?”
“We gave her some news tonight. Some news that upset her.”
I take the empty stool next to Brock. “So that’s what’s going on. What kind of news?”
“It’s nothing we can tell you,” Brock says. “But if she chooses to tell you, we won’t stop her.”
“Then why don’t you two tell me?”
“We can’t,” Brock says. “It has to do with our family. We’ve cleaned up the mess. Part of it, anyway. Let’s just say someone—most likely more than one someone—was trying to implicate us in some bad stuff.”
I raise my eyebrows. “And it’s all cool now?”
“For now, anyway.”
“Then why is Ava so upset?”
“Just some family drama she didn’t know about,” Donny says.
Brock narrows his eyes at Donny.
“Family drama?” I say.
“Yeah,” Donny says.
“I get the feeling that you, Brock, consider this more than simple family drama.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because of the stink eye you just gave your cousin there.”
Donny glares at Brock.
Yep. Something is going on here—something more than mere family drama.
I know better than to press the issue. When the Steels want to remain tight-lipped, they remain tight-lipped. My father said he learned that lesson long ago when he was investigating his uncle’s death.
“Can I ask you guys something?”
“Sure,” Donny says. “But I can’t promise we’ll answer.”
“Fair enough. Have you gotten any news on that cryptic message that Ava received?”
“The one about Darth Morgen?” Brock says. “No, and it’s troubling Ava as well. She thinks her mother has been blowing her off about it.”
“Does that seem strange to you?”
“Yeah,” Brock says. “It does seem pretty weird to us.”
Yet there’s a peculiar edge to Brock’s voice.
“I suppose it’s a little weird,” Donny says.
No peculiar edge to his voice at all.
But he’s an attorney. He’s been trained to stay calm in any situation. Hell, he’s probably been trained to present lies as truth. Donny Steel’s a good guy, but all lawyers must defend their clients zealously, whether they like them or not.
“So I get the feeling it doesn’t seem weird to you at all,” I say.
“I think we just said it does seem weird,” Donny says.