Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 93002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 93002 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 465(@200wpm)___ 372(@250wpm)___ 310(@300wpm)
So many people said a wedding was the bride’s day, but I knew this one was as much for Hawk as it was for Quinn, if not more. I had a feeling my sister would have happily trotted down to town hall and stood in front of a judge. She wanted to be Hawk’s wife, and that was it. She didn’t particularly care about the wedding, but Hawk did. He wanted it to be perfect for her, and she wanted it to be perfect for him. Sometimes, I thought they’d kill me with adorableness.
I looked over at Forrest, calmly navigating the twelve-lane freeway into Atlanta. I liked to think of myself as sophisticated, but every time I was here, the sheer width of the roads blew my mind.
Forrest didn’t seem troubled. He didn’t fold. It was another one of the things I loved about him. He wasn’t showy, and he wasn’t loud, but he had a spine like steel, and he didn’t give up when things got hard. Most men would have left after we broke up. They would have given up. Cut their losses.
Not Forrest.
How long would it have taken me to talk to him if I hadn’t solved the clue on the Vitellius? I didn’t know, and now that we’d come this far, I knew I wouldn’t have been able to stay away forever. I would have cracked sooner or later. Sooner, probably.
We got off the freeway in Buckhead, turning up one road and down another until ahead on the right, I spotted the building Hawk had described in his text. Four stories of mirrored glass with accents of gray and black. Forrest turned down a side street and pulled into the entrance to the underground garage. An impenetrable metal gate blocked the way from floor to ceiling. Lowering his window, he leaned out and hit the red button by the intercom.
“Can I help you?” a crisp female voice asked.
“Forrest Powell and Sterling Sawyer to see Lucas Jackson,” Forrest said.
“Oh!” Now, the voice was welcoming. “You made good time. Pull up ahead and to the right and park in one of the guest spots. The button for the offices is marked in the elevator. I’ll be there to let you in.” The intercom clicked off, and the metal door slowly rose, revealing the dark interior of the garage. Forrest eased the car forward, the bright light of the summer morning fading as we entered the inner sanctum of Sinclair Security.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
STERLING
“This place is pretty slick,” Forrest said as we parked.
I tried to picture Griffen or Hawk here and found I could, easily. Their dark SUVs were a match for the rest of the vehicles in the garage. I could see them getting on this same elevator to go up to the office. For a good chunk of the years, Griffen had been away, this was where he was living a life I knew nothing about, a life where he did things I’d never ask him to tell me. Given everything that had happened since someone had murdered our father, it was lucky he had. As much as I agreed with Avery and didn’t want to be locked down, I was glad we had Griffen and Hawk’s skills. I wanted freedom, but more than that, I liked being alive.
The elevator carried us smoothly up to the floor with Sinclair Security’s offices. The doors slid open to reveal a small, dark-haired woman with a short bob and blunt-cut bangs. She was tiny, not just short like me, but built on a small scale with delicate bones and curious, sky-blue eyes. She wore a white dress with navy blue nautical detailing and a full skirt. The red crinoline beneath matched her lips. She was fresh and glamorous and the last thing I’d expected to see at the front desk of this elegant office.
“Hi,” she said, holding out her hand. “It’s so nice to meet Griffen’s sister, Sterling. I’ve heard so much about you.”
I rolled my eyes, liking her immediately. “That’s a scary thought.”
“No, not like that.” Her eyes flashed with humor. “Griffen adores you. I’m Alice. Alice Sinclair. I run this place, though my husband Cooper would disagree.”
“Not a chance,” said the tall, dark-haired man who came up behind her. His eyes were ice-blue but warm as they looked down at Alice. He slid an arm around her shoulders and held out a hand. “Cooper Sinclair. It’s good to meet you both.” He shook my hand and then Forrest’s. “We miss your brother and Hawk around here.”
“I know they miss all of you,” I said. “Though I’m glad we have them at Heartstone.”
“I’m glad you do, too,” Cooper said. “It seems like you need them more than we do, at least for now. I knew I wasn’t getting Griffen back, but I had hopes for Hawk.”