Total pages in book: 81
Estimated words: 77344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77344 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“Yeah. And some dude who uses their address as his mailing one but seems to work as a flight attendant, so he’s out of town a solid fifteen or twenty nights a month.”
“So, he’s Max’s boyfriend?” I asked, pretending I wanted to know if there was going to be someone around who might pose a problem when I showed up to take my property back. Only I knew that I just wanted to know if she was single or not.
“No. No, seems like he’s with the other two girls. One, big, happy, ethical poly relationship. According to their social media presence. Max, well, Max doesn’t seem to like anyone but her roommates,” he said, smirking at his screen as he looked at Max’s socials.
“Alright. Let me see that address,” I said, leaning over the desk to look at it. “I appreciate it, Zeno. I will get back to you to pay you for your time.”
“Think you paid it in labor, man,” Zeno said, leaning back in his chair, cradling his coffee in both hands. “Don’t think the place was this clean when I moved in.”
“All you gotta do is your laundry,” I told him, finishing my coffee.
“It’s that or go naked,” he said, confirming my earlier thoughts. “Alright. Go get whatever precious shit is in that wallet to drag your ass all the way over here.”
With that, I made my way out.
Night had fallen by the time I got down to the street, the line for the club wrapping around the side street. Men in tight tees. Women in short dresses. Everyone shivering in the cold.
Taking a deep breath that mingled crisp air with car exhaust and the gyro cart a few buildings down, I made my way toward the subway, figuring it would be the fastest way to get where I was going.
Some part of me felt bad going over to her place in the middle of the night. Three women living alone had to be worried enough already about normal guys being creeps. Having someone like me darken their door was worse.
But I couldn’t risk Max having my diamonds any longer than necessary. It wouldn’t be easy to move that many of them. That said, she seemed smart and ballsy. She’d figure it out. I had to get them back before that.
Max lived in a typical high-rise right across from a newer super-high-rise. By contrast, her building seemed squat and ancient. But it easily had to house a solid three to five hundred people. The kind of busy building that allowed for real anonymity and a certain sense of safety.
Or, at least, that was what I thought as I raised my hand to knock on her door after lucking in by rushing into the lobby behind someone else down below.
But then her locks slid.
The door opened.
And I realized there was no such thing as safety sometimes.
Someone had fucked her up.
There were bruises on her cheek, jaw, and chin. There was a nasty fingerprint necklace around her throat. The whites of one of her eyes was blood red.
Not only beaten to high hell, but strangled.
“Miko,” she said, her swollen, split lower lip trembling a bit.
I knew right then that my diamonds were gone.
But, suddenly, all I cared about was finding out who the fuck had done this to her.
CHAPTER SIX
Max
I woke up slumped on the floor, half in my room, half out into the hallway.
For one blissful moment, there was nothing but confusion.
It wasn’t long, though, before the pain started to settle in. Each ache seemed to fight for dominance, my body unable to feel all of it at once.
The throbbing in my jaw, cheek, and chin from being stuck. The migraine screaming behind my eyes from being slammed into the wall. The burn of my split lip. The sharp, stabbing sensation in my shoulder that was either from having my arm wrenched up or the fall to the ground after I’d been knocked out. And, of course, on top of all of that, the burning in my throat, the sensation of gargling glass when I tried to swallow.
I pulled myself up onto my knees in the bedroom doorway, raising my hands to cradle my aching head, my body just rocking back and forth, trying to find some comfort.
I didn’t know how long I stayed there like that.
Eventually, though, I dragged myself to my feet and stumbled toward the kitchen to close and lock the door.
Not that I expected the guy to come back.
He’d gotten what he was after.
My whole body was crying out for medication or ice packs, but all I could seem to manage was to drop down onto the chair Megs had sat at earlier, pressing my palms into my eyes, trying to ease the migraine stabbing behind them.
When there was a knock at the door some time later, I just… knew it was him.