Total pages in book: 74
Estimated words: 73398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
For once, I actually agreed with Janie. “Here.”
Janie took the comic I drew her, then snorted. “Go away? That’s the best you could come up with?”
I gestured for her to turn it over. She did, then burst out laughing.
The back read: You’re a whore.
“Hilarious.” She sighed. “But I do agree. I have to go back to work, too. Uncle Sam and Gabe have me looking into your kidnapping. Thanks for that, by the way.”
“Thanks for what? Getting kidnapped?”
She nodded at my words. “Now they want me to get that little chip, too. They say it saved your life, which I know damn well it didn’t. But they’ve since reformatted it and can get to within a hundred yards of whoever the chip is located in. I told them I’d consider wearing a necklace. But I wouldn’t have it implanted like you did.”
I shrugged. I never saw the problem like she did. She’d hated it, the idea that her father could find her. Me, on the other hand? I always saw the logical side of it. Not to mention I felt like I owed it to my father after all that I’d put him through.
It was the least I could do…and honestly? After all that had happened yesterday? It could’ve been a whole lot worse. Those men who had taken me could’ve just as easily been a whole lot worse than they were. They could’ve known what they were doing. They could’ve taken me across state lines. They could’ve straight up taken me out of the country. They could have hurt me, beaten me, raped me. Honestly, the benefits of having the chip in me far outweighed the disadvantages—such as my father knowing where I was any time he felt like looking.
“A necklace can be taken off,” I shrugged. “I’m going to be completely honest with you. I haven’t ever seen the problem. It’s not like it’s the government that’s tracking me. It’s only Free. I think you’ll be surprised with how easy the decision is. It seriously can’t hurt.”
She shrugged. “I’ll think about it.”
I had a feeling that she’d probably go ahead with it.
It wouldn’t be long and everyone would have one.
“I got an update from the man that your father has on Frankie,” Coke said as he took a seat on the opposite side of the desk. “He…” He paused, leaned forward, and fixed the pencil that was out of place in his cup holder, and then continued as if he hadn’t stopped. “Hasn’t seen a thing. Frankie has been a good sport about it, too. So, she’s not sneaking out or going anywhere that she shouldn’t. Everything from what he can tell is clear. I still think she might need to come home.”
I shook my head. “I honestly don’t think that whomever did this knew that she was away. But it’s only been twenty-four hours. My dad and Janie will have something by tonight. I guarantee you.”
Just on the verge of that thought, Janie came barreling back into the room, a triumphant smile on her face. “Found it!”
“You weren’t even gone two minutes,” I said.
She shrugged, then put her laptop that she hadn’t opened once while she’d been in here on the desk, and then opened it. “I had a program running in the background, and Jack found something on a bank statement of one of the guys. I tracked that down, and found it linked to your ex-wife’s bank account.”
Coke stiffened.
“What?”
That one word was said in such a deadly quiet tone that I felt my belly clench.
“Your ex-wife.”
Coke got up slowly, then left the room without a backward glance.
Chapter 16
Stop encouraging everyone to go to college. There isn’t enough parking.
-Text from Frankie to Coke
Coke
I arrived at Beatrice’s office—which just so happened to be my father-in-law’s office, too—and didn’t bother to stop at the receptionist who was clearly expecting me to at least slow down.
Instead, I stormed right past her, then walked at a fast clip in the direction of where I remembered her office being.
She didn’t do anything for my father-in-law.
In fact, they weren’t even on the same goddamn floor.
He gave her this corner office, with a fancy title, and basically gave her a paycheck to show up every day.
In all honesty, I knew the only reason Ben had done it was because he knew I’d end up having to pay alimony to the bitch. Beatrice was that petty.
She’d been living off her father for years, but she hated me a little bit more than was likely normal.
She hated that I’d ended our marriage, but only because she hadn’t been the one to do it.
Her father had given her an ultimatum. Leave me, and he stops giving her money.
So, she stayed with me out of greed—not because she wanted to.
She was petty, though. Meaning she disliked that I was able to end our marriage when she wasn’t.