Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67468 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
I’d relished it. I loved having her in my arms, holding her tight, and listening to her breathing. Especially after what had happened last night.
But, unfortunately, shit wasn’t good.
Silvy had, obviously and understandably, hit the fucking fan when Karen had told him. So had Alice’s father.
I’d held them off for as long as I could, but they were already heading to my place.
Wake, Bain, and Aodhan had been parked on my upper deck since who knew when, and the sound of even more Harleys had been what had caused me to get up.
Hopefully she continued to sleep like the dead and stayed in bed, because I wanted to have this conversation without her.
Not because I wanted to exclude her or anything, but I didn’t want her rehashing what had happened. Not when I’d gotten her calmed down and asleep. In my bed, exactly where she was always meant to be.
I stepped out onto my back deck at the same time that I was shrugging my T-shirt on, then followed the sound of voices up the spiral stairs until I got to the top and saw everyone that was waiting for me.
It looked as if I was having a party. Not a war meeting.
I nodded at Wake and passed him to go up to Silvy and Silvain, Jr..
“She’s sleeping,” I said. “If you want to go check on her, she’s in bed.”
Silvy moved as if he was a ghost, going down the length of the stairs and disappearing.
Silvain stayed where he was, looking at me as if the weight of the world was on his shoulders.
“They told us what happened,” he said, the guilt swamping his voice. “Thank you. I’m so sorry I sent her out alone.”
I was already shaking my head. “I’m not going to bullshit you, Silvain. I’ve had a thing for your daughter for as long as I can remember her being at The Marina. I’m done fighting that, because it’s not doing either one of us any favors anymore. I need her.”
Silvain tilted his head to look at me curiously, then nodded as if I’d answered a question.
“She wouldn’t have run to you if you didn’t mean something to her,” he explained. “I’ve known for a while that she’s had some feelings for you. I just didn’t know you reciprocated.”
“He really, really reciprocates,” Aodhan murmured.
I shot him a glare.
He grinned at me and tossed me a small white bag.
I opened it up to find it full of donut holes.
I popped one in my mouth to keep from punching him in his.
A louder set of footsteps started up the spiral staircase, and I looked over to see Karen arriving with two huge cupholders of coffees.
Silvy came up the length of the stairs behind her, much quieter than Karen, with his own set of coffees.
“All right,” Sunny said, surprising me because I hadn’t seen him before he’d spoken. “Let’s get on with everything. Thanks for bringing coffee, Karen. Appreciate it.”
Silvain moved to Silvy and said a few words as he helped rid him of his burden. Silvy’s eyes met mine, and I knew that Silvain had just shared my intentions with him.
“What did you find out?” Karen asked.
“I reviewed the video a few more times, then went to see the boy that you hired. Coran Kalb. His father said that he was home all night. Oberon assures me that he monitors him because they have an alarm system that was set and not ‘unset’ in the hours that Alice was attacked,” Sunny said. “But something’s giving off vibes about that island that he lives on. He wouldn’t let me in his home. He wouldn’t even open the damn door all the way. To me, that was suspicious, so I’m doing some more digging. I feel like there’s something there that shouldn’t be.”
Great.
Just what this world needed. Oberon fuckin’ Kalb doing stupid shit he shouldn’t be doing.
If the world could rid itself of that deadbeat millionaire, it would be better for it.
I’m sure that his son, Coran, was exactly like his father. Especially with the bad vibes that he gave off whenever he was around Alice.
“In the meantime,” I said, “kid needs to be fired. Is there any way to get a restraining order against him?”
“No,” Sunny and Silvy said at once.
“He would have to do something, something that he was actually caught doing, in order to get a restraining order against him. As of right now, you can’t get one just for being a creepy fucker,” Karen explained to the group.
I took a sip of the coffee that she handed to me, then winced.
“Fuck, that’s hot,” I grumbled.
“Wuss.” Karen laughed, then sobered. “As of right now, all we can do is keep an eye on her and make sure that he doesn’t try anything again. In the meantime, I suggest that you find another worker that can help her.”