Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 72756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 72756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 364(@200wpm)___ 291(@250wpm)___ 243(@300wpm)
“I could lose my job…”
“Please, Titania. This is important. All you have to do is tell him I'm in trouble.”
She bites her lip. “That's it?”
“Yes. Please.”
“It's Jacob, isn't it?” she asks softly. “You're calling Jacob. Summer, he's not the boy you used to know. I was there at the funeral. He's a criminal. You're lucky he and his friends didn't hurt you, or worse.”
“He'd never hurt me,” I insist. “And I'm not asking you to get involved in anything. Just one call, or get someone else to do it, please.”
She sighs heavily. “All right. But if your father finds out…”
“I won't say anything. Never, I promise.” I hug her tight. “Thank you so much.”
She hugs me back. “Just be careful, Summer. I know you're not happy here, but that doesn't mean that trusting a bunch of gang members is a good idea.”
“I know. I'll be careful.”
“I still have to get you ready for your lunch with Grayson. You know that, right?”
“Yeah.” I sigh and stand up. “I know.”
When I walk downstairs to the gardens, I run into Grayson in the hall. He looks me over, a possessive gleam in his eyes. “Hello, Summer.”
“Hi.” I hold my breath as he reaches out and runs his fingers along my jawline.
“You look lovely today,” he murmurs. “So pretty.”
“Thank you.” It takes everything in me to not flinch at his touch.
He smiles like a snake and leans in. “I bet you thought running away would make you less appealing to me, but it only makes you more interesting.” His lips brush my cheek. “Aaron's perfect little girl. I thought you'd be a boring lay, but you're feistier than you look, aren't you?”
I swallow hard and force myself to stay calm. “I don't think my father would like you talking to me like this.”
“What he doesn't know won't hurt him.” He slides his arm around my waist. “Come on, let's go smile pretty for the cameras.”
Dad smiles when he sees us walk out together. Not one word about how familiar Grayson is acting. “There you are. I hope she's not giving you any trouble.”
Grayson chuckles. “Not at all, sir. She's been a perfect angel.”
“Good girl.” Dad kisses my forehead. “Now remember, we need lots of pictures of you two together. Lots of smiles.”
“Of course, sir.” I manage a weak smile, praying Titania comes through for me.
A good girl. At least for now.
13
PREACHER
Snark comes out into the common room with Matteo, their youngest, on his arm. He doesn’t look happy. “I found something.”
“I fucking knew it. What?”
“Check your mail. I ran the pictures you sent over. There wasn't much. He seemed to show up out of nowhere about five years ago, which is pretty fucking suspicious these days. It took some digging, but I forwarded you a police report. See if anything rings any bells.”
I grab my phone. “Crash. Devil. Over here.”
It takes a second for the whole PDF to load, but as soon as it does, I zoom in and a face I'd be happy to never see again is staring right back at me. “Got you, asshole,” I murmur.
Crash's expression goes stony when he sees what I'm looking at. “I told you to let that go. If she wanted our help, she'd get in touch. You don't think I want to fucking save her from herself?”
“Shut the fuck up and listen. That Grayson guy who's all up her daddy's ass? The one she can't stand? I know that little shit. He's a fucking grifter.”
“They all are,” Crash spits out.
Devil nods. “No shit. I'm not here to knock what gets anyone through the day, but that whole operation looked like a cash grab. That restaurant I picked Summer up from? Been a while since I was in a church, but when I was a kid it was all potlucks, barbeque and salt potatoes. Not caviar and champagne. How's this guy any different?”
I tap the screen. “He's a fucking sociopath. That's how.”
“And you know this how?” Crash growls.
“Look, we've all got shit in our past, right? I'm not proud of it, but before I found the Eagles, I used to run some petty con shit. I was young, and the rich old ladies loved this smile.”
“No shit? I can picture it. We talking hot cougars or grandmas?” Devil wiggles his eyebrows.
“Little bit of both. The point is that I ran in similar circles to this asshole, but I was small time compared to him. I wasn't looking for the long cons. I got in, sold people their bullshit time-share or whatever, and got the fuck out. I didn't go after anyone who couldn't afford it, and I didn't stick around to drain them dry, you know? I got no clue what his real name is, but he was going by Timothy Smith back then. He had no limits. Selling Grammy opiates for her arthritis? No problem. Got a money problem? He could get you in touch with a guy who just happened to be a loan shark attached to the Russian Mob. People fucking died, and he'd just laugh as long as he got his cut.”