Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 69063 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69063 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
“Oh, that’s him.” She inhaled. “Who do you think the cop was that they…”
Just then the door opened a second time and a uniformed officer came into view.
“And that’s the cop,” I said. “Look at the left bicep. There’s a scar right in the crook. Same one from earlier.”
“Senator, you can’t be in here. It’s a crime scene.” The officer looked like he was about to choke.
“Oh, really?” Senator Kennedy laughed. “I hate to break it to you, but there’s nothing that’ll stop me from going anywhere that I want to go.”
Cocky son of a bitch.
“Sirs,” the frantic-looking officer said. “If you’re caught in here…”
Both men rolled their eyes, but they left. But not before the one that’d done the shooting earlier had a good look around.
The smirk that was on his lips made me want to throw up.
He’d enjoyed himself.
“Audio only now,” Lev said as he switched.
“…everything is working to plan,” Senator Kennedy’s voice said. “I’ll have her in jail by tomorrow.”
Anger rose inside of me.
“Get the lawyer here,” I said.
It was hours later when we finally made it to Nastya’s house.
Desi went to bed in the ‘softest bed ever’ according to her, and Nastya and I went to the shower.
I helped her clean up for a second time that night, massaging her shampoo and conditioner in her hair for a lot longer than necessary. I followed hair care up with the body soap, then quickly took care of myself before we exited the shower.
I led her to the sink where I helped her get her toothbrush loaded up with toothpaste—she was still a shaking mess even all these hours later.
We both fell into bed exhausted from a disgustingly long day.
But neither one of us went to sleep.
We stayed in each other’s arms for hours, lost in our own thoughts.
It wasn’t until the sun started poking through the blinds that she finally fell asleep.
As if that was what my body needed to follow suit, I fell into a dreamless sleep.
I am not very demure. I will cause a scene.
—Haze to Nastya
HAZE
The phone ringing had my eyes peeling open despite their desperate attempt to stay closed.
I felt like I’d been hit by a truck and groaned when I turned over and answered the phone blindly.
So many times I’d been pulled from sleep exactly like this, but it never got any easier.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Hi, this is Assistant Principal Neely from West High. I just wanted to let you know that your ex-wife attempted to take Desi from school again, but we blocked her and called the police. Your child is safe, but we just wanted to let you know of the event,” the principal explained.
I groaned. “Thank you for calling.”
“No problem.” She hung up, and I rolled over to find the bed beside me empty.
I agreed with my daughter. The bed was one of the most comfortable things I’d ever slept on in my life.
Before I could roll out of bed, my phone rang again.
Unaware that it was a FaceTime call, I answered it and said, “Hello?”
“Who is that woman?” my mother gasped.
I blinked, turned, and sure enough, my woman was standing in the open bathroom doorway combing out her hair staring at me.
I winked at her, then turned back to my mother and said, “Why are you calling so early?”
“Haze Austin, it’s almost one o’clock there. Why are you still in bed?” she asked. “And why are you not answering me on who that woman is?”
I grinned and said, “Well, if my life wasn’t fucked up beyond belief, I would introduce you to her. But since life has a funny way of fucking the best of us, I don’t have time to explain beyond she’s my girlfriend.”
And, to prove my point, my phone beeped, signaling an incoming call.
Shasha.
“I have to go,” I continued. “Love you.”
I hung up on her before she could reply, answering Shasha on speakerphone as I peeled myself out of bed.
“Hello?” I answered.
“Got that girl at my office,” he said. “And before you ask, I didn’t go looking for her yet. I just got to my office and she was outside standing here. Might want to come down.”
After agreeing, I hung up, then walked to Nastya and smoothed her wild hair back from her face. “You look rough.”
“Sleeping with my hair wet wasn’t the best idea I’ve ever had,” she admitted. “I don’t want to go with you there.”
I nodded, my fingers continuing to play with her hair. “I think that’s understandable. Will you stay here while I go?”
“Yes.” She shuddered. “I don’t plan on doing anything today. I don’t…I don’t know that I can work until this is all taken care of.”
I agreed with her, and I was happy that she saw the writing on the wall, too.
Before I could say anything more, my phone rang for a third time.