Total pages in book: 38
Estimated words: 36221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36221 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 181(@200wpm)___ 145(@250wpm)___ 121(@300wpm)
Her eyes water. “It’s Xanny, isn’t it? She’s done something again. I know it. It’s why I can’t find her, why people are busting into our trailer. And why Marvin …” She swallows hard.
“We’ll talk about it all very soon. But first let’s get you settled.” I have to keep her safe until I figure out who the hell killed Marvin. She’s the key to finding her sister, and I suspect her sister is the only one who can clear up this entire fucking mess–including the missing money. Nick Davinci isn’t hurting for the cash and already told me to let it go when I’d messaged him what happened, but that doesn’t matter. I told him I’d do a job to repay a favor, and I intend to do it. I may not be a good man, but I’m a man of my word. And if I’m being honest with myself, I want to keep Zoey safe. She shouldn’t be mixed up in this bullshit in the first place. One look at her, and I knew she didn’t belong in that club, and she certainly doesn’t belong in the dark world I inhabit.
“Leone?” Her voice breaks me from my thoughts.
“Yes?”
“I just want you to promise me you’ll let Bentley stay. No, um, no matter what he does.”
“Why?” I raise a brow. “What will he do?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know. He’s just very … He’s kind of …” She looks up as if trying to find the right word.
“You mentioned the word ‘asshole,’ did you not?”
She shrugs again. “I mean, it depends on who you ask. He and Xanny never got along, but he’s always been an absolute angel for me.” She kisses his head, and he lets out a low purr and stretches his paws toward me, the claws out and decidedly sharp. “Haven’t you, Bentley?”
“Wherever you go, he goes. All right?”
She beams. “Thank you.”
“Now let’s go in. I’ve already had my people preparing your room.” I get out and help her from the car, Bentley cradled in her other arm.
“A whole room? I thought you’d just let me couch surf for a while until this blows over.”
“Couch surf?”
“My parents used to get booted from a lot of living arrangements, so Xanny and I got good at making do in whoever’s house we were staying in. We’d sleep on a couch or on the floor, or wherever there was space, you know? Somewhere away from the grownups and all the stuff they were doing.”
I can imagine what ‘stuff’ a bunch of neglectful and high parents might be doing instead of taking care of their children, and none of it’s good. “You have your own room. Bentley can have his own, too, if that’s what he wants.” I walk her in the front doors, and she stops, her wide eyes roving the foyer and the staircase. “It’s like a fancy hotel.”
“Your room is right down here.” I lead her to the left along the side wing of the house. My wing. Showing her in, I watch as she places Bentley on the bed, then spins. “It’s huge. It’s like as big as a house.”
“It’s yours. Bathroom there.” I point. “I’ll have my staff get Bentley set up with whatever he needs. Just tell them, and they’ll do the shopping. I’ll also send up some snacks, or if you’d rather sleep–”
She shakes her head. “No sleep. I don’t think I can. I’m afraid I’ll see…”
Marvin. She’s afraid to relive what happened in her dreams.
“My room’s right next door.” I back away, forcing myself to get out of her proximity. If I don’t, I have the strangest feeling that I might curl up with her in her bed and hold her until she drifts off. It’s the strangest impulse, one I don’t quite understand. Fucking her–makes total sense. She’s a beauty–big eyes, curves for days, an innocence I want to taste. But holding her? That’s not something I could’ve ever imagined I’d want to do. But with Zoey, everything seems somehow different. Different, but also right.
“Get some rest. The sun will be up soon. You need to sleep off the shock of what happened.”
She shakes her head.
“Just try. I’ll come by in the morning so we can talk and make a plan.”
“A plan?” She sits on the bed. “How about a deal?”
My cock tries to bulldoze my zipper at the thought of this little angel propositioning me. “A deal?” I try to play it nonchalant.
“Yes. I’ll help you find the killer guy.” She shivers. “If you help me find my sister. Deal?”
“Oh.” I swallow my disappointment at rough animalistic sex not being included in her offer. Then again, she’s not the sort of woman who’d offer herself up–no matter how badly I want her to. Given the fact that finding her sister is already at the heart of my plan, I’d be wise to accept. Then again, I’m not above taking advantage of Zoey’s innocence. Not at all. “That’s a tough bargain, little one. I don’t know if I can agree to it unless you add a sweetener.”