Total pages in book: 27
Estimated words: 24894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 24894 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 124(@200wpm)___ 100(@250wpm)___ 83(@300wpm)
“So? What does that have to do with anything?”
“Gray Malice hates the Lones.”
That’s news to me. I know they no longer partner on projects, but I didn’t know there was some kind of falling out. Ever since John Malice died, it’s been quiet from that family.
“How do you know that? How do you know any of this?”
“It’s my job to know things.”
“Elsy.” Keaton calls my name as he walks down the hallways toward me.
“I’ll be in touch. Eyes open, Elsy,” Jade whispers before she takes off. Keaton gives her a curious glance as she walks past him.
He doesn’t speak for a long moment once he gets to me. Instead, his head is cocked to the side like he’s listening for her footsteps.
“Eyes open?” he finally asks.
“You heard that? Hang on, did you wait to ask that until you heard her leave the building?”
“Yes.” What can Keaton do with his new special abilities? “What was that about?” he pushes.
“I’m not really sure. Her name is Jade, and she went to school with us. She said she was a grade after us, but I don’t recognize her. Do you remember her?” I step back to grab my coat so we can leave.
I’m not sure how much of what she said I should tell Keaton, mainly because last night he hadn’t said shit when I mentioned Malice. He’s keeping things from me, but then again, maybe this Jade girl is right about Malice being up to no good and Keaton is already aware of it.
“I only remember one girl.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me in for a kiss that makes me forget about everything. Except him.
Chapter Ten
KEATON
“Did you miss me?” I ask, and Elsy rolls her eyes in the most adorable way.
“Will there be enough room in your car with your inflated ego?”
“I think we can manage,” I say as I take her by the hand and lead her outside. “But my dick might be a problem.”
“Keaton!”
“Come on, sweet girl, you’re going to be late.”
I open the rear door of the SUV and lift Elsy into it. She pretends to be annoyed as I slide her over and then pull her against me. The driver pulls away from the curb, and I hit the button to raise the privacy screen. It’s soundproof and blacked out, so essentially we’re all alone.
“You look beautiful,” I say as I tug her even closer. “You know what, just come here.” She squeals when I lift her off the seat and then place her on my lap. “Okay, that’s better.”
“You’re crazy.” She laughs as she says it and then touches my cheek. “Thanks for the ride to work.”
The reminder of where she’s going brings my good mood down a fraction. I spent most of the night researching what the hell happened with John Malice and why Gray was so angry at my father last night. JM Tech is in his hands now, but it’s more secretive than ever. There’s a lot I couldn’t see, but that doesn’t mean I won’t. It just means it’s going to take me a little longer to dig up the dirt. From what I saw, there are questionable contacts between the government, JM Technologies, and one of the largest organized crime units in North America. So far, it’s not looking good.
“About that,” I hedge, and Elsy raises an eyebrow. “Why don’t you come work for one of my father’s companies instead?” I offer, but the look on her face gives me her answer. “It was worth a shot.”
“It’s not that I wouldn’t be grateful to work for the Lones, but you know I’m not exactly a fan of your dad after the way he kept me away from you.”
“It was for your own safety,” I say, and she sighs.
“Are you going to tell me exactly what it is I’m in danger of?”
“Besides me?” I try and tease, but she shakes her head.
“I’m serious, Key.”
“That day in the lab, it was a chemical compound that my father was experimenting with. He was trying to create a performance enhancing drug that could be sold to our military.”
“Oh my god.” Her eyes widen with worry, but I brush my fingers over her cheek.
“It was too volatile, and he was trying to isolate the problem. When the glass fell over, I was cut in several places, and the compound seeped in. Since then I’ve been trying to figure out how it’s changed me. In some ways I’m the same, but I’m faster, stronger, and my senses are heightened. The worst part is trying to control it. Some days it’s like there’s this ticking time bomb that’s about to go off inside of me, but the moment I was standing next to you, the timer shut off. When I’m with you, I feel like I’ve got a grip on everything.”