Total pages in book: 224
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 215705 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 1079(@200wpm)___ 863(@250wpm)___ 719(@300wpm)
“My father.” I set the kitty aside and sit up, hoping he might have something to offer on the Elijah situation that is helpful. “Hey, dad,” I say, answering the line while Reid shifts behind me and I glance over my shoulder to find him pulling on a pair of pajama bottoms.
“Hello, daughter,” he says. “Elijah. The buzz is that he’s posturing up to go at Reid but that he can’t seem to get any real leverage. Reid’s too damn good at protecting himself, which I know and know well.”
“You found a way around that.”
“I got at his father, not him. He didn’t fuck up. He better not fuck up now. He has you to think about. Put him on the phone.”
“Put him on the phone?” I ask. “No. I don’t need you starting a fight with Reid today. I have enough to contend with. He has enough to contend with.”
Reid sits down next to me. “Put him on speaker, baby. It’s fine. I’m not going to fight with your father. I made you that promise.”
My heart softens and my father breathes out. “I heard that.”
“You promised, too,” I say. “Remember, dad?”
“I remember. Put him on.”
I inhale and hit the speaker button, praying for the best. “You’re on speaker and don’t blow this, either of you.”
“If I could leverage you,” my father says, “he can leverage you, Reid. If you lose your company, that’s my daughter’s life. She fought to keep what I let go. I don’t want her to lose it now. What are you doing to ensure he doesn’t take you down?”
“The same thing I did to make sure you didn’t. Step wide and wisely which means without rash, emotional behavior.”
Our doorbell rings. My eyes go wide. “Is that Blake already?” I ask, standing up, still completely naked at this point.
“It must be,” Reid says catching my hip and kissing my stomach. “Get dressed, baby. Your father and I will play nice.”
I give him a stern look and then hand him my phone. “I’ll be back, dad.”
“I’m hanging up,” he says. “Reid, I got damning information on you. Wisely can’t mean slow or you’ll end up fucked.” On that note, he hangs up.
The doorbell rings again and I head for the bathroom. Reid catches my hand. “Don’t let his drama get to you. He’s being a father, protecting you, and I’m damn glad to see him get back to that place.”
“He’s worried like you, which is why you need to get the door and find out what’s happening.”
He kisses me. “I got this, baby.” And with that promise, he heads out of the room. I rush around, pulling on sweats and a tee, brushing my teeth and hair, and then I’m heading downstairs, all in about five minutes. I reach the living area to find Reid and Blake at the kitchen island.
“Any news?” I ask even as I cross to stand with them.
“Mick and Tabitha aren’t as smart as they think,” Blake says, and I step to Reid’s side and he hands me his coffee.
My eyes meet his and there is this warm intimacy between us in this act that I need right now and always. “What does that mean?” I ask, sipping the coffee before Reid accepts the cup and does the same.
“I listened in on their calls,” Blake says. “They’re doing exactly what Reid and I thought. Trying to get Elijah to go after Reid, so they can get clear. Mick is lying low until he’s certain Tabitha is safe and then he plans to go to Europe to work for a few months.”
“Where does that leave us?” I ask. “I mean, obviously, we can prove all of this to Elijah, but neither of you believes that stops him in his tracks. We need this over.” Kesha jumps on the counter and I hug her. “We need a dog for our cat and a wedding date, not crazy millionaires jumping out at me in the street.”
There’s a knock on the door and Reid glances in my direction. “My father is here. I have no idea why, but security called to tell me.”
I set Kesha down. “This won’t be good. Nothing with him is.”
“He wants us to win this war,” Reid says. “He’s a brutal warrior. That’s the only reason I let him up.” He heads toward the door and Blake’s phone rings.
I turn to watch what’s happening at the door when Blake curses. “Oh, fuck me. Yeah. Got it.”
“Carrie.”
I turn to face him, my heart at my feet, fear in my heart. “Cat’s okay, right? And Gabe?”
“Yes,” he says and slides his phone in front of me to show me a headline that reads, Reid Maxwell, accused of using his now-dead college girlfriend as a shield in a convenience store shooting. Truth or fiction and what does this say about the compass of his company?