Total pages in book: 49
Estimated words: 46967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46967 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 235(@200wpm)___ 188(@250wpm)___ 157(@300wpm)
I smile as I stand up. “Awww, you love me, big brother.”
He shakes his head. “Fuck you.”
I can’t help but laugh. “He offered me a job at the wounded hero facility. I wouldn’t be a mercenary.”
All at once, Ford looks as if a weight has lifted off his shoulders. “Are you going to take it?”
I shake my head. “I asked him to give me a few weeks to get settled in with my responsibilities here, and I’d give him a decision. The facility is not opening for another few months.”
Ford nods. “And the other thing you were going to ask him about?”
“Elle? He said he’d look into it and get back to me today, but I haven’t heard anything from him yet. I’m going to hang out here a little bit, okay? Elle’s using my laptop, and I was wanting to look into a few things.”
“Sure, use the computer in the conference room. You know you have an office here. It’s empty, but I’m sure we can fix that quickly.”
I hold my hands up. “Let me figure out what I’m doing before we go there.”
“Sure, sure. No pressure.”
I walk to the door. “See you later, big brother.”
His voice softens. “See you later, brother.”
I get almost out the door and stop. “Hey, Ford.”
“Yeah?”
“I just want you to know I’m not leaving again. I’m home, and I hope you all know that I missed you too. I’m glad to be back… to be with you guys again.”
Ford visibly chokes back his emotion. He’s my older brother, but the two of us were really close growing up. He nods, and I walk out of his office, closing the door softly.
My phone rings, and I look down the hall. Elle is already gone, and Lilian is typing at her desk. When I look at the caller ID and see Walker’s name, I step into the conference room. “Hey, Walker.”
“Hey.” He sighs. “I swear it’s only eleven a.m., and I feel like I’ve put in a full day. So I looked into what we talked about. Honestly, there’s not much I can find on Elle. She was born in Mulberry City, Texas, no family, she worked at a textile plant. Nothing that raises any flags, well, until after my tech guy did a little more research and discovered that there is someone searching for her.”
He pauses, and I grip the phone tighter. “Who is it?”
“His name is Marco Casey. He’s the mayor of Mulberry City.”
“He’s the mayor of Elle’s hometown?”
Walker grunts. “Yeah, and it looks like he’s trying pretty hard to find her.”
I pace back and forth across the conference room. My mind is going a hundred miles a minute. “I need you…”
I stop when Walker starts talking. “I’m already on it. We’re looking into everything with Marco Casey. He is the mayor, after all, and whatever we do is going to have to be justified. Just what I’ve uncovered so far, he’s dirty. It would help if I had the whole story.”
“I’ll get it,” I tell him.
“Okay. Talk to you soon.”
“Bye, Walker. Thank you.”
“Sure thing.”
I sit down heavily at the desk and start up the computer. I get lost in my research, trying to find anything I can on Marco Casey and his family.
It’s later when there is a knock on the conference room door, and Lilian comes in. She doesn’t look happy as she sits down at the table.
I keep looking between the notes I’ve taken and the screen of the computer, and when Lilian doesn’t say anything, I turn to give her my full attention. “Are you okay?”
She looks worried. “What are your intentions toward Elle?”
I smile at that. “I have good intentions, Lilian.”
She shakes her head. “That’s not enough. She thinks you feel sorry for her or something. Is that true?”
“I like her.”
“You like her? That’s not enough.”
She starts to get up, and I do the same. “What is this about, Lilian?”
She juts her chin at me and crosses her arms over her chest.
“Fine, I like her a lot, but I know—heck you have to know, she has something she’s scared of. I’m not going to pressure her into anything. I’ll be here when she’s ready for more.”
She lets out a deep breath. “Okay, so there’s something you should probably know.”
“What is it? Is she okay? She’s supposed to be at my house.”
She’s impatient as she answers me. “She is at your house. For now, anyway. But I thought you should know that she texted me asking if there is a shelter in Whiskey Run or where the closest one is.”
“What the fuck!” I rage. “Why is she asking you that?”
“She got a call from her landlord, and the next-door neighbor had a water leak. It’s filled Elle’s apartment, and it won’t be livable for days or probably weeks. I offered for her to stay with me—”