Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 55510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55510 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 278(@200wpm)___ 222(@250wpm)___ 185(@300wpm)
Andrew rolled his eyes at me. He didn’t always argue with me, but we could go on for hours if he did.
“I don’t care about the money,” he said pointedly. “You didn’t hear her father’s voice when he begged for us to help her. Just because he’s in jail doesn’t mean he’s a bad man. I’d know that firsthand.”
I looked away from Andrew. He often played his former cop card, reminding us of his experiences in the force and what he learned about the law and justice. Long story short, the world was a bad place, and nothing was as it seemed. That was why protection came at such a high price.
“I think we should all remember that there are four of us. We have each other’s backs,” Akio told us as he pushed himself off the pool table to step closer. The corner of his mouth curled up slightly as he looked between Andrew and me. “We’ll take shifts. We’ll stay sharp. Nothing will sneak up on us.”
Rhett nudged me with his shoulder.
“Yeah, you’re the one who needs to relax,” he chuckled.
It was hard to snap at Rhett. He had boundless energy and enthusiasm, but he was a damn good bodyguard as well. His welcoming exterior just made him that much more dangerous when things got serious, so I respected him for that.
“I’m not afraid to do my job. I’m just not going to like this one,” I muttered before fishing another chip out of the bag.
Rhett shrugged.
“I think this’ll be fun,” he said with a gleam in his brown eyes.
“You’re just saying that because she’s cute,” Akio pointed out with a smirk on his clean-shaven face.
Andrew put his hands up as he shook his head.
“Oh, no. We’re not doing this,” he warned us. “If I catch any of you flirting with our client…”
I couldn’t help but laugh a little. He was so damn red in the face. Honestly, he probably thought Emery was hot too. Anyone with working eyes could see that. She had a petite figure with soft curves in all the right places. Her lips were full, her hair was long and wavy, and her eyes were jarringly blue. She was a smoke show.
“You’ll what?” I challenged him.
Andrew tried to glare at me, but all of the laughter around him made him shake his head in amusement.
“Well, I can’t fire you idiots,” he replied as he placed his hands on his waist. “But I’ll make your life hell somehow.”
“Don’t worry. This job is my personal hell,” I told him before popping one more chip into my mouth. I tossed the half-eaten bag at Rhett, who scrambled to satisfy his raging appetite.
“So, what now?” Akio asked Andrew.
Andrew glanced at the doorway of the amenity room, which was down the hallway from Emery’s apartment.
“We do our job. Since she won’t let us in, we’ll have to guard her from the outside. Two guys by the door. Two guys patrolling the nearby hallways,” Andrew replied, falling right back into his business mindset. He was our leader for a reason.
“I’ll patrol,” Akio offered.
“I’ll stand post,” Rhett said.
Andrew turned to me with an amused look on his face. I already knew what was on the bastard’s mind before he even opened his mouth.
“You’ll stand post, Ben. I want you as close to this job as possible,” he told me, his voice bordering on a sneer.
Well, he got to mess with me. I should’ve expected that, but it didn’t make me feel any better about this job. At least if the princess tried any funny business, I’d be nearby to stop her. Hopefully, she’d just stay on her phone and behave for the next few days until we heard something official about her father.
I might be stuck here for a while. This girl better be worth the trouble.
5
EMERY
Ithought a call from my father’s lawyer would grant me some good news. Instead, it confirmed what I didn’t want to hear.
“There’s a man named Armond Deviau who your father has associated with for a few years now. It’s all whispers around the city, but he supposedly heads a drug-running business. He used your father’s tech company to launder money through and probably paid your dad some off the top for the cover,” John Kester told me over the phone.
I leaned my forehead against my palm as I closed my eyes, trying to absorb all of the information. I knew a lot of it was based off of rumors, but my father being arrested wasn’t a rumor. They tore apart his office last night for more evidence, and if he was doing business with this drug lord, they were going to find it.
I didn’t want to consider that my father, who was one of the smartest guys I knew, had made such a stupid move. What was he thinking getting involved in something illegal like that? People who ran drugs weren’t people to do business with. Elementary school kids could figure that out, and it wasn’t like we were low on money. He wasn’t desperate for that little bit off the top they gave him.