Total pages in book: 176
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 167257 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 836(@200wpm)___ 669(@250wpm)___ 558(@300wpm)
I moved to stand in front of him and folded my arms. “Because I want to know.”
His green eyes slowly slid up to meet mine since I blocked the TV. “Just some bitch I know.”
“A girl you’re fucking?”
“I’m only fucking you,” he hedged. “Remember?”
Lord, why did you only give men half a brain? “You know what I mean, Owen. Have you fucked her?”
Rowdy didn’t respond as he stood and gently pushed me out of the way before disappearing inside his closet. He emerged a few minutes later dressed in his work clothes.
I guess I had my answer.
Since I had no words left for him, I walked over to my stuff, already neatly piled in the corner courtesy of Rowdy, and began searching through them for something to wear. I’d chosen speed over convenience when packing last night, so it took me longer than I liked to find a clean uniform.
“What the—Well, that’s weird,” I mumbled when my hands landed on a familiar white envelope with my bank’s logo on the front.
“What is?”
Not wanting to speak to him, I wordlessly pulled out the envelope full of cash. Because of their clientele, Montrose Inn only accepted cash, and I had just taken out three hundred dollars that day. It was even riskier walking around Idlewild with that much cash, so I’d left it in my purse that I’d switch out for my cute evening clutch.
There was no way whoever had broken into my room at Hooker’s Cove would have missed it. It wasn’t like I had a lot of stuff or even places to hide it. The cheap room didn’t even have a safe.
I could feel Rowdy’s gaze on me even though he said nothing, and I realized he was waiting for me to explain. I sighed, deciding to be a grown-up and end the silent treatment.
I told him about the cash that I’d just withdrawn that day.
“It was still in my purse when my room was broken into, but the robbers…” I shook my head in bewilderment. “They didn’t take it.” I forced myself to turn and face Rowdy, only to see no expression on his face whatsoever.
“That is strange.” It was all he said before he turned away and retrieved his gun from the nightstand. I watched him tuck it inside his waistband. “Get dressed so we can go.” Without another word or glance my way, he quickly left the room.
I wrinkled my nose at his retreating back and tried to make sense of this riddle. Why would someone break into my room but not take anything?
Could it have been Unrequited? Had they done it to scare me? They hadn’t shown any hostility toward me before, so it didn’t add up.
Deciding to put it off until later, I shoved it to the back of my mind and dressed for work.
Rowdy was standing by the door, guzzling down a bottle of water when I hauled all of my stuff downstairs. I felt him eyeing me out of the corner of his eye as I approached, and when his gaze dropped and he noticed me holding my bags, he pulled the bottle away from his lips with a frown. “Fuck you doing?”
I blinked at him. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Why do you have your stuff, Atlas?” His tone was impatient and pissed off, but since he hadn’t given a damn about my feelings, I decided to match his energy.
“Because it’s easier than driving all the way back here after work to get it.”
Rowdy lived clear on the other side of town. In other words, he had me fucked up.
“Take your stuff back upstairs, Atlas.”
It was my turn to frown. “Why?”
“Because I said so.”
“I suggest you think of a different reason.”
Rowdy closed the gap between us until I was forced to lean my head all the back just to hold his gaze. “You really want to put yourself in danger just to prove a point?”
“I highly doubt last night was personal since I don’t know anyone in the city,” I half lied. Did Unrequited live in Idlewild? Why hadn’t I considered that before? They had to have been watching me at least if they’d known I’d gotten a job at the shop. “I think I’ll be fine at a new motel. Excuse me.”
“You’re not leaving until you do what the fuck I said, and if you think I won’t write you up for being late, think again.”
My lips parted. “That’s not fair.”
He took another menacing step closer. “Does it look like I give a fuck?”
“You can’t just bully me into doing what you want! You can’t even call me your girlfriend without stuttering and making excuses, but you want me to move in? What sense does that make, Owen?”
“I don’t give a fuck about any of that,” he said with a curl of his lips as he pressed his forehead against mine. Rowdy was standing so close now that all I could see was the white of his eyes. “Take your motherfucking ass upstairs before I lose my motherfucking composure.”