Total pages in book: 192
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 189782 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 949(@200wpm)___ 759(@250wpm)___ 633(@300wpm)
The engine hums as we carve a path through the black velvet water. Emotions simmer, each of us adrift in our private thoughts, the gravity of those texts dragging at our souls.
“How did the negotiations with Pilip go?” I ask, breaking the silence.
“Monty made an offer Pilip couldn’t refuse.” Kody’s grip tightens on the wheel, his voice steady yet tinged with something deeper. “Now it’s up to us to work out the details.”
“That’s awesome, Kody.” She sits beside me, her hand resting on my knee. “What kind of details?”
“There are a lot of decisions to make.” He shifts his midnight eyes to Monty. “The biggest one is whether to trust Monty as my brother, let alone my investor.”
Spoken and unspoken accusations twist the air around us.
“I’m standing right here.” Monty crosses his arms. “Whatever’s on your mind, say it.”
“This distillery is my dream, but it’s also a huge risk.” Kody stares at the dark water ahead. “If you’re behind those messages, everything changes.”
“I’m the one taking the risk.”
“The financial risk,” I interject. “That’s not the only risk. If Kody goes down this road with you and you betray him, he can’t stay in business with you. All that hope you’ve given him…”
“It crushes, darling,” she whispers.
Damn you, Wolf.
My chest constricts.
Monty remains silent, his expression cryptic, but I see objections swirling in his eyes.
“It’s not just about the distillery.” Kody’s knuckles blanch on the wheel, his gaze never leaving the water. “The messages, the threats, the uncertainty. I need to know that you’re on our side.”
“I’ve done everything I can to protect this family.” Monty softens his tone. “But trust is earned, not given. I understand your doubts.”
“We have to give you a chance to prove yourself,” she says. “If you help us figure this out…”
“You have my word. I’ll do whatever it takes to prove I’m not the one behind this.” He turns to Kody. “I want to help you make your dream a reality. But I can’t do that if you don’t trust me.”
“All right.” Kody’s grip on the wheel loosens. “We’ll work on this together—negotiating the terms for the distillery and hunting down the unknown number. But know this.” He levels his predatory eyes on Monty. “If I find out you had anything to do with those messages, I’ll rip your fucking spine out and clean my teeth with your bones.”
“Jesus.” She pinches his waist, making him grunt. “We’re not cannibals.”
“I’m killing him the way I want.” He faces forward again, grumbling, “And I’ll die on that hill.”
She sighs. “How about we all focus on…I don’t know…not dying?”
Monty presses a curled finger against his mouth, and I realize he’s holding back a smile. When he meets my eyes, I can’t help it. I laugh.
It’s the stress relief we need because, within seconds, we’re all grinning, including my sulky, caveman brother.
“Frankie, you should’ve seen Monty trying to teach us how to parallel park,” I say. “He couldn’t even do it himself.”
“It was a tight spot.” Monty exhales wearily.
I run my knuckle down her lower back. “What I’m hearing is you can’t handle tight spots.”
She chokes on her spit.
Wolf would’ve loved this. He had a knack for finding humor in the darkest moments.
“Rhett responded.” She squints at her phone. “He told a few of the nurses he was going to see me.” She groans. “They gossip. It’s kind of their thing. The entire hospital probably knew before he even left.”
Fuck. That means any person she worked with, all people from her past, could be a threat to her.
I know how badly she wants to reclaim her role as a trauma nurse and rebuild the pieces of her life that were fractured. But she can’t return to work yet. It’s not safe, and I fucking hate that for her.
As the conversation shifts back to our driving lessons, Kody recounts how I nearly smashed the Bentley into a tree. Monty merely shrugs, and Frankie listens intently, throwing in jabs about our recklessness.
As if she’s one to talk.
“Were you patient with them?” she asks Monty.
When he doesn’t answer, I nod. “Yeah. He’s a good teacher.”
That’s not saying much. Denver was patient and helpful throughout our upbringing. Until he wasn’t.
“Tell me about the flight school.” I meet Monty’s gaze.
He delves into the basics, explaining the types of pilot licenses, categories of aircraft, education, flight hours required, and advanced training. What he doesn’t mention is the cost.
“How much?” I ask.
“I’ll cover it.”
“How. Much?”
He rattles off the obscene price for basic flight school.
“No.” I suck in a breath. “I’m not a fucking leech. I already owe you—”
“You owe me nothing. The way I see it, I’m indebted to you.”
“How so?”
“You kept her alive in the Arctic Circle for nine months.”
“She did a damn fine job keeping herself alive.”
“No, I didn’t.” She dips her head. “A bear nearly ate me. I drowned in a lake. I sure as hell didn’t fly the plane that got us out of there.”