Total pages in book: 87
Estimated words: 79020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79020 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
I pull out a bottle of water rather than opening the freezer and going for the bottle of vodka there. Liquor consumption would end with me going right back to her house and forcing her to kiss me like I wanted to earlier. That's the last thing either one of us will ever need.
"Mike, my handler, and Ace seemed to have put us both on the same case without the other knowing. Now there are talks of combining forces."
"Great," I mutter as I pull out a barstool at the end of the bar, keeping myself positioned where I can see both men.
"We've cleared now eight of the eleven places that Nathan Adair had on the list we found, and the consensus seems to be that these places were prime for takeover. He somehow knew of these men and the businesses they were running, and as a man who always wants his enterprise to grow, he had them slotted for acquisition," Jericho explains.
"All prostitution?" I ask.
"No," Jersey interrupts making me want to fly across the room and snap his neck. "I took out one just over the state line in North Carolina that was trafficking drugs."
"Don't you have a wife and kids to get back?" I growl.
Jersey smiles around the lip of his beer bottle, taking a long sip before responding. "All part of the cover. Women love a man who's down on his luck."
"Zara wouldn't touch a married man," I snap in her defense.
"Good thing I'm not really married."
Jericho stands, positioning himself in front of me before I can rip the man's head off.
"You need to leave her the fuck alone," I growl as I point at the bastard over Jericho's shoulder.
"Calm down," Jericho snaps. "We're not going to fucking act like wild goddamned animals. The case is closed, and both of you will move the fuck on."
I don't take his insistence as an order. The man doesn't have rank on me, but he does make a lot of sense. The case no longer exists. It ended with Wilkinson's booking into the county jail. It's time for me to move on to something new.
"Is there a problem?"
I'm slow to turn my gaze to Ace as he enters the room, and I don't pull my eyes from Jersey until he looks away first. I settle some with the minor victory, grabbing my bottle of water from the bar and taking a few steps back before turning my attention to Ace.
"We have three places left we need to clear out in the next couple of weeks. One already has someone working it, but they may need some backup," Ace continues.
"I'll take it," Jersey offers as if he's in a fight for being the teacher's fucking pet.
"Mike will get you the information you need," Ace says with a quick dip of his head.
"Nice meeting you guys," Jersey says on his way out of the room, and I'll give the guy credit for saying it in a tone that doesn't make him sound like a complete asshole.
"I like him," Jericho says.
"He's one of the good ones," Ace agrees. "So these last two jobs, one will be in North Carolina, and the other will be a little closer to home. Hemlock, I think the one in NC would be a better fit for you. Jer—"
"I need to stay here," I interrupt.
Ace tilts his head to the side, and I'm grateful when Jericho doesn't open his big fucking mouth to insert his opinion.
"Need? Is there something going on I should know about?"
I can't help the way Zara flashes through my mind. She's my reason for the need to stay close, but she won't be here much longer, will she? The U-Haul proved that. If she were simply moving down the street or across town, she could've gotten Tommy to help her with that rather than renting something you pull for a long haul.
"Tell me there's an appointment or something that you need to be in town for," Ace pleads, and I know he knows exactly where my head is without making the confession.
"I don't think leaving town so soon is best," I manage, wishing I didn't have a fucking audience for this shit right now.
"This next job is vital to our work, and it may be the break in the case we need to finally set eyes on Adair and get his ass either in a grave or in jail. Jericho has too many ties to the man, and it's not safe for him to go," Ace argues. "I need you for this."
I want my shot at Adair, but I can also feel the irritation running off Jericho. He blew his cover to help another Cerberus member's woman, and I commend him for that, but if he misses out on being the one to take that vile piece of shit down, it'll haunt him for the rest of his life. I don't know what the man had to do to stay side by side with the evil fucker, but I can imagine it was some shit he'll have to ask forgiveness for in the afterlife, making him not much different from me.