Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 94686 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 94686 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 473(@200wpm)___ 379(@250wpm)___ 316(@300wpm)
“Naw. I don’t know how to swim. Jazz tried to teach me, but she could never keep me in the water long enough to learn.”
Chase got on my side and gazed out of the window. “You have two beautiful sisters.”
My fingers itched to punch him in the face. It wouldn’t have been right. What he said wasn’t wrong. Jazz and Viv were enchanting, but it was still too early for me to discuss Viv’s new family status with anybody. In that moment, Jazz rose from her chair. She had a thing for wooden beads. Anytime she spotted an outfit, accessory, or pocket book with any type of wooden beads, she went berserk and bought it. Today, she had on a bikini covered in earthy green and coffee-brown beads.
I didn’t even know she ever wore a bikini. Our brothers never allowed her to wear anything too revealing. Even as an adult, if she swung by to visit, the family would give her crap for any outfit that they thought showed too much. Being her twin and strongest supporter, I didn’t care and did my best to have her back. However, from the way Chase drooled over her, I decided that Jazz and I may need to discuss some better swimwear choices.
Chase continued to gaze at her as he gripped the countertop hard.
“Please, don’t eat my sister, man. I like having her around.”
“I’ll do my best, but I can’t make any promises.”
“She got you open?”
“If open means, strung on her every word, movement, decision, and pleas, then yes. I’m open with no possibility of closure in sight.”
“You may want to slow down.”
Chase turned to me. “Why’s that?”
“You haven’t caught Jazz yet.”
“No disrespect to you, Troy, but she was captured long ago. I’m just polishing the chains and making sure the bars are firm and tight.”
I cracked up with laughter. The poor guy had no idea what he was getting himself into. “Have you met any of our brothers yet?”
“No.”
“Then I would put the polish down for now. Sherman gets out in a few months. Mike a day later. You think Benny is possessive of Jazz. You’ve seen nothing. My brothers are the true definition of sociopaths.”
“I do business with sociopaths every day.”
“Yeah, but those guys have rules and suits. My brothers only think about four things—hustling, killing, fucking, and family. When it comes to family, Jazz is at the top of the list. She’s the only girl out of all of us. We’ve been protecting her all our lives. All the illegal things my brothers did in the past, they believe they did it for Jazz and their kids. According to Sherman, Jazz is supposed to be with a nerdy black guy and have children and a dog.”
“And you’re other brothers?”
“They just listen to Sherman.”
“So Sherman is the one I need to win over?”
I looked Chase up and down. “You can’t win him. You’re everything he hates.”
“We might have a problem then.” He returned to gawking at Jazz’s behind as she did some stupid dance that triggered Viv to get lost in hysterical fits. “This is the woman I should be with.”
Yeah. He’s open. Maybe Sherman will see it too and only stab him a few times.
Viv jumped up and rocked her hips from side to side. Those plump ass cheeks jiggled within her bikini bottoms. Look away. She’s your sister. I moved away from the window. “When will your men search for the gun?”
“Two in the morning,” Chase said. “Most lovers are long gone by then. This beach doesn’t get a bunch of party tourists. It’s mainly people that have a connection to the small town or couples hoping for a romantic getaway.”
“I want to be with them as they search.”
“Good. I was going to ask you to. Lucy hired all these guys. Who knows if she has any control over them or not? I’m still not set on Lucy being the shooter.”
“You mean killer?”
He swallowed. “That too.”
“Jazz will want to be on the beach.”
“No, I’ll keep her busy.”
I didn’t want to know how he would keep my sister busy, not with the way he kept gripping that counter.
The back door squeaked as it opened. A short man with dark skin and a dark blue suit spoke Italian to Chase. With ease, Chase responded in the same language and got ready to go before glancing back at me. “Jasmine has been begging me to take her to the beach. Are you and Vivian coming?”
“Not me. Hopefully Viv is going though.”
“Hopefully?” Chase looked at Viv as if he hadn’t truly seen her. After a few seconds, he nodded. “This must be hard for you.”
“I’m fine.”
Chase frowned. “If I discovered Jasmine was my sister, it would rock my world.”
“Yeah, but you would just have to deal with it and move on.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Move on from what?”