Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 65225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 65225 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 326(@200wpm)___ 261(@250wpm)___ 217(@300wpm)
There was a line drawn when it came to ‘family sticks together.’
And apparently, for me, it’s when you sell me to some other man for your mistakes. Well, that’s where it’s drawn.
“Thinking about murdering someone?” he teased.
He had no freakin’ clue just how close he was to the truth.
Because yes, indeed, I was thinking about murdering someone.
My own brother, in fact.
“I’m all about murder,” I told him bluntly. “My favorite thing to do is watch mystery shows where they solve unsolvable crimes.”
Easton’s lips twitched. “I’ll remember that.”
With that parting comment, he left, leaving me breathing heavily at his departing back.
It wasn’t an hour later that I saw the stacked bills stuffed into my closed laptop with a note that said, “Interest. Don’t hate me.”
I couldn’t stop the stupid smile.
Which Mirabel caught.
“What are you smiling so evilly at?” Mirabel sniffed as she passed, but stopped when she saw the bills in my hand. “Why do you have all those hundred-dollar bills? You know that it’s tip share here.”
I rolled my eyes. “This isn’t tips,” I lied. “This is from Easton. He wanted my help buying him something.”
She scoffed. “That’s a lie. You just want to stiff me on my tips.”
I looked her dead in the eye and said, “Fine, Mirabel. No more tip share. You can go ahead and keep what you make.”
Turns out, by the end of the night, she wanted tip share again.
Why?
Because she found out that her bitchy comments, and asshole ways, couldn’t get her the kind of money that I pulled in on a regular basis.
I didn’t give her the money, though. I kept all of my tips for my own. And our other waitress, Sandy, kept hers.
Turns out, I kind of liked it that way.
And my sister could just suck it.
CHAPTER 2
If you see me talking to myself, just move along. We’re having a team meeting.
-Easton to Trouper
EASTON
“Listen,” I said for the fourth time. “I’m more than aware that I’m asking you to go above and beyond here. I more than realize that it’s putting you into a position that you’re not quite comfortable being in. But you need to make the decision, right here and now, whether you can continue to do this job. Because I’m not always going to stay coloring in the lines. That’s why I split from the bureau. And, when they fired you because you were being a rebel and doing stuff that they didn’t think was bureau material, you came to me. There’s a reason for that, and I want you to remember that.”
Ashton, the twenty-nine-year-old accountant whiz kid that was so good with numbers it was uncanny, looked at me like I was nuts.
“You’re asking me to track a guy that you plan to unalive,” he told me. “You want me to be an accomplice to that?”
“I didn’t say that I was going to kill him,” I disagreed. “I told you that I wasn’t going to discount that possibility if what I found didn’t line up.”
Ashton shook his head, unsure what he was supposed to say and do.
I, on the other hand, knew that this would be the tipping point. Either he’d help me, or he’d leave.
There were only two options. He couldn’t have one foot in the door, and one foot out, and expect me to allow him to continue on like that.
I paid him a handsome salary.
I made sure that he was paid so well, in fact, that he couldn’t tell me no without first thinking about all the things he was getting in return for his compliance.
It wasn’t even as if I was asking him to pull the trigger.
I wasn’t.
I was asking him to get me the information so I could pull the trigger.
Which I would.
In a heartbeat.
Because there were just some people in this world that didn’t belong here, and the fewer of those people there were, the better.
“I’ll…” Ashton paused. “I’ll do it.”
I flashed him a grin. That grin fell off my face after a few short seconds as I leveled an intense gaze on him.
“Remember, you signed an NDA.” I paused. “And you also don’t have nearly the skill that I do. If you can’t do this job and keep your mouth shut, then I have no reason to keep you employed. It’s better to turn your resignation in while you still can.”
I left at that, wondering if he would catch the thinly veiled threat.
My guess? He would.
Ashton wouldn’t have a chance to tell anyone.
I’d know the instant that he even thought it.
Regardless, I sent out a quick text to the head of security and received a reply of ‘got it’ within two seconds.
I sighed as I walked down the hall toward my office.
I needed a drink.
But I couldn’t decide whether it was because of the day I had, or because of the girl that I would see when I got to the place that I planned to do my drinking.