Total pages in book: 16
Estimated words: 14431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 14431 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 72(@200wpm)___ 58(@250wpm)___ 48(@300wpm)
He just grunted and turned on his heel, walking off. I peered into the envelope, and my eyes almost bugged out of my head at the hundreds and fifties inside.
There was no way this was a small advance. Christ, it usually took me months to make this much money!
I opened my mouth to call for Blink so we could discuss this further, but by the time I looked up, he was already shutting the clubhouse doors behind him.
3
Lindsey
I rolled my neck around, trying to relieve the ache at the base of it, and set down the glass I’d been wiping to make sure it was sparklingly clean with absolutely no water spots. If Blink was paying me this much and giving me advances that damn big, I was going to bust my ass to make myself worthy of the amount of money he was paying me.
I’d gone shopping, just as he ordered me to, and I still had a huge sum left over. I’d purchased a safe and deposited it in there. I’d thought about depositing it in the bank, but it felt like too much of a hassle to open a bank account. I hated paperwork with a passion; it left trails.
I didn’t like trails. Wasn’t running from anything, but growing up like I had with shitty fucking parents, I knew shit could flip on a dime, and if I needed to disappear, I didn’t want anyone to be able to track me.
I grabbed the trash bag out of the trashcan and quickly tied it up before toting it to the clubhouse doors to throw it in the dumpster the guys had out back. Rain hit me in the face as I stepped outside, and I sighed, tightening my hold on the bag, glaring at the rain pouring down.
How did a place rain so damn much? I’d honestly never experienced anything like it, but in my short time in this town, there’d been more rainy days than sunny, clear ones.
A cough from beside me made me scream, and I dropped the trash bag, stumbling backward and landing hard on my ass on the wet ground. A boy, probably no older than eleven or twelve, was sitting on the ground, leaning against the clubhouse wall. He was shivering, his teeth chattering, and he looked like he was on the verge of passing out. His skin was too pale, and he was too skinny for a boy his age. Malnourished.
I knew that look all too well.
“Sorry,” he mumbled. “I didn’t mean to,” he coughed, “scare you.”
I quickly shook my head and moved to my knees before knee-walking over to him. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugged. “Nowhere else to go,” he confessed, looking away from me.
I pushed to my feet and held out a hand to him. “Come on. Get up.” He eyed my hand for a moment, distrust clear in his gaze, before he reluctantly grabbed it and allowed me to help him to his feet. He was already tall—taller than me—but he still had no business being as skinny as he was. “Let me throw this in the garbage, and then I’ll get you inside and get you warmed up.”
He nodded, his teeth chattering harder. I quickly snatched the bag of trash off the ground and ran to the dumpster. After throwing it in, I rushed back to him and tugged him inside. “Take your shoes off,” I ordered. “I’m going to find you a towel so you can get out of those wet clothes and take a hot shower. I’ll make you something to eat while you’re bathing.”
He nodded his head again before coughing. I rushed off to my room to grab a towel. When I made it back downstairs, he had his shoes off and was slowly dripping a puddle onto my clean floors. I thrust the towel at him and pointed to the hallway off to the left. “Bathroom is first door on the right. There should be soap and shampoo and a toothbrush. Use whatever you need. Got it?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he mumbled before slinking off to where I directed him. I mopped up the water that had dripped from him before going into the kitchen and warming up the stew I’d made myself the night before. After a moment of debate, I also made him a cup of coffee. Wasn’t all that sure if a boy his age should have coffee, but whatever. I wasn’t his mom, and he needed something warm.
By the time I had both ready, he was coming out of the hallway, a towel wrapped around his waist and his clothes bundled in his hands.
My heart broke at the sight of him. His bones protruded from his skin to the point he looked sickly.
What in the hell was this kid going through?
“Hold on,” I told him. “I’ll grab you some clothes.” Hoping Blink wouldn’t rip me a new one for going through his things, I went to his room and grabbed a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. Blink was the skinniest out of the guys, so I was hoping his would fit at least somewhat decently. And at least the sweatpants had a string on them so the boy could tighten them to fit better.